Rising to the top ... once again

Mike Sciacca

So, Lance Armstrong wins his seventh Tour de France.

On the same weekend, and on the other side of the world, Bill

Bryan continued a dynasty of his own.

The Laguna Beach resident rode his way to another title,

maneuvering his way through some rough surf and tough competition to

win the Pro Division at the Animal World Championships of

Skimboarding at Aliso Beach.

It was the 12th world title for the 32-year-old Bryan.

“He’s just incredible out there,” said Tex Haines, owner of

Victoria Skimboards in Laguna Beach. “That was a very talented group

in the Pro final.”

Bryan is a team rider for Victoria Skimboard, which hosted the

29th annual contest.

Bryan beat out Koty Lopez, Morgan Just and Brandon Sears in the

Pro Division final.

Bryan and Lopez advanced out of heat No. 1 in the semifinal round,

a heat which also included Grady Archbold, and Just and Sears

advanced out of semifinal heat No. 2 against Jaime Lovett.

One-hundred and sixty competitors entered the contest and came

from the USA, Australia, Chile, Canada, Costa Rica, France and Japan.

Competition was held in both Pro and Amateur divisions, with

nearly 50 of the 160 competitors vying for the Pro title.

“We have a great depth of competition in Pro field this year, and

you can see some amateurs who will be knocking on the pro door in the

future,” Haines said. “What’s also nice is that we have some good

waves here today. I start breathing easier when the waves pick up.”

Laguna Beach athletes broke through to win six divisions in the

Amateur competition: Shonna Cobb in girls’ 15-and-Over; Jake Smith in

boys’ 8-and-Under; Blair Conklin in boys’ 9-11; Sam Stinnett in boys’

12-14; Ryah Arthur in boys’ 15-17 and Ron Pringle in 40-and-Over.

The highest Amateur finishes by foreign competitors were turned in

by Hiroshi Homma of Japan (25-29) and Gaz Murrell of Australia

(40-and-Over), each of whom finished in fourth-place in their

respective divisions.

Matthieu Thibaud, 22, of Pornichet, France, competed at the event

for the first time.

Thibaud, a university student who is doing a summer internship at

Victoria Skimboards, finished third in his heat.

“I’m very impressed with what a big show this is,” he said. “The

Pros are amazing, and I’m motivated to come back and try again next

year.”

Final standings

Pro Division: 1. Bill Bryan; 2. Koty Lopez; 3. Morgan Just; 4.

Brandon Sears; 5. Grady Archbold; 6. Jaime Lovett; 7. Nick Hernandez;

8. Sam Ferguson; 9. Paulo Prietto; 10. Keith Fowler.

Amateur divisions

Girls

15-and-Over: 1. Shonna Cobb, 21, Laguna Beach; 2. Caitlyn Weir,

17, Dewey Beach, DE.; Pamela Simpson, 30, Laguna Beach; 4. Kristina

Graf, 15, La Jolla.

14-and-Under: 1. Ashleigh Smith, 13, Newport Beach

Boys

8-and-Under: 1. Jake Smith, 8, Laguna Beach; 2. Harrison Kirkman,

8, Laguna Beach; 3. Jeremiah Sheldon, 7, Newport Beach; 4. Noah

Olsen, 7, Laguna Beach.

9-11 Division: 1. Blair Conklin, 10, Laguna Beach; 2. Dereck

Marolf, 11, Laguna Beach; 3. Wyatt Kirkland, 11, Laguna Beach; 4.

Cole Armstrong, 10, Laguna Beach.

12-14 Division: 1. Sam Stinnett, 13, South Laguna Beach; 2. Teddy

Vlasis, 12, Laguna Beach; 3. Tim Fulton, 14, South Laguna Beach; 4.

Henry Ward, 13, Laguna Beach.

15-17 Division: 1. Ryah Arthur, 17, Laguna Beach; 2. Tyler

Stanaland, 15, Laguna Beach; 3. E.J. Sanico, 17, Laguna Beach; 4.

Calvin Sloan, 17, Los Angeles.

18-21 Division: 1. Steve Taylor, 21, Lake Forest; 2. Kyle

Thoreson, 18, Rancho Santa Margarita; 3. Harley Nelson, 20, Laguna

Beach; 4. Toby Leighman. 19, Cabo San Lucas.

22-24 Division: 1. Erik Paulson, 23, San Juan Capistrano; 2.

Scooter Hayes, 24, Laguna Beach/North Carolina; 3. Ben Wright, 22,

Laguna Beach; 4. Mike Kuester, 22, San Juan Capistrano.

25-29 Division: 1. Paz Derham, 28, Maui, Hawaii; 2. Robert

Salazar, 27, San Diego; 3. Loren Lounsbury, 25, San Diego; 4. Hiroshi

Homma, 28, Japan.

30-39 Division: 1. Anton Flewelling, 30, Jacksonville Beach, Fla.;

2. Sumner Miller, 30, Laguna Beach; 3. Lance Brooks, 33, Balboa

Island; 4. Michael Spencer Taylor.

40-and-Over Division: 1. Ron Pringle, 40, Laguna Beach; 2. David

Montgomery, 41, Oxnard; 3. Kelly Doyle, 41, Thousand Oaks; 4. Gaz

Murrell, 44, Australia.

Other notables:

Youngest competitor: Seldon Doyle, 5

Oldest competitor: Kurt Westguard, 47

Best wipeout: Gaz Murrell

Best barrel: Koty Lopez

Best maneuver: Jaime Lovett, front side sex change grab