An incredible finish to the three-day U.S. Board Riders Clubs season conclusion witnessed the stuff of Lowers dreams and a dominant showing from hometown heroes San Clemente Board Riders once again.
A perfect Saturday at the high-performance dreamland of Lower Trestles pushed the U.S. Board Riders Club performances to new heights at the USBRC National Championships presented by A New Earth Project. To no one’s surprise, and competitors’ dismay, the San Clemente Board Riders Club completed their three-peat dominance at their home turf with a sweep of the 2024 Wheat Cup and National Championships titles. Unprecedented performances from numerous clubs elevated competition to new bounds and set the standard for what can be expected as the USBRC continues to grow and flourish heading into the 2024/2025 season.
Andrew Nichols
Can San Clemente Be Stopped at the USBRC Nationals presented by A New Earth Project?
“It’s so good to be here with all the crews with North Shore coming over, Jax Beach, Santa Cruz,” Huntington Beach’s Brett Simpson said during the awards. “San Clemente obviously, they smoke everyone every year. We’re going to figure it out one of these days but I don’t know when and if it’ll ever happen.”
While laughs were spread, truer words couldn’t have been said after a dominant display from each of the team’s divisions throughout their Finals surge. Household names Matt Archibold, Shane Beschen, Chris Ward, Nathan Yeomans, Kolohe Andino, and Tanner Gudauskas held up their end of the bargain – posting four excellent numbers between the six of them including a 9.00 double-whammy from Andino, an 8.83 double-whammy from Yeomans and a 7.50 double whammy from Beschen.
But, the stars of the show went all the way down to the 14 and under division with the next generation of San Clemente’s talent pool shining under the National Championships lights. Bodhi “Bodacious Bojangles” Aguilar’s insane backhand that garnered an excellent 8.83 for a double-whammy was only bested by Team Santa Cruz Brody Price’s perfect 10 – which he also double-whammied for the event’s only perfect 20 and a piece of USBRC history.
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“It was super fun,” said Aguilar. “I was out there by myself. I saw that perfect wave coming and just went for it. It gave me two sections and I’m just stoked.”
Aguilar garnered the team’s MVP for his heroics.
The women’s roster of Avery McDonald and Addison McPhillips stepped up to match North Shore’s powerhouse duo of Zoe McDougall and Skai Suitt – who stole the show in the Round 1 proceedings. McDonald and McPhillips’ 24.03 combined total helped push Team San Clemente further into the lead as the icons prepared to the stage.
After the 50s division and 40s division took massive wins – the 40s duo of Yeomans and Ward posting a 26.09 combined total bested the second-place duo by nearly 10 points – it was all but done before the 30s even took to the water. But, just for good measure, Andino left nothing to chance and proceeded to post a 9.00 and double-whammied it for an 18.00 while Gudauskas backed it up with a 7.67.
And that was all she wrote. Despite the other club’s best efforts, including a world-class showing from Brett Simpson to post a 9.87, Team San Clemente entered the 20s division with a 30.32 margin which was insurmountable even with a perfect showing from Team North Shore.
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Notable and Quotable
While Team San Clemente ultimately stole the show, there was no shortage of insane performances throughout the day.
Team North Shore made every penny of their self-funded trip to the USBRC National Championships count to finish runner-up. The 15-19 division representative Luke Terma dropped an excellent 8.87 in the Finals and, alongside Nalu Demato, accrued a 24.67 total just behind Team San Clemente’s 25.11. But, it was the women who turned dynamic showings in both rounds with Skai Surrit dropping a near-perfect 9.77 in the Finals after already claiming her double-whammy. Paired with Zoe McDougall, the team showed they could be even more dangerous next season.
Brilliant showings from Shayden Pacarro, the legend Love Hodel – who posted an 8.67 double-whammy in the Final – Toddy Coffey, Joel Centeio, and a plethora of groms with Nalu Deodato, Pax Tybuszekwsi, and more led the way for a big finish to their USBRC Nationals debut.
“The waves were firing out there and I was just stoked to surf Lowers with just five people,” said Surrit. “I was kind of crunched for time but I was able to work it out and I was stoked.”
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“I can’t believe Hawaii has never done this,” said Hodel. “I’m super happy and proud of this team coming together on our dollars. But, I want to let this team know I’ll support to the end of time.”
Santa Cruz’s duo of Sam Coffey and John Mel posted one of the highest combined totals in USBRC Nationals history with a 28.41 courtesy of Coffey’s 9.87 double-whammy and Mel’s 8.67. Though their streak of runner-ups fell just short, with performances from the likes of Brody Price’s perfect showing, a strong women’s contingent, and legendary crew of 40s and 50s, they’re not going anywhere.
With lights out surfing from the some of Team Huntington Beach and Team Jacksonville Beach, they tidied up the rankings finishing third and fourth, respectively. This was also Team Jacksonville Beach’s first shot at a National title and debut showings from the likes Wayne Satterwhite, Tristan Thompson, Austin Clouse, Karina Petroni, and Jason Motes were iconic in their in own right.
“It’s an honor to be back here again and I started surfing Lowers as a kid at all the NSSAs, and a big thank you to the Andinos for always housing me,” said former Championship Tour surfer Petroni. “I feel as an ex-Tour surfer, this is exactly what surfing needs. I’m so fired up on the Board Riders. It’s a community effort and they’re putting the rock-n-roll back into surfing.”
Stay tuned for more from the USBRC season as the race for Lowers gets back underway later this year
Andrew Nichols
USBRC Finals Results
San Clemente: 162.93
North Shore: 140.93
Santa Cruz: 137.36
Huntington Beach: 122.27
Jacksonville Beach: 121.54
Round 1:
Santa Cruz: 165.72
North Shore: 147.37
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Space Coast: 129.19
Cape May: 106.95
Outer Banks: 102.89