DP SURF

Noah Albrecht London Almida Ragan Berg Myles Biggs Riley Branom Noah Brown Cannon Carr

Dana Hills High School Surf Team Ryann Daly Gus Day Alex Economos Nicole Economos Ryder Fish Tyrone Fomenko Elijah Fox Groms Away! s a proving ground for up and com- ing surfers, our tri-city area has A long been responsible for turning out some of the world’s best young Alex Guild Cole Houshmand Bella Kenworthy athletes and all-around good citizens. Loyal Cash Kenworthy Kei Kobayashi Riley Kraatz Throughout the year we recognize our Groms of the Week with a photo and story highlighting their talents, ambitions and accomplishments. So here’s a look back at the groms of 2015 and the bright future they represent for the sport of . —Andrea Swayne Carson Kropfl Cole Lambert Taj Lindblad Joey Madison Dane Matson Kade Matson

San Clemente High Bryce Mattox Ezra McPhillips Makayla Moss Ethan Mudge Patrick O’Connor Bryce Pinkerton Conrad Rojas School Surf Team

San Juan Hills High Jett Schilling, School Surf Team Jett Schilling Rasmus & Kyuss King Samantha Sibley Carter Sieverts Chandler Sieverts Kevin Skvarna Cole Stephens

Know someone who deserves to be Grom of the Week in 2016? Send suggestions Surfing America Surfing America to aswayne@ danapointtimes.com Charlie Stevens Prime Boys U14 Prime Girls U16 Kaimana Takayama Reef Tsutsui Colt Ward Kingston Watts Grom of the Year: Rachael Tilly BY ANDREA SWAYNE, DANA POINT TIMES Jeep Women’s World Longboard Champion- as many competition opportunities as achael Tilly, 17, of Capistrano ship in China, Rachael became the youngest she could find in 2015. She surfed for the Beach, set out in 2015 with some- WSL/ASP world champion ever. San Clemente High School surf team and R thing to prove. As an already It was her third time qualifying for the returned to the Western Surfing Association accomplished longboard surfer on the event. After failing to advance out of prelimi- Championship Tour events to continually verge of leaving her grom years behind, nary rounds on her first two attempts, the test herself under pressure, she said. Rachael began training for one last shot months leading up to the Her hard work actually paid off twofold, at realizing her dream of becoming the were spent taking everything she’d learned, having also won the national title (her youngest professional women’s longboard re-doubling her efforts and focusing on second, having won in 2013 as well) at the world champion in history. And with grit, developing a world-class competition strategy, WSL North America Women’s Longboard Rachael Tilly is chaired up the beach Tuesday in China determination and a renewed commitment including better wave selection and patience. Championships in November and then rid- after winning the WSL 2015 Jeep Women’s World to competition surfing, she succeeded. With so few pro longboard events offered ing her wave of momentum to be crowned Longboard Championship. Photo: WSL/Hain On Dec. 8, at the 2015 each year, Rachael had also decided to take the world’s top woman longboarder. DP

Dana Point Times January 1-7, 2016 Page 18 www.danapointtimes.com