Hawaii surfer Honolua Blomfield emerged ahead of the pack, winning the GWM Sydney Surf Pro WLT longboard event on Monday at Manly Beach, Australia.
Blomfield, who resides in Haleiwa, beat Brazil’s Chloe Calmon in the event’s final round. Blomfield surfed 12 waves, scoring 6.60 on her eighth ride and 6.27 on her 11th to finish with a score of 12.87. Calmon finished with a score of 12.06 (5.83 and 6.23).
Earlier in the day, Blomfield punched her ticket to the finals with a semifinal win over American Soleil Errico (13.37 to 12.90).
On the men’s side of the longboard event, Kalihi native Kaniela Stewart scored 16.73 on 8.00 and 8.73 rides, but fell to the UK’s Ben Skinner, who scored 17.70 (9.07 and 8.63) in the semifinal.
In the Challenger Series, Kauai’s Keala Tomoda-Bannert was eliminated in the women’s semifinals by Portugal’s Teresa Bonvalot. Tomoda-Bannert scored 12.74 (6.07 and 6.67), while Bonvalot scored 13.07 (5.70 and 7.37).
In the men’s quarterfinals, Kona native Brodi Sale scored 12.70 (6.17, 6.53), falling to Indonesian Rio Waida in the first heat. Waida scored 14.83 (6.83, 8.00) to advance. Maui’s Imaikalani deVault fell to Australian Ryan Callinan in heat three of the quarterfinals. deVault’s score of 17.07 (7.90, 9.17) would have netted him a victory in any other heat, but Callinan scored a quarterfinal-best 18.23 (9.50, 8.73).
UH Hilo’s Gallagher gets region honor
Hawaii Hilo’s Joseph Gallagher was named to the second team as the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association announced its All-West Region teams, which featured selections from the Pacific West Conference, Great Northwest Athletic Conference and California Collegiate Athletic Association.
A graduate transfer from Hawaii Pacific, Gallagher was named as a designated hitter. He made an immediate impact for the Vulcans, slugging .549 and driving in 39 runs. He batted .348 with 17 multi-hit games, including a season-best five hits against his old squad. Gallagher finished the season with 57 hits, 13 doubles, one triple and six home runs, which tied a team high.
Honolulu’s Justice Yamashita, who plays for Saint Martin’s, earned honorable mention.
