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HUNTINGTON BEACH, California (Sunday, January 18, 2009) – The Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) North America hosted the first event of the 2009 ASP World Qualifying Series (WQS) season this week with the O’Neill Sebastian Inlet Pro pres. by Ron Jon. The event saw reigning ASP WQS champion Nathaniel Curran (Oxnard, CA), 24, take out the event in an action packed final over Aaron Cormican (New Smyrna Beach, FL), 26, Blake Jones (Melbourne Beach, FL), 20, and Cory Lopez (Laguana Niguel, CA), 31. Aside from the obviously impressive performances donated by the event finalists, there were several other surfers who were standouts throughout the event.
The ASP WQS is a qualifier for the ASP World Tour, with the top 15 competitors on the series earning their chance to claim a title the following year.
Jesse Heilman (New Smyrna Beach, FL), 22, earned some of the event’s highest scores, including the highest single wave score of an 8.83 out of 10 until he was topped by Jones’ 9.63 score in the Semifinals of the event. The young Floridian defeated San Clemente standout Jason Miller (San Clemente, CA), 22, and Brian Toth (Isabella, PRI), 21, on the way to his Quarterfinals finish and was definitely one to watch throughout the event.
“It builds my confidence to make it through a couple of heats,” Heilman said. “It was good going against the top seeds with a few heats under my belt.”
Heilman, who spent several of his amateur years at Sebastian Inlet, put his knowledge of the famed Florida break to good use on the way to his 13th place finish.
“It’s pretty much a classic Sebastian contest day,” Heilman said. “When I began competing in amateur events the conditions would always be all north wind and nasty, so I’m pretty used to it. I’d rather have it be like this, than one-foot and everyone fighting for waves. It’s definitely just you and the ocean out there.”
Oliver Kurtz (Vero Beach, FL), 18, started in the opening round of competition and earned a respectable 17th place finish overall. The Sebastian Inlet local boasted notable results throughout the event’s entirety and topped regional standouts Chris Waring (Seal Beach, CA), 21, and Travis Mellem (San Clemente, CA), 23.
Brent Reilly (Carlsbad, CA), 18, also began in the opening round of competition at the O’Neill Sebastian Inlet Pro and battled his way into the Quarterfinals, posting an impressive ninth place finish overall. Reilly defeated ASP WQS veteran Asher Nolan (Jacksonville, FL), 30, on the way to his impressive result.
The 2009 ASP WQS season will continue with the ASP WQS 2-Star Copa Movistar pres. by Ripcurl and Samsung in San Bartolo, Peru from January 23-25, 2009.
For all of your ASP information log on to www.aspworldtour.com or www.aspnorthamerica.org
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