Ellie Brown of King Kekaulike cuts back in winning the girls shortboard final. Dayanidhi photos
The Maui News
The King Kekaulike boys and Maui Prep girls continued their winning ways at the first Maui Interscholastic League surf contest on Saturday at Kahului Harbor.
King Kekaulike, which has won four straight MIL boys team championships, was led by shortboard champion Axel Rosenblad. Maui Prep was second, while Lahainaluna was third.
Maui Prep, which has won three of the past five MIL girls team titles, edged Maui High, 3,972-3,897, with King Kekaulike third. Maui Prep clinched the win when Ashley Nielson won the bodyboard final and teammate Zoe Gonzales placed third.
It was the first time in the seven-year history of MIL surfing that teams competed at the Jetty in Kahului Harbor. The harbor generated waves all day as the northwest swell turned to a more north, which allowed waves to sneak in the harbor combining with a wind swell caused by a week of strong tradewinds.
Axel Rosenbald of King Kekaulike goes vertical in the finals. Rosenblad won the boys shortboard at the first MIL contest ever held in Kahului Harbor.
“It was pretty fun, good to get waves here,” Rosenblad said. “It was glassy, and super stormy sometimes, too. It’s really close to the judges which is pretty cool.”
Rosenblad was third overall last year, and defeated defending champion Tony Nunez of Maui Prep, 12.50-10.20 in the final.
“Hopefully I can do it this year since it’s my last year,” Rosenblad said. “I definitely enjoyed it.”
For Nielson, a junior, it was her first MIL win. She had never surfed the harbor until a team practice on Wednesday.
“I was excited, we really don’t practice bodyboarding,” Nielson said. “We focus on our surfing, so it was super cool to go out and win. They weren’t prime conditions, but I really liked it. It was a fun wave. The lefts are nice, soft, the drops are easy. It was a little harder on the rights.”
Ashley Nielson of Maui Prep drops in and claims her first MIL bodyboard title.
Ellie Brown, a King Kekaulike sophomore, also took down a defending champion Madison Runyon of Lahainaluna. Runyon has won the last two overall MIL shortboard titles. Runyon was third on Saturday, while freshman Tamryn Taoka of Maui High was second.
Taoka was leading the final until Brown caught an overhead wave with a little over a minute left and slammed a big frontside turn which earned her a 7.00, the highest score in the final.
“Pretty stoked,” Brown said. “It was a set wave, glad I got it. It was pretty tough, but there were a few fun ones. Super windy, I was freezing. After I caught a few waves, I warmed up.”
George Rocha, a Lahainaluna junior, won the bodyboard. He was second overall last year.
“Hopefully I can come up with more (wins) and come up first this time,” Rocha said. “It was super hard out there, super choppy and windy, crumbling.”
The next MIL surf contest will be March 14 at D.T. Fleming Beach Park.
MAUI INTERSCHOLASTIC LEAGUE
Surf Meet No. 1
At Kahului Harbor
Saturday’s Results
BOYS
Team–1. King Kekaulike 3,633 points, 2. Maui Prep 3,227. 3. Lahainaluna 2,743, 4. Hana 2,480, 5. Kamehamenha Maui 2,260, 6. Baldwin 1,820, 7.
Seabury Hall 1,722, 8. Maui High 1,253, 9. Haleakala Waldorf 803.
Shortboard–1. Axel Rosenblad, King Kekaulike; 2. Tony Nunez, Maui Prep; 3. Ty Simpson-Kane, Kamehameha Maui; 4. Taj Newton, Hana; 5. Tyler Kirby, Maui Prep; 6. Gabe Girardin, Seabury Hall; 7. Kai Claydon, Lahainaluna; 8. Kainoa Kaiwi, Hana; 9. Slater Fleck, Maui Prep.
Bodyboard–1. George Rocha, Lahainaluna; 2. Kai Claydon, Lahainaluna; 3. Jefferson Tabon, Maui High; 4. Marcus Hauen-Limkilde, King Kekaulike; 5. Itai Holland, King Kekaulike; 6. Tyler Kirby, Maui Prep; 7. Daniel Gifford, Baldwin; 8. Timo Grupenhoff, Seabury Hall; 9. James Johnson, Lahainaluna.
GIRLS
Team–1. Maui Prep 3,972, 2. Maui High 3,897, 3. King Kekaulike 3,562, 4. Baldwin 2,938, 5. Lahainaluna 2,470, 6. Kamehameha Maui 2,017, 7. Hana 1,054, 8. Haleakala Waldorf 533, 9. Seabury Hall 263.
Shortboard–1. Ellie Brown, King Kekaulike; 2. Tamryn Taoka, Maui High; 3. Madison Runyon, Lahainaluna; 4. Kayalani Mullen, King Kekaulike; 5. Chloe Domingo, Maui High; 6. Lily Ahrnsbrak, Maui High; 7. Jenna Boggs, Baldwin; 8. Kaila Kaaihue, Baldwin; 9. Zoe Gonzales, Maui Prep.
Bodyboard–1. Ashley Nielson, Maui Prep; 2. Kayalani Mullen, King Kekaulike; 3. Zoe Gonzales, Maui Prep; 4. Lily Ahrnsbrak, Maui High; 5. Jordan Houglum, Maui Prep; 6. Clara Asay, Hana; 7. Kaila Kaaihue, Baldwin; 8. Jenna Boggs, Baldwin; 9. Lucia Valdez, King Kekaulike.
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