Kaua‘i’s Kyle Ramey and Jesse Merle-Jones won their heats yesterday and 10 Hawai‘i surfers are still surfing strong at the Go211 LIVE Honda U.S. Open of Surfing at Huntington Beach, Calif. Surfing the 3- to 4-foot waves, Ramey, of Po‘ipu,
Kaua‘i’s Kyle Ramey and Jesse Merle-Jones won their heats yesterday and 10 Hawai‘i surfers are still surfing strong at the Go211 LIVE Honda U.S. Open of Surfing at Huntington Beach, Calif.
Surfing the 3- to 4-foot waves, Ramey, of Po‘ipu, won Heat 17 of Round 2, with a score of 15.70, edging out Roy Powers of Hanalei (14.50). Powers still advances to the next round with his second-place finish.
Kilauea’s Jesse Merle-Jones won his heat yesterday over an international field. Merle-Jones (15.17) defeated Florida’s Gabe Kling (14.43), New Zealand’s Jay Quinn (14.34) and fellow Hawai‘i surfer Gavin Beschen (9.80).
Maui’s Kevin Sullivan, Ian Walsh and Kieran Horn were the other Hawai‘i surfers to win their heats. Others who are still in the competition are Ola Eleogram, Torry Meister, Kiron Jabour and Dusty Payne.
Meister, of Kona, was involved in one of the more exciting heats of the day yesterday, surfing against Brazil’s Jadson Andre (see full story on today’s Surf page on B2.) Both scored consistently high scores battling out for the lead.
Hawai‘i’s Tonino Benson and Casey Brown also competed yesterday, but did not finish in the top two of their heats and therefore did not qualify for the next rounds.
Hawai‘i’s Megan Abubo of Hale‘iwa and Melanie Bartel’s of Makaha remain in the U.S. Women’s Open, also at Huntington Beach. That competition should see three rounds of surfing going off today.
