California teenager wins Vans Pro at East Coast Surfing Championships; local nabs fourth in longboard pro event
Surfing can’t have a standard field of play, so the sport must ride the will of the waves.
It makes for hectic tournaments, like the Coastal Edge East Coast Surfing Championships, where start times can shift by hours and, in this case, a full day.
The finals of the Vans Pro, a marquee competition that returned for the first time since 2019, and the Bob Holland Memorial Longboard Pro were moved up to Saturday from Sunday.
Organizers scrambled, and the event’s Facebook page didn’t post the new schedule until an hour before surfing began Saturday.
Jett Schilling, a 19-year-old from San Clemente, California, topped Owen Moss of Wilmington, North Carolina, to win the Vans Pro, which used a head-to-head format. The event is part of the World Surf League’s Qualifying Series, where surfers earn points toward qualifying for the Championship Tour.
Alyssa Spencer, a 20-year-old from Carlsbad, California, knocked off Sawyer Lindblad in the women’s final for her seventh WSL win on the East Coast.
Gavin Idone of Cocoa Beach, Florida, won the Bob Holland Memorial crown with a 13.87 in the final. Scores combined the contestants’ top two waves.
North Carolina’s Ty Roach posted a 7.10 on his second wave of the day for an early lead before Idone threw down a 7.20 on his fifth wave to go along with an earlier 6.67. Dylan Hord of Huntington Beach, California, finished third (10.87) and local Dorian Costa placed fourth (10.80).
The ECSC wrapped up its 60th year Sunday with a slew of younger age-group competitions in shortboard, bodyboard and longboard alongside an open military division.
The weeklong festivities included the Association of Volleyball Professionals returning with the Virginia Beach Open and high-profile concerts, including The Offspring and Ava Max.
Ray Nimmo, ray.nimmo@pilotonline.com
