Lara Claydon and Scotty Fong took top honors at the 30th annual Ole Longboard Classic, Saturday at Launiupoko Park.

Claydon and Fong won the two biggest divisions, the Open Women and Open Men, with 30 and 36 competitors, respectively. More than 200 entries in 15 divisions were treated to a rising south swell that produced head-high waves.

For Claydon it was a redemption year. She had finished runner-up the past three years to Tasha Jahrmarkrt, who was eliminated in the semi-finals.

“I was actually supposed to go to a contest, and fly out that day (of the fire),” said the 24-year-old. “We weren’t able to get to the airport, and we ended up having to evacuate up north to Nāpili and we were up there for a few nights. It’s been a lot of trauma we kind of walked through and walked through as a community. To win here and to win it for my family and community is really special.”

Claydon has been entering the contest since she was six years old, and her family had a lot of Ole hardware as her brother, Kai, and father, Andy, were multiple former place-winners. “We lost all of our Ole trophies and medals. This is starting from scratch, it’s really special to start from scratch with a win.”

The fire prompted Claydon to relocate to California. “Lahaina is so special to me I didn’t want to leave. The fire kind of got me off the island. We got displaced to Haʻikū and after that I was looking to start somewhere new for a season. I ended up getting an amazing job opportunity in February.”

Fong, a Haʻikū resident, ended Mau Ah Hee’s two-year reign as open men’s champion. Ah Hee, a five-time winner, placed second and won the 30-39 division.

“It was amazing, super stoked on winning,” Fong said. “I’m not much of a logger so to finally get on a log and to compete with these guys was an honor. I usually don’t ride the single fin so trying to transition to a single fin was a whole new ball game for me. It was fun, like learning how to surf all over again.”

The waves were firing for the 15-minute final. It was the highest scoring of the 62 heats that were run. Ah Hee, Alika Apo, Eric Casco, Jonah Dayoan, and Hans Vandervoort were all in contention until the final flurry.

The lead changed hands until Fong caught the last wave of the heat. The 43-year-old airline pilot was rewarded with a perfect 10 that sealed his victory.

Fong described his perfect ride: “The wave before Alika had a nice one, and I said ‘Go, go for it,’ and Alika said, ‘You sure?’ ‘Yeah, it’s all you, it’s all you.’ And I thought that was the last one. Then when he went, I looked over and there was one more, and I was like ‘Alright, I got one.’ I get good vibes for giving away a wave.”

“When I got that one, I held it pretty long,”” Fong recalled. “I was pretty happy on that. I just stayed right there, pretty good 10, 5 all the way then shot the gap. So it was a pretty lucky wave.”

Bella Kuailani repeated as the junior women’s champion while her brother Kanoa won the junior boy’s division. Other champions included Sebastian Ariel Bianchi (junior men), Cash Hoover (junior girls), Taryn DeCoite (Aunties), Brixton Craig (menehune), Reilly McCook (19-29), Eric Casco (40-49), Marco Molina (50-59), Chris Walsh (60-69), Harry Timmins (70 and over), and Travis Alexander (Ole board).

Results

Men

Open

1. Scotty Fong 18.87
2. Mau Ah Hee 16.83
3. Alika Apo 16.10
4. Eric Casco 15.17
5. Jonah Dayoan 14.17
6. Hans Vandervoort 13.53

Junior Boys

1. Kanoa Kuailani 14.17
2. Owen Everett 12.00
3. Luca Damasco 11.88
4. Taj Craig 10.67
5. Julian Libitsky 9.66
6. Gavin Sewell 2.83

Junior Men

1. Sebastian Ariel Bianchi 14.83
2. Kaiea Mullalley 11.83
3. Noah Haas 9.00
4. Ayden Truong 8.63
5. Jack Souza 7.83
6. Rexford Ang 6.34

Women

Open

1. Lara Claydon 13.34
2. Cash Hoover 12.78
3. Kyra Duldulao 11.40
4. Bella Kuailani 8.94
5. Mikaela Woodward 7.34
6. Tisha Paet 5.26

Junior Girls

1. Cash Hoover 14.50
2. Indy Forbes 10.17
3. Ayla Daian 9.83
4. Briana Strubhar 9.40
5. Stella Pogni 6.57
6. Zoey Offergeld 5.90

Junior Women

1. Bella Kuailani 15.47
2. Imani Caserta 14.10
3. Graye Smith 13.77
4. Gianna Pogni 10.08
5. Faith Lennox 9.60
6. Magnolia Padgett 6.50

Aunties

1. Taryn DeCoite 12.18
2. Kristen Payne 11.83
3. Mahea Ah Hee 11.64
4. Tisha Paet 11.33
5. Titi Vargos 11.07
6. Yuki Knight 10.57

Mixed

Menehune

1. Brixton Craig 12.66
2. Madison Cambier 11.00
3. Kalli Sprenger 8.83
4. Lucia de Castro 8.00
5. Knox Payne 6.17
6. Peata Lee-Hubin 3.50

19-29

1. Reilly McCook 13.93
2. Lara Claydon 13.77
3. Kailer Jones 13.67
4. Miles Serafica 12.67
5. Tasha Jahrmarkt 10.30
6. Bailey Sato 8.67

30-39

1. Mau Ah Hee 14.93
2. Kevin Neal 13.24
3. Jonah Dayoan 12.84
4. Joey Mattos 1..87
5. Alika Apo 8.17
6. Jansen Balberdi 5.50

40-49

1. Eric Casco 16.33
2. Scotty Fong 16.33
3. Jacob Ramey 13.10
4. Jaya Critchlow 12.53
5. Keli Everett 11.67
6. Cade Duldulao 10.77

50-59

1. Marco Molina 15.47
2. Ken Goring 15.36
3. Kent Apo 11.83
4. Andy Claydon 9.94
5. Marcy Martin 9.60
6. Jeff Zamora 8.70

60-69

1. Chris Walsh 10.67
2. Donn Mitsuyuki 10.4
3. David Wilson 8.40
4. Hass Jahrmarkt 8.40
5. Paull Kimmel 7.83

70 and over

1. Harry Timmins 12.00
2. Barry Brown 11.24
3. Jeff Lackey 9.84
4. Snake Ah Hee 7.16

Ole Board

1. Travis Alexander 14.83
2. Ken Goring 11.66
3. Jaya Critchlow 10.80
4. Sebastian Ariel Bianchi 9.83
5. Joe Barone 9.60
6. Harry Timmins 8.00