The first three days of the four-day competition were held at The Hook, and it was local favorites Santa Cruz High and Aptos High that came through the early rounds to advance to Thursday’s regional finals at Pleasure Point.  In the final game Aptos High won the toss and sent Santa Cruz into the water first.  Santa Cruz got off to a good early start, posting a respectable 21.1 in the top of the first period.  Aptos High’s decision to surf second proved a great one when they hit the water and were greeted with very solid set waves to take the lead with a score of 23.8.

But the tables turned dramatically in the second period with Santa Cruz surfers posting some huge scores, led by a massive 9.1 by Shaun Burns.  Aptos High really struggled to find waves in the bottom of the second period, even having to use two timeouts while waiting for some set waves to roll through.  Yet the waves never came, and with a low score of 18.4 for the period, their early lead turned in to a 4.1 point deficit going into the final period.

The game was now Santa Cruz’s to win, but when they didn’t post a score higher that a 7 in their final period they left the door slightly open for Aptos High, who could take the win if they could do better than a 23.7.  The ocean was not particularly kind early in the bottom of the final period and after the opening set of waves, Aptos had solid scores but were still trailing.  With 6min 55sec remaining in the final, Aptos High Coach Miske called a timeout and the wait for a good set of waves was on.  The timeout proved a great decision when Sophomore Noah Wegrich caught the wave of the day and posted a near perfect 9.6 ride to slam the door shut and take the Santa Cruz Regional Championships with 1min 59sec to go.

“I was really very proud of the team today, not just for winning but how they did it,” said Aptos High Coach Kevin Miske. “They showed real character to come from behind after a tough second period, and they worked really hard to fight their way back into the game when the pressure was on and win.”

“The coach just said he wanted at least sixes from all of us, so I just wanted to at least get that, then this wave just held up nice for me and gave me chance to put up a good score,” said MVP and game winner Noah Wegrich.  “It felt really good, but I didn’t expect a 9.6 though!”

Most Valuable Player – Noah Wegrich, Aptos High

Most Radical Maneuver – Shaun Burns, Santa Cruz High

Photo Gallery

VIDEO

It was exciting to be there! We have had great success with The Games in Santa Cruz and the surfers take it very seriously. A pretty interesting dynamic, but it’s not fun unless it’s serious.

It warms my heart to see all the local pros like Rat Boy, Matt Rockhold, Joey Hudson, Homer Henard, Tyler Fox, Kyle Buthman, and Pete Mel coaching the kids. Basically all Santa Cruz Stormriders, helping seed the future talent pool up north.

It’s great to see the kids fired up on competing in “The Game” format. It is also cool to have an all pro staff: Shaun Burrell runs the show, on top of commentating Omar Etcheverry organized all the teams and brought out the judges: Peter Garaway, Bud Freitas, Austin Smith Ford, TJ Mikus, and Matt Myers. Zach Keenan directs, Jeremy Sherwin as Referee.

I also got to see my old pal Adam Replogle rooting for the underdog Aptos. It was great to be around such a great group of surfers who showed pride in their teams and were competitive and stoked to be there.

Highlights for me were:

-Noah Wegrich 9.6 in the bottom of 3rd period to win the Red Bull Riders Cup Santa Cruz Regional Championships. He was visibly stoked. It would be fun to be a fly on the wall the next day at school while his friends were talking about how clutch he was and what a rad surfer he is etc…
-Seeing all my friends who rip up there helping the kids.
-Austin Smith Ford’s brutal and hilarious commentary.
-Shaun Burns surfing.
-Tyler Moorish surfing.
-Late night fun with Red Bull, Alli, and NSL staff Wed night.
-Fun waves and great weather.
-Eating at Aloha Grill. Thanks Timmy!
-And just as many girls at the Championship Game as guys! Let’s face it, it’s lot more fun to watch a sporting event with girls around cheering!

Good luck to Aptos High School in the Championships at Upper Trestles June 6-7!

Special Thanks:
Timmy from Aloha Grill,
Atul and Mandy from Alli
Dante Giuliano and his crew, Kieran Horn for letting me borrow his board.
Kim Clary from The Core, Small talk Steve (SOS)

So long Santa Cruz, See you all next year.

Red Bull and the National Surf League are kicking off the 4th annual Red Bull Riders Cup at the Hook and Pleasure Point in Santa Cruz, Ca. March 16-19, 2009. 

The schools are fired up with Harbor High looking to avenge their close loss to Soquel High School in last years regional final.  With previous experience under their belt, Aptos and Scotts Valley High will be ready with fresh Game strategies. 

"We’re fired up," said Santa Cruz High head coach Joe Hudson who is looking to regain respect after a shocking overtime loss in the first round last year.  "The team has been practicing hard and we’re gunning for the title."  

The winner of the Santa Cruz Regional will advance to the National Championships June 6-7 at Upper Trestles.

Daily Schedule and Match-Ups

DOWNLOAD:

2009 Red Bull Riders Cup Tournament Bracket

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In competitive games throughout the week, Soquel High School was crowned the Santa Cruz regional champions.  The final game on Thursday between Soquel High School and Harbor High School brought big crowds in an action packed game. ‘The kids have fun, it’s all about the camaraderie in and out of the water,’ says Harbor High School coach Neil Pearlberg.  

Soquel High will now move on the the Red Bull Riders Cup National Championships June 13-15 at San Onofre Trail 6.

The third annual Red Bull Riders Cup, formally known as Red Bull High School Cup, will take the game to South Florida April 15-17.

