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| Youthful Cougars hold their own By Mark Foyer [ markf@hmbreview.com ] Published/Last Modified on Wednesday, November 25, 2009 4:45 PM PST The new surfing season for the Half Moon Bay High School Surfing Club means plenty of new surfers. Most of last year’s squad has graduated. The lack of experience showed Sunday as the Cougars lost to Santa Cruz 65-55 in the team competition at Waddell Creek. But coach Marty Phelps is hopeful for the future. Peter Lundgard advanced to the semifinals in the boys’ longboard. Jacob Erickson made it to the semifinals in the bodyboard. Hannah Tonnessen advanced to the semifinals in both the shortboard and longboard. Ocean Sterger moved on in the semifinals in the longboard. None made it to the finals. Tonnessen withdrew from the finals as she was coming down with the flu. “She was upset she couldn’t surf,” Phelps said. “But she was starting to get achy and chills. It was a cold and drizzly day. Two other girls had to drop out as well because of illness.” Phelps is looking forward to the rest of the season as he sees the young Cougars getting better with more experience. Half Moon Bay hosts the next meet, Dec. 5, at a beach to be announced. “For a lot of the kids, it was their first meet,” Phelps said. “They are starting to learn how it works.” Being freshmen, Phelps said most of the surfers were intimidated. But that has changed. “The kids held their own,” Phelps said. “They always had their heads up, looking for waves.” Meanwhile, the Half Moon Bay middle school team, made up primarily of students from both Cunha Intermediate and Sea Crest schools, finished third in a competition at Capitola. Kyla Kemp was top placer for the team, finishing third in the girls’ longboard. Jason Cagle was fourth in the boys’s longboard. “Jason has been surfing for only four months,” coach Rocky Raynor said. Sasha Takata was fourth in the women’s shortboard, followed by teammates Helen Fisher and Juliet Shelton. “The girls didn’t expect to do that,” Raynor said. Zander Dragony was sixth in the boys’ shortboard. |