Jake Davis
Jake Davis aka "The Bull" is coming up through the ranks and is really turning heads in the line up. His brother is phenom Luke Davis and this has not daunted him one bit, in fact it has inspired him to push his own envelope. His approach is that of a wrecking ball. He goes out, catches good waves, and demolished them.
He finished the 2008/09 NSSA Open Season ratings in 2nd, and recently placed 4th in the NSSA Nationals in the Open Boys Division. He has been to the North Shore numerous times and thrives in the bigger surf especially for a young lad (12 years old). Another main reason for his progression is he is a surf maniac. If there is any surf he will surf for hours. If it is 6' foot at Lowers he will surf all day.
He is not the quiet shy type, just the opposite. He is somewhat brash which translates to a belief in his ability, which in turn translates into having a competitive edge. Jake Davis is a classic gremmie and is as about as fired up as they come. If you see a toe headed kid flying down the line calling you off at Lowers,it's a good bet that it is Jake.
The surf proved to be challenging for the O'Neill
Surfing America Prime presented by Got Milk surf event held at Upper Trestles
this past weekend, however it did not hold back O'Neill surfers from rising to
the occasion and putting on a great display of performance surfing. Luke Davis
was on a tear all weekend leading the pack in the men's 18 and under division.
His surfing was flawless, Davis put on an clinic with unleashing aerials and
reverses at will. Unfortunately for him in the final he found himself to deep
in the line-up and wasn't able to find the link up section on the inside. His
3rd place finish was a solid result and affirms his position as one of the best
under 18 surfers on the West Coast.
Younger brother Jake Davis also put his stamp on the
event by placing 3rd in the under 14 division. On his way to the finals he
racked up some great waves, surfing with power beyond his years asserting
himself as one of the standouts in his category. Also other standout performers where Ian Crane in the
Men's 18 and under reaching the semi finals, Jasset Umbel semis berth in the
girls 18 and under, and Colton Ward reaching the semi finals in the 14 and
under.
This is the 4th event of the season with the finals
ending up at Lower Trestles in June.
For full results go to www.surfingamerica.org
Event number 8 in the NSSA Open Season schedule went off this weekend in Ventura with some of the biggest California Street the event has had in its long history. Solid 6-8' foot surf pumped its way through the point this weekend offering the competitors epic surf to test their skills in.
San Clemente's Colton Ward won his first ever NSSA Open Season Boys final in the double overhead surf. It was a great accomplishment for the 12 year old goofy foot, considering he has been chipping away making several finals this year and now has finally captured the 1st place prize. What makes the win that much sweeter is it was in large challenging surf and didn't come down to groveling in small meager surf. He accomplished his goal by seizing the best waves of the final and laying down big carves on his backhand. Coming in the runner up position was Capo Beach's Jake Davis who was hot on Colton's heels to the very end, but narrowly lost in a few very tense moments to close out the final. With thirty seconds remaining and Colton in the lead Jake managed to grab a buzzer beater, but in the end it wasn't enough and big cheers where in hand for Colton's maiden win.
O'Neill team riders seized three of the top spots in the Boys 6 man final, with Colton Ward in first, Jake Davis in second, and Thelen Mckinna in third.
In the Juniors division we saw Ian Crane back in form after missing the first 7 events due to an injury he sustained last summer. He made quick work of the long beautiful walls displaying his powerful backside carves on many set waves. He reached the semi finals, which is a solid effort to make his way back into competition.
Other O'Neill highlights were Newbury Park's Jake Kelley,San Clemente's Josh Giddings and Shaw Kobayashi catching some amazing rides in the perfect surf.
The next NSSA event will be held at Salt Creek February 6-7.
The NSSA Nationals finished up and O'Neill once again made it's presence known. Coming in top honors and winning the Explorer Women's Division was Kauai's Malia Manuel who also had double efforts by placing 3rd in Open Women's Division. San Clemente's 10 year-old Kei Kobayashi remarkably won the Mini-Grom 10 and under division. Other highlights was Capo Beach's Jake Davis who placed 4th in the Open Boys Division. Also going on nice runs were Luke Davis reaching the semi's in the Open Men's division while San Clemenete's Ian Crane reached the Quarterfinals in the Open Juniors and Open Men's divisions. We also saw Maui's Dylan Walsh reach the quarterfinals in the Open Juniors division and surf a succession of brilliant heats.
Malia Manuel was set to win the finals posting a 10 and 8.75 in her second round and dominated all her heat coming away from her heats with over 15.00 point totals. She unfortunately fell slightly short in the Open Women's final by not able to secure a good back up. Despite that, she was clearly the girl to beat and had a great showing and set definitely the bar from heat one. The net result was she came away with the NSSA National Explorer Title and is still only 15 years old.
Aside from the 6 days of competition there was plenty of fun to be had with Barbeque's, guitar hero play-offs, and the usual shenanigans that comes with baking in the California sun in June. The NSSA Nationals has a new bar that was set with the progression of surfing which is getting more radical and polished every year.
The NSSA calendar is complete. Now is the time where the surfers can look back and see where they have improved and can set their sights for next year.