Santa Cruz Game #1  
Aptos High  52.87
Scotts Valley High 44.05 
Most Valuable Player – Brandon Barnes, Aptos High
Most Radical Maneuver – Aaron Godfrey, Aptos High

 
Santa Cruz Game #2        
Soquel High School  70.99 ^    
Santa Cruz High School  69.5    
Most Valuable Player   – Jason Hdez, Soquel High School
Most Radical Maneuver – Ashton Madely, Soquel High School

Santa Cruz Game #3     
Harbor High School  56 ^   
Aptos High School  53.7     Most Valuable Player – Bjorn Temple, Harbor High School
Most Radical Maneuver – Cheyne Pearson, Harbor High School

Santa Cruz Game #4-Finals 
Harbor High School  53.7   
Soquel High School  54.6^

Most Radical Maneuver – Aston Madely

Most Valuable Player – Ashton Madely

Photo Gallery

 PLEASURE POINT — In the dying minutes of regulation, Cheyne Pearson managed to conjure up a nice little ride from a stingy ocean, and Harbor High defeated Aptos 56-53.7 with three minutes, 58 seconds remaining in the semifinals of the Red Bull Riders Cup Santa Cruz regional.  

Pearson led all surfers in Wednesday’s game at the Hook with a total individual score of 17.2, followed closely by teammate Bjorn Temple who netted a total of 16 points. Aptos was led by Brandon Barnes with 15.7.

"We had Cheyne Pearson go big for us," said pro surfer and Harbor coach Homer Henard. "I’m stoked on my surfers. They all rose to the occasion and did what they needed to do. Hats off to all the groms from Harbor."

Harbor will face Soquel in the Santa Cruz regional final at 4 p.m. today at Pleasure Point.

The winner will qualify for the RBRC national finals in San Onofre, June 13-15, and the chance to be crowned the best high school surf team in the country.

The Knights, led by game MVP Jason Hdez, defeated Santa Cruz 70.99-69.5 in a dramatic semifinal that was decided in overtime Tuesday. It was the first overtime game in RBRC history.

Coming off a 52.87-44.05 victory over Scotts Valley on Monday in the opening round of the tournament, Aptos was feeling confident heading into their semifinal match. Harbor was seeded into the semifinals by virtue of its current first-place ranking in the Interscholastic Surfing Federation.

With an already small and fading northwest swell struggling to push any waves bigger than waist high [on the grom scale] around the Hook, it was clear that the winning team would be the one who managed to capitalize on the few surfable waves that rolled through. 

After winning the coin toss, Aptos elected to surf first. Although the Mariners had no way of knowing it, this decision proved to be a crucial mistake.

Rideable waves were few and far between as the ocean went almost completely flat for Aptos in the top of the first period. The Mariners struggled to simply get each of their four surfers any type of wave score. 

The ocean smiled upon Harbor, though, when a rare set of four good waves rolled through right as the horn sounded for the beginning of their half of the first period.

Temple ripped the best wave of the heat all the way to the inside, linking multiple carving turns and lip bashes for an 8.2, the highest single-wave score of the day. The rest of the Pirates followed suit and the team finished the first period with a combined 23.9, the highest-scoring period by any team in the Santa Cruz regional thus far. At the end of first, Harbor enjoyed a solid 23.9 to 15.4 lead over the Mariners.

"We liked starting second because it gave us time to get in rhythm with the sets," Henard said. "We had a nice set of waves roll through right at the beginning of our half of the first. Our use of timeouts was also critical due to how small the waves were today."

The pattern continued into the second period, with Aptos suffering from lack of waves and having to burn timeouts. Meanwhile, Harbor used its timeouts wisely, waiting out flat spells and getting solid scores from all four surfers. At the end of two, the Pirates were riding a 13.6 point lead.

"This thing is probably going to end early," game manager Shaun Burrell said at that time. "[Aptos] would have to surf an almost perfect round just to catch back up."

But the Mariners refused to go away quietly, despite their poor luck with the sets. They fired back with a solid 7.2 from Barnes and a pair of 6.3s from Aaron Godfrey and Noah Wegrich. Aptos racked up 23.6 points in the top half of the third period to reclaim the lead.

Harbor then entered the water in the bottom of the third and final period down 43.7-53.7, and needing anything above 10 points to win the match.

"We had a very slim lead," Aptos’ celebrity surf coach Tyler Fox said. "We were praying for no waves, but they got just enough for what they needed. Once again, it came down to who got the waves in their heat."

Harbor opened with a short ride by Cody Frank for a 3.3, followed by a couple small scores of 1.5. With no waves coming through and still down by six, Harbor decided to use its last timeout with 6:30 left. With time running out and Harbor still in need of 2.8 points to take the win, Pearson got the wave he needed. He sped down the line and linked together two solid cracks off the lip. The Pirates’ dugout erupted and the judges awarded Pearson with a 4.0, sealing the victory.

"I knew I needed a 3.2 and I was going to get it any way I could," Pearson said. "When I managed to get those two turns in I was really relieved."

In addition to riding the winning wave of the game, Pearson was awarded Most Radical Maneuver for his tailslide 360 early in the game. Temple was named the game’s MVP for his total individual score of 16 and timely wave scores.

"It feels good," Temple said. "I just got lucky and got the wave of the [first] heat. Our strategy was just to try and get all around points. It’s a lot easier to get 5s all around instead of just two 7s." 

For more surfing coverage, check out Leo Maxam’s blog at www.santacruzlive.com/blogs/surf.