King Kekaulike boys, Maui Christian girls claim titles at MIL surf season opener

The King Kekaulike boys and Maui Christian Academy girls claimed team titles at the season-opening Maui Interscholastic League surf competition Saturday at D.T. Fleming Beach Park.

Chase Burnes secured the boys’ final heat to lead King Kekaulike to a narrow 55-54 victory over Kīhei Charter. Seabury Hall and Maui Christian tied for third with 45 points.

Trailing by one point heading into the Boys No. 2 final, Burnes, a junior, took an early lead by catching two scoring rights. Kīhei Charter freshman Aidan Haas, sitting way left, responded with the heat’s highest-scoring wave to put the pressure on Burnes, who then secured his victory with a left-breaking wave.

Burnes later said he had no idea he had to beat Haas to pull out the win. “I wasn’t really keeping track of the point system, but I’m glad I didn’t because it would have made me more nervous,” he said. “I’m glad that we took it out, and we’re on top, and [I’m] honored to represent King K.”

Teiva Keomaniboth added to King Kekaulike’s success by edging out Noah Haas, Aidan’s older brother, in the Boys No. 3 final by 0.03 points. Other King Kekaulike scorers included Kingston Panebianco (fourth in Boys No. 1), Kanoa Kuailani (second in Boys No. 4) and Ian Pegoraro (fourth in Boys No. 5).

In the tightly contested Boys No. 1 final, Maui Christian junior Angel Jardine edged Seabury Hall’s Kahlil Pineres-Schooley and Maui Prep’s Zolten Poulsen by just 0.1 points. Pineres-Schooley, a freshman, is a two-time national age group winner, while Poulsen, a junior, is the defending MIL individual champion.

“That was a really nail-biting heat for sure,” Jardine said. “The waves were all right, but I was just trying to look for the best waves. I feel like we have a strong team this year, and I’m stoked for this season.”

The Maui Christian girls captured their first MIL team win, edging Maui Prep 58-54. In just their second season, the Eagles secured victory with strong performances from Mikaia Barnes (first in Girls No. 3), Talia Sloan (first in Girls No. 4) and Sophia Bunch (first in Girls No. 5). Other key contributors included Thayane Colpas (fifth in Girls No. 1) and Lila Sloan (second in Girls No. 2).

“Oh God, they just they did so well,” said head coach Dana Anderson, a former women’s windsurfing world champion. “They’re so excited. They’ve been training hard, so proud of them. Mikaia never surfed here before, and then she won. She was nervous, but she did great and the snap that she made was pretty impressive.”

Bunch, who surfed as the No. 3 all last season, said she doesn’t mind surfing No. 5. “Our girls are so good and our coaches have even said, ‘we don’t even know where to put the girls because you guys are all so close.’ We have a full stacked girls team this year, and I think all of our girls are really fired up.”

“The waves were definitely a little tricky,” added Bunch, “but I know if you got the right one, then you would get a good score. I only caught two waves and I somehow won.”

The next MIL surf meet is scheduled for March 29 at Kahului Harbor, with Ho‘okipa Beach Park as the alternate site.

Results

Boys Team Standings

1. King Kekaulike – 55
2. Kīhei Charter – 54
3. (tie) Maui Christian Academy – 45
   Seabury Hall – 45
4. Maui Prep – 44
5. Baldwin – 40
6. Hāna – 34
7. Kamehameha – 31
8. Kūlanihākoʻi – 14
9. Lahainaluna – 6
10. Maui High – 4

Boys Individual Results

No. 1 Final:

1. Angel Jardine, Maui Christian – 12.53
2. Kahlil Pineres-Schooley, Seabury Hall – 12.44
3. Zolten Poulsen, Maui Prep – 12.43
4. Kingston Panebianco, King Kekaulike – 10.83
5. Kanoa Gaffney, Hāna – 10.47
6. Duke Stanton, Baldwin – 9.30

