ATLANTIC CITY — The Ocean City High School surf team won the National Scholastic Surfing Association state championship Oct. 29 at Vermont Avenue in Atlantic City, taking home the Joe Keenan High School Championship Award.
Coach Nate Garza said teams compete all day long, with individuals scoring points based on placement in their heats. Each heat has six surfers, with three advancing to the next heat. The semifinals involve two heats of four people and the top four compete in the final.
There are three divisions: boys, girls and longboard.
Garza said OCHS had two surfers — James Carr of Sea Isle (third) and Ethan Dunn of Ocean City (fourth) — compete in the finals and that all eight surfers in the boys division made it to the semifinal round.
Garza said the NSSA contests are among the rare platforms in which surfers compete as a team, creating that sense of supporting something larger than themselves.
“It gives them the opportunity to be part of a team, rooting for each other,” he said. “In every other contest you’re alone.”
OCHS won the team title in the boys division, followed by Manasquan and Wall Township in third.
“I am overjoyed with the way they competed throughout the day and in the final,” Garza said.
Other surfers competing were Mitch Zappone of Margate and Cooper Lysinger of Ocean City.
Lysinger made the semifinals in the boys division and was second overall in longboard for the second year in a row.
“He surfed double heats throughout the day,” Garza said.
Brynn Gallagher won the overall girls division and fellow city resident Sophia Whelan was second.
This is Garza’s second year in charge after taking over for longtime coach Mark Miedema.
“Taking over the team has been quite surreal,” he said. “The kids work very hard, practice every day, rain or shine, waves, no waves.”
Garza said that while he was astonished by the team victory, he was very confident going into the contest.
“Manasquan deserves credit; they’re a very tough team to beat, skilled, well-coached,” Garza said. “Wall as well has a lot of good talent. I told all of the kids leading up to the contest that competition is always going to be difficult, they are always going to have good surfers coming out of those schools, but they are as good and as long as they surf the way they know how, they have a chance.”
Garza said the event was moved permanently to Atlantic City after being hosted by the previous year’s winner for many years, which meant Manasquan since that team had won the prior nine years in a row.
Garza said NSSA Director Randy Townsend made the call to move the event last year and use it as the official NSSA Northeast Championship site.
“Atlantic City’s a good spot,” Garza said, noting vehicles are permitted on the beach and there is plenty of parking in the area. It’s also a neutral site since Atlantic City High School does not have a team and somewhat centrally located between Long Island, N.Y., and Cape May.
Perhaps the most important factor, however, is it works well in all tides, Garza said, noting contests generally last from 8 a.m. to after 4 p.m. through all phases of tides.
By CRAIG D. SCHENCK/Sentinel staff