Nat Brings Home a National Title
In a showdown of insane talent and down-to-the-wire intensity, Nat Young won the Open Men’s Governor Cup Champion, winning his first national title and bringing the gold back to the west coast.
The final heat of Open’s Men’s was stacked, showcasing the top amateur’s in the nation. Granger Larsen, the heavily favored, killed it all week with his fast and powerful surfing. Kalohe Andino and Tanner Hendrickson rounded out the talent pool.
Out of the gate, Nat caught a set wave on his backside, slashing his way down the line, getting vertical to score a 9.5. The round was punctuated with set waves followed by 4-5 nail-biting lulls, where competitors had no opportunity to improve their scores. Granger surfed a solid two waves in the first 10 minutes, leading with two 8’s.
Nat caught a second wave, again, getting vertical and throwing tail. Nat scored an 8 and slid into first with four minutes to go. The conditions bonked, and a five-minute lull turned Trestles into a lake until the buzzer.
The crowd went bananas, swarming the waterline, to congratulate Nat. Friends shook energy drinks to spray, parents hugged Rosie, and camera flashes were like lightning. Nat was carried on shoulders over to the announcer stand by friends, while the entire beach swarmed him for high fives.
Last night, at the awards banquet, Nat thanked mom, Rosie, for all the support, garnering a huge applause for all the Rosie fans out there. Nat took home a check for $5,000 and tons of street cred in the surf world.
Lil’ Fella, Koa Smith took home two first place trophies that were easily as tall as him for Open Boys and Explorer Menehune. Koa scored the only perfect 10 at the NSSA Chamionships. Koa was Koa at the National’s Banquet, wearing a floor-length cheetah jacket and thanking his cat “roundpigking” in his acceptance speech.
Monyca Byrne-Wickey placed 2nd in Explorer Women’s, Kai Barger landed 2nd in Explorer Juniors, and Evan Gieselman placed 2nd in Open juniors with Andrew Doheny taking home the gold.
