Caroline Marks looks for another win at U.S. Open of Surfing

Kanoa Igarashi isn’t the only surfer chasing history this week at the U.S. Open of Surfing, the Huntington Beach local going for an unprecedented third consecutive crown.

Caroline Marks is trying to make history on the women’s side, and so far, so good.

Marks, who grew up in Melbourne Beach, Fla. before moving with her family to San Clemente at age 14, is trying to become the first woman ever to win the U.S. Open after previously winning the U.S. Open Juniors event, which she won twice (2015, ’16).

Thursday morning on the south side of the Huntington Beach Pier, Marks continued her quest, winning her heat in Round 3, defeating Zahli Kelly of Australia and Summer Macedo of Hawaii. She has reached the round of 16 and will surf against Alyssa Spencer of Carlsbad at 7:30 a.m. Saturday morning.

Her heat Thursday started slowly; both Kelly and Macedo had two waves apiece 10 minutes into the 30-minute heat while Marks was still looking for her first. But Marks’ patience paid off as she scored a 6.83 on her first wave, and followed it up with a 6.87 for a two-wave total of 13.70 to win the heat easily.

“I wasn’t too worried because they had really small scores and I knew a set was eventually going to come,” Marks, 17, said. “So I just had to be patient. I definitely didn’t want to take a bad wave and then there’s a set behind it. I felt confident I was going to get a good wave and I knew if I got the best waves out there and surfed them well, I’d be feeling really good. I was just trusting the ocean, it’ll come, it’ll come.”

Marks was the youngest woman ever to qualify for the World Surf League’s Women’s Championship Tour at age 15 in 2017. In her first year on the CT in 2018, she finished ranked No. 7 in the world and was named the rookie of the year.

And this year, she won the very first CT contest of the season at the Gold Coast in Australia and is currently ranked No. 5 in the world with four contests remaining.

“It’s crazy,” she said. “Everyone’s asking, what’s next, what’s next. So it’s nice to sit back and realize what you’ve done and how hard you’ve worked and where you’ve gone. I feel like I’ve had a lot of success this year and I’ve worked super hard for it, so it’s good to see the hard work is paying off.

“I’m just enjoying every moment. The tour is so fun and it goes by so fast. I’m just trying to give myself a chance to enjoy it and cherish every single moment. I’m just having the time of my life right now.”

Winning the U.S. Open would be just another exploit for Marks, who has had plenty of success on the south side of the pier. Besides winning the two Juniors titles, she also reached the semifinals at the U.S. Open last year, losing to eventual champion Courtney Conlogue.

“I love Huntington, I grew up surfing beach breaks in Florida and for some reason I just have a really good vibe with this place, ever since I was really young competing in NSSA and Surfing America,” she said. “It’s just fun to be back here competing at a higher level. I feel this wave suits me really well and I’ve got a really good board right now, I’m really stoked.”

While Marks typically has been the grom in the lineup, her heat against Spencer on Saturday will be the opposite. Carlsbad’s Spencer is another of the young women on the rise, and at 16 finds herself among the final 16 at the U.S. Open, as well as being in the final eight going for a Juniors title.

Spencer advanced through Round 3 with a second-place finish in her heat, barely losing to Conlogue 13.60 to 13.43. Spencer currently ranks No. 12 in the Qualifying Series (QS) needing to get into the top six to qualify for next year’s CT.

“That’s definitely a goal of mine,” Spencer said. “If it happens that’s great, it would definitely be a dream come true for me. But if it doesn’t I still have a couple more years to get that done. I’m just taking it one moment at a time, enjoying where I’m at right now and having fun, and hopefully make a couple more heats in this one.”

Right after winning her heat Thursday, Conlogue had to dry off, clean up and go across to the street to the induction ceremony of the Surfing Walk of Fame, where she was being inducted as the Woman of the Year.

“I’m just very honored and grateful,” Conlogue, 26, said. “I feel I’m still young and I have a lot more to give in my future. Very grateful they’re recognizing all the hard work I’ve put in.”

DUCT TAPE INVITATIONAL

They held the quarterfinals and semifinals of the Duct Tape Invitational on Thursday, the longboard contest featuring 16 competitors in each the men’s and women’s divisions.

Reaching Saturday’s finals heat for the men were Justin Quintal, Troy Mothershead, Andy Nieblas and Kevin Skvarna; and for the women were Honolua Blomfield, Kelis Kaleopaa, Kirra Seale and Haley Otto.