MIL Surfing Championship Results

Sloane Jucker, of Maui Prep,  defended her Maui Interscholastic League shortboard title, while Chase Burnes defeated a couple of former MIL champions to win his first boy’s shortboard crown, at the MIL Surf Championship Saturday at Hoʻokipa Beach Park.

The meet acted as the MIL qualifier for the first ever Hawaiʻi High School Activities Association State Surfing Championship which will be held at the same site on May 1 and 2. Competitors were treated to a rainless day and clean surf that gradually picked up to the head-high range for the afternoon heats.

Sloane, a Lahaina senior, handed Ocean Lipstein her first shortboard loss of the season. Last year, Jucker went undefeated, while this season Lipstein, a Lahainaluna freshman, had beaten her in the three previous MIL contests.

Jucker was trailing Lipstein over halfway through the 20-minute final, when she caught a set-wave, and did a big turn and then hit a breaking section and did what one judge described as a “high speed floater” down the face of the wave. It produced the highest score of the heat, a 7.93.

“It was kind of like a close-out wave,” Jucker said.  “I am really glad I was able to pull it off. It felt pretty good. I felt I might as well go for it. I know I needed a wave. I knew that one wasn’t going to be it unless I did something big.”

“For sure, this season hasn’t been as good as my last one. But I won when it counted the most. I’m excited to go to states in longboard too. I am pumped to surf with a new group of people.”

Burnes put an end to Zolten Poulsen’s winning streak. Like Lipstein, Poulsen had won the boys shortboard in the three previous MIL meets. Poulsen, who was MIL champion two years ago, placed second. Angel Jardine, of Maui Christian, the defending champion, placed fifth.

Burnes was sitting in fourth place when, “A wave went wide and I chased it down.  My first two turns were all right, not too bad, but I knew if I was going to get a good score on this one, I had to do something good. I tried to blow the tail on the third turn, I didn’t reverse it because I wanted to make one more turn.” His completed blow tail maneuver combined with the three other turns gave him a score of 8.17, the highest score in any the final heats.

“It’s my first win of the year, I’ve been so close.” Burnes claimed the difference was his new 5-foot, nine-inch surfboard.  “First time riding it was today, my first heat this morning. It worked well through the whole contest.”

Lipstein led all MIL qualifiers by qualifying in all three disciplines. She won the bodyboard, and was second in shortboard and longboard. She surfed a total of eight heats throughout the day, over two hours of competitive surfing.

Lipstein admitted to being a little tired after her final heat, but she is looking forward to competing in three events at states. “I surf every day and we do physical training three times a week.”

Poulsen won the longboard for the third straight contest. “Like I said before, longboarding is just fun to go out there with my friends and it’s not quite as eggy. It’s just fun and I’m stoked to win, of course.”

Poulsen, a senior, is the leader of a Maui Prep team that is in commanding position to win the MIL boy’s team title at Lahaina Harbor in two weeks. The winning boys and girls team will qualify their whole team for state.

“We’re feeling pretty good,” Poulsen said. “We’ve been doing pretty solid. I think we can get it done.”

The other MIL individual champions were Rex Ang, of Baldwin, in boy’s bodyboard, and Lila Sloan, of Maui Christian, in girl’s longboard.

King Kekaulike is leading Lahainaluna by one point going into the final girl’s MIL event on April 25 at Lahaina Harbor.. Maui Christian Academy and Maui Prep are also in the girl’s title hunt, trailing Na Ali’i by three points. In the boys division, Maui Prep is leading Kīhei Charter by eight points.

The MIL boys and girls team champions will each send their full complement of surfers; three short-boarders, two long boarders, and a bodyboarder. 

Boys Results

Shortboard

1. Chase Burnes, King Kekaulike 15.34*
2. Zolten Poulsen, Maui Prep 14.37*
3. Kahlil Pineres-Schooley, Seabury Hall  11.70*
4. Memphis Brown, Haleakalā Waldorf 10.80*
5. Angel Jardine, Maui Christian 9.14*
6. Ozzie Reyes, King Kekaulike 5.96*

Longboard

1. Zolten Poulsen, Maui Prep 14.50*
2. Bode Davis, Kūlanihākoʻi  10.54*
3. Sebastian Bianchi, King Kekaulike 10.10*
4. Chase Lee, Lahainaluna 8.83*
5. Seth Jucker, Maui Prep 6.73
6. Kahlil Pineres-Schooley,  6.17

Bodyboard

1. Rex Ang, Baldwin 13.40*
2. Makoa Kapuniai, King Kekaulike 12.00*
3. Levi Stoddart, Lahainaluna 9.50
4. Jayden Hottenstein, Haleakalā Waldorf 9.27
5. Akira Thayer, Seabury Hall 6.03
6. Miki Przeciechowski, Kīhei Charter 5.10

Girls results

Shortboard

1. Sloane Jucker 14.00*
2. Ocean Lipstein, Lahainaluna 11.34*
3. Lila Sloan, Maui Christian 10.67*
4. Kaja Przeciechowska, King Kekaulike 9.63*
5. Mikaia Barnes, King Kekaulike 8.64*
6. Thayane Colpas, Maui Christian 7.33*
7. Peyton Prouty, Seabury Hall 4.37*

Girls Longboard

1. Lila Sloan, Maui Christian 9.73*
2. Ocean Lipstein, Lahainaluna 8.66*
3. Zoey Offergeld, Maui Prep 8.20*
4. Sloane Jucker, Maui Prep 8.10*
5. Gianna Pogni, Lahainaluna 7.20
6. Thayane Colpas, Maui Christian 6.30

Girls Bodyboard

1. Ocean Lipstein, Lahainaluna 12.00*
2. Hiʻipoi Starbuck, Kamehameha Maui 8.37*
3. Maddie Hughes, King Kekaulike 6.47*
4. Kili Smith, Kīhei Charter 4.84
5. Ava Herren, Baldwin 4.83
6. Kailani Smith, Seabury Hall 4.50

*denotes state qualifier