Local Stars Shine on Gold Coast

Lindblad finishes second at Boost Mobile Gold Coast Pro; Schilling, Colapinto land in third

BY JAKE HOWARD, SAN CLEMENTE TIMES

As the waves got better every day of the Boost Mobile Gold Coast Pro until they peaked at pure Gold Coast pointbreak perfection, area surfers rose to the occasion and posted some impressive results.

Top among them was San Clemente’s Sawyer Lindblad. Dominant all year long during the WSL’s North American Qualifying Series, she put all the pieces together on the international Challenger Series to make the podium and finish in a very respectable second place.

“It feels really good to make my first Final in the Challenger Series,” Lindblad said after the final. “Obviously, I wanted to win, but it was so fun to surf Snapper with just a few people out, and I’m grateful to compete in this event.”

Lindblad came up short behind Australia’s India Robinson in the final, but both surfers’ results were the biggest of their young careers. And showing poise beyond her years, Lindblad beat perennial world title contender Sally Fitzgibbons, posting an 8.67 single-wave score—the highest score of the day.

Now sitting second in the Challenger Series rankings, Lindblad goes into the rest of the season with a head full of momentum. The top five women at season’s end will qualify for the 2024

Grom Of The Week

Championship Tour.

On the men’s side of the draw, it was the San Clemente duo of Jeff Schilling and Crosby Colapinto finding their rhythm on the flawless Snapper Rocks lines. Schilling, surfing on his backhand, took a fast, spontaneous and energetic act into the water, while regular-footer Colapinto dropped the hammer with powerful rail turns and high-risk hits on the end section.

Inspired and motivated by a whole cadre of San Clemente surfers, hometown hero Kolohe Andino, after losing out early in the event, served as the spiritual leader of the group and relished his role as pit crew chief.

Firing up the next generation, Andino was running up and down the beach hooting and hollering for his crew, getting them water bottles between waves and even threw in a few NFL-esque butt pats for extra spice. Joining him were Cole Houshmand, Kade Matson, as well as Lindblad’s brother Taj.

In the semifinals, Colapinto would fall in a tight one to eventual winner Sammy Pupo of Brazil, while Schilling went down to runner-up Imai DeVault of Hawaii.

Both San Clemente surfers are now knotted at third on the Challenger Series rankings. The top 10 will graduate to the

Marlo Leigh Harris

BY JAKE HOWARD

At the start of the NSSA season, we told you to watch out for Marlo Leigh Harris. The girl is not only dedicated to becoming the best possible surfer she can be, but she leads by example in and out of the water.

All that hard work and commitment paid off big-time at the recent NSSA Southwest Conference Open Season Championships. Topping the podium in two divisions—the Open Girls (under 16) and the Open Super Girls (under 14)—Harris, 13, asserted herself as one of the most dominant up-and-coming stars in Southern California.

“We realize everyone is shooting for the pinnacle of winning a Regional and National Title, but achieving a Conference Championship crown, especially in the hotly contested SW Open divisions is not to be understated,” shared the NSSA on social media. “Winning a season title not only depends on talent and level, it takes commitment, discipline, perseverance and the versatility to perform in any wave Mother Nature throws at you.”

A huge congrats to Marlo on the amazing accomplishments, as well as all the groms who won their respective divisions or just

2024 Championship Tour.

“What an amazing event and an even better start to the Australia leg! This whole week has been incredibly fun,” Colapinto shared on Instagram. “Stoked to start the year with an equal third and to do some good surfing in a jersey. Congrats to Sammy Pupo for taking out the event! Off to Narrabeen tomorrow to do it all again, let’s ride!”

The next Challenger Series event, the GWM Sydney Surf Pro, starts this week in Sydney, Australia. After that, there’s a month off before things pick up in earnest this summer. Stop No. 3 will take the tour to South Africa before they come home to Huntington Beach for the U.S. Open, which kicks off on July 29.

As they say, there are heaps of surfing left to be done. But for Lindblad, Schil- ling and Colapinto, the success on the Gold Coast marks a brilliant start to the season and gives them all a ton of momentum as they look to make it to surfing’s biggest stage.

They’re all surfing great, appear to have great boards under their feet, and they’ve got to be vibing off all the local support. Let’s keep it going and fire them up for their qualification push. SC

Jake Howard is a local surfer and freelance writer who lives in San Clemente. A former editor at Surfer magazine, The Surfer’s Journal and ESPN, today he writes for several publications, including Picket Fence Media, Surfline and the World Surf League. He also works with philanthropic organizations such as the Surfing Heritage and Culture Center and the Positive Vibe Warriors Foundation.

Surf Forecast

Water Temperature: 60-62 Degrees

Water Visibility:

1-2’’ paddled out and gave it their all. SC

Thursday: A strong shot of SSW swell tops out, putting good spots in head high to several feet overhead surf, (5-7’), while best breaks are well overhead to double overhead, (8-10’). Light southerly winds most of the morning, rise to moderate levels by mid afternoon, then ease by the evening.

If you have a candidate for Grom of the Week, we want to know. Send an email to jakehoward1@gmail.com.

Outlook: SSW swell slowly fades on Friday, for shoulder high to a foot overhead waves, (4-6’) at well exposed spots, as standouts are head high to easily overhead, (5-8’). The trend towards decreasing surf continues through the weekend, with Sunday’s waves mainly running waist to shoulder high, (3-4’). The pattern of light morning winds, rising to low-end moderate onshores in the afternoons, then easing into the evenings prevails Friday through Sunday.