Turnout Record Set In 13th Annual Surf Tournament

OCEAN CITY – Malibu’s Surf Shop on 8th Street in Ocean City transformed its 13th annual surfing tournament into an all out surf party on Saturday June 30.

Malibu’s owner Lee Gerachis along with Ocean City locals Chris Hazard, Doug Brown, Jeff Jester and Evan Hunt were grilling up free food for all of the competitors and their families on the front porch of Malibu’s until 2 p.m.. Then local rock group Lower Class Citizens took over the entire porch and started jamming out with a free Boardwalk concert in front for tens of thousands of vacationers.

This year’s Malibu’s Classic had the largest turnout in its 13-year history with more than 200 competitors. An early morning downpour caused a delay and forced the organizers to cancel the Open Shortbaord division, but all of the 22 other surfing divisions were able to be completed just before nightfall.

For the third contest in a row, ESA All-Star and Malibu’s team rider Vince Boulanger of Ocean City, MD won the Mens Shortboard division. Gatey Dawkins and Josh Merritt once again returned from Chincoteague to dominate their divisions, while Sam Deeley of Berlin outsurfed 15 other competitors and took first place in the Menehune division. Kelcey Bodolus of Berlin won the Jr. Womens division and former ESA All-Star Jenn Abrams of Seaford took the Womens division.

Keeping with the party theme, all of the prizes were raffled off to competitors instead of only going to the finalists. Rachel Harrell of Ocean View, Del. had her name drawn for the top prize of a highly coveted, brand new surfboard from Malibu’s well-stocked boardroom. Harrell also managed to win the Girls Shortboard and Womens Longboard divisions.

The next Delmarva ESA event is the K-Coast Grom Bash on July 21 at 35th Street in Ocean City. Anyone interested in competing can enter on the beach between 7 and 8 a.m. the morning of the event. Call the toll-free contest info-line at 1-888-632-4742 for the latest contest update and location. Check out the Eastern Surfing Association Delmarva District’s web-site at www.DelmarvaESA.org for more information and to view a schedule of upcoming events.

Here’s a look at the results from last weekend’s events. Division winners are listed first followed by the other top finishers.

(BULLET)Menehune Shortboard (boys/girls 11 & under): Sam Deeley, Shane Moore, Noah Vaxmonsky, Noah Conboy, Myles Deppe and Patrick Ruppert.

(BULLET)Girls Shortboard (14 & under): Rachel Harrell, Emily Ruppert, Kelly Lynn Powell and Jenna Landon.

(BULLET)Boys Shortboard (12-14): Brady Dashiell, Avery Sieg, Caleb Buchler, Spencer Ashton, Austin Deppe and Brad Flora.

(BULLET)Jr. Men Shortboard (15-17): Roy Harrell, Joey Boulanger, Matt Meinhardt, Travis Knight, Jake Buchler and Kyle Harman.

(BULLET)Jr. Women Shortboard (15-17): Kelcey Bodolus, Caitlin Whalan, Meegan Smith and Mackenzie White.

(BULLET)Men Shortboard (18-24): Vince Boulanger, Michael Lawson, Zach Hogan, Tim Preziosi, Ian Tilghman and George Vitak.

(BULLET)Women Shortboard (18-29): Jenn Abrams, Chelsea Remines, Kelsey Willison, Kate Bassett, Hannah Preziosi and Ami Reist.

(BULLET)Masters Shortboard (25-34): Gatey Dawkins, Fletcher Birch, Chris Makibbin, Adam Antes, Rhett Cherivtch and Omar Perez.

(BULLET)Ladies Shortboard (30+): Danielle Ariano and Bonnie Preziosi.

(BULLET)Sr. Men Shortboard (35-44): Art Baltrotsky, Chris Vaxmonsky, Craig Garfield, JD Moore, Chris Shanahan and Keith White.

(BULLET)Grand Masters Shortboard (45-54): Chris Tilghman, Mark Bodolus and Jon Ashton.

(BULLET)Legends Shortboard (55-64): Josh Merritt and Bill Helmuth.

(BULLET)Grand Legends Shortboard (65+): Bryant Hungerford.

(BULLET)Menehune Bodyboard (boys/girls 14 & under): Caleb Buchler, Spencer Ashton, Zachary Mitchell, Brad Flora, Michael Murray and Ryder Lahr .

(BULLET)Open Bodyboard (all ages): Avery Harrison, Jake Lahr, Caleb Buchler, Nick Leonard, Dillon Harrington and Jake Buchler.

(BULLET)Menehune Longboard (boys/girls 14 & under): Brady Dashiell, Spencer Ashton, Rachel Harrell, Jeffrey Kidwell, Sam Deeley and RJ Smith.

(BULLET)Jr. Longboard (15-17): Justin Weismiller, Aviad Sasi, Roy Harrell, Jake Buchler, Travis Knight and Tanner Jennings.

(BULLET)Men’s Longboard (18-34): Wyatt Harrison, Ian Tilghman, Michael Lawson, Chris Makibbin, Vince Boulanger and Bobby Frey.

(BULLET)Women’s Longboard (29 & under): Rachel Harrell, Kelcey Bodolus, Chelsea Remines, Kate Bassett and Hannah Preziosi.

(BULLET)Ladies Longboard (30+): Bonnie Preziosi and Pat Gentry.

(BULLET)Masters Longboard (35-49): Art Baltrotsky, Chris Tilghman, Chris Vaxmonsky, Chris Shanahan, Mark Bodolus and Keith White.

(BULLET)Legends Longboard (50+): Josh Merritt, Bill Helmuth, Jon Ashton and Bryant Hungerford.