No. 2 Final:

1. Chase Burnes, King Kekaulike – 13.00
2. Aidan Haas, Kīhei Charter – 12.33
3. Keano Jardine, Maui Christian – 11.63
4. Blake Gebb, Seabury Hall – 11.27
5. Rex Ang, Baldwin – 10.60
6. Ezra Offergeld, Maui Prep – 9.83

No. 3 Final:

1. Teiva Keomaniboth, King Kekaulike – 12.27
2. Noah Haas, Kīhei Charter – 12.23
3. Desmond Connelly, Seabury Hall – 9.63
4. Noah Dvorak, Seabury Hall 8.27
5. Huy Vu, Baldwin 8.20
6. T.J. Hehemann, Maui Prep 7.07

No. 4 Final:

1. Jayden Craig, Kīhei Charter 15.50
2. Kanoa Kuailani, King Kekaulike 12.60
3. Makaiah Clark, Maui Prep 10.40
4. Ayden Truong, Baldwin 9.83
5. Maxwell Aaron, Hāna 7.00
6. Mikaia Sakuma, Kamehameha 5.07

No. 5 Final:

1. Ozzi Reyes, Kīhei Charter 12.13
2. Sage Ryden, Seabury Hall 10.83
3. Noah Richard, Maui Prep 9.90
4. Ian Pegoraro, King Kekaulike 8.66
5. Dylan Moiina, Baldwin 8.63
6. Jack Hill, Maui Christian 5.10

Girls Team Standings

1. Maui Christian Academy – 58
2. Maui Preparatory Academy – 54
3. King Kekaulike – 46
4. Kūlanihākoʻi – 38
5. Haleakalā Waldorf – 33
6. Baldwin – 32
7. Seabury Hall – 31
8. Lahainaluna – 28
9. Kīhei Charter – 21
10. Maui High – 7
11. Kamehameha – 6

Girls Individual Results

No. 1 Final:

1. Sloane Jucker, Maui Prep – 11.40
2. Chrislyn Simpson-Kane, King Kekaulike – 9.90
3. Ruby Littleton-Fleck, Kūlanihākoʻi – 7.50
4. Gianna Pogni, Lahainaluna – 5.90
5. Thayanne Colpas, Maui Christian – 5.83
6. Peyton Prouty, Seabury Hall – 5.00

No. 2 Final:

1. Ayla Daian, King Kekaulike – 11.80
2. Lila Sloan, Maui Christian – 10.00
3. Imani Caserta, Maui Prep – 9.30
4. Makena Heustis, Haleakalā Waldorf – 7.33
5. Layla James, Kīhei Charter – 5.50
6. Alexa Johnson, Kūlanihākoʻi – 5.10

No. 3 Final:

1. Mikaia Barnes, Maui Christian – 12.63
2. Bella Kuailani, King Kekaulike – 12.34
3. Zoey Offergeld, Maui Prep – 9.40
4. Zenara Dattola, Kīhei Charter – 8.50
5. Talei Laury-Schaefer, Haleakalā Waldorf – 7.66
6. Marley Shea-Apolo, Baldwin – 5.97

No. 4 Final:

1. Talia Sloan, Maui Christian – 10.10
2. Scout Smith, Maui Prep – 7.96
3. Maddison Hughes, Haleakalā Waldorf – 4.83
4. Gisele Miller, Lahainaluna – 3.67
5. Hana Freet, Seabury Hall – 2.50
6. Sammie Citrawireja, Baldwin – 0.00

No. 5 Final:

1. Sophia Bunch, Maui Christian – 8.64
2. Kaja Przeciechowska, King Kekaulike – 7.44
3. Alyssa Condrey, Maui Prep – 5.83
4. Bella Molina, Kūlanihākoʻi – 5.07
5. Isabella Salamone, Haleakalā Waldorf – 3.50
6. Ginger Hill, Maui High – 1.50