A deserving champion emerged from Sunset Beach on Saturday as Ian Walsh won his second career HIC Pro title. Walsh, a Maui native, was the most dominant competitor of the event and was consistently putting the pressure on his opponents
A deserving champion emerged from Sunset Beach on Saturday as Ian Walsh won his second career HIC Pro title. Walsh, a Maui native, was the most dominant competitor of the event and was consistently putting the pressure on his opponents with big scores each and every heat.
Walsh got off to a quick start with a 9.33 on his first wave of the final. He added a 7.07 on his second ride and etched his name on the HIC trophy for the second time. In only one round did Walsh not finish first and he had the highest two-wave total of the entire third round, quarterfinals, semifinals and, ultimately, in the final heat. He was clearly the most in-form competitor and most comfortable at Sunset, so anyone else taking home the title would not have felt quite as appropriate.
Seven of the eight surfers to reach the semifinals were from Hawaii, including Kauai’s Alex Smith and Kamalei Alexander. Smith had to deal with younger brother Koa in the quarters, but Alex was the one to make it through. It’s his best result of the season and an improvement upon last year’s fourth-round finish at the HIC Pro.
Alexander doesn’t come out for many Qualifying Series events, so the semifinal result is one of his best in some time. He takes an equal seventh place, a couple spots behind Smith’s equal fifth.
Billy Kemper reached the final and took the runner-up position, just ahead of Kaito Kino in third place and Australia’s Jack Robinson in fourth. Hank Gaskell and Olamana Eleogram also reached the semis.
Koa Smith earned a ninth-place finish for his run to the quarters and Kaimana Jaquias and Gavin Gillette each earned 25th for their fourth-round losses.
Despite finals day falling on Halloween, the conditions were much scarier Friday. The huge swell that has been churning through the islands caused a stoppage in action with set wave faces reaching 30 feet and higher, according to the WSL. Organizers decided to call the contest off for the day after completing the fourth round. Things were much more manageable Saturday, which set the stage for the final three rounds.
Now that we’ve turned the page to November, the Triple Crown is only days away. The Reef Hawaiian Pro begins Nov. 12 in Haleiwa to kick things off.
OH, HI TOLEDO: Brazil’s Gabriel Medina had a chance to capture the season points lead by winning the Rip Curl Pro Portugal, but it was countryman Filipe Toledo who took home the hardware with his third contest win of the year. Toledo now sits only 200 points behind leader Mick Fanning with the Billabong Pipe Masters set to determine the 2015 champion.
Medina’s quarterfinal finish bumps him up to fourth, one spot behind Adriano de Souza. The three Brazilians all have a chance to overtake Fanning, who doesn’t have great career results at Pipeline.
They’ll all have some time to think about it with the Pipe Masters, the final leg of the Triple Crown, Dec. 8.
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David Simon can be reached at dsimon@thegardenisland.com.
