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Photos, story and captions by Dick “Mez” Meseroll @mezapixels
FREEZING, FROTHING AND THREE DAYS OF FULL-ON CHARGING BY ALL !
Sunday morning Finals Day for the Mid-Atlantic Regionals at Jennette’s 2024 Pier, Nags Head, NC. Can you say firing !?
Day one, Friday : It was a chilly, blustery “dry nor’easter” kind of day at Jennette’s Pier in Nags Head, NC for the first day on the ESA’s Mid-Atlantic Regional Championships. No real precipitation thank God but the wind cut through to your bones like a cold steel knife.
How cold and gnarly windy was day one? If Surf Dreams Phil “@bellyslater” Jackson is wrapping himself up in a serape blanket while working the mic then it’s flippin’ cold !
How cold was it? When contest point man and co-announcer Phil Jackson – the man who wears shorts all year long – is bundled up and using a truck stop serape blanket to wrap around his exposed legs, you know it ain’t warm y’all ! But the show went on, we conquered Mother Natures meteorological curve ball, nobody got frostbite, big scores were dropped on some amazing rides and champions were crowned.
Chris Costa, Legends. 40-59 winner from SSC throwing down one of the power lip carves of the entire contest. He may be a “Legend” ( code word for you are not a kid anymore ) but he surfed much younger than his designated division indicates.
All those who surfed heats this day along with the support staff should get Purple Hearts for turning purple in the difficult, un-releting conditions.
Chris Costa, Legends 40-59 winner proving age is just a number.
Day two, Saturday : Slightly improved weather – somebody needs to explain to us scaffold denizens why it’s 20 degrees cooler than down on the beach some day – made comp life a little less harsh as proper cold weather attire was donned by all but the still chilly weather was with us and everyone soldiered on.
It wasn’t Winter any more calendar-wise but it definitely felt like it on Friday. The judging panel layered up and gritting it out.
Another long day of single beaching went on without nary a hitch and in a super efficient style. The Youth Divisions were amped as usual with still freezing conditions be damned and were tearing the bag out of it start to finish trying to get to Sundays finals rounds therefore punching their ticket to Easterns if they did.
Virginia’s Asher Craft copped 5th in the Boys 12-13 and epitomized how hard charging these bantam weight mini groms were all event long in oft times challenging conditions.
Day three, Sunday : It all came together beautifully Sunday for the last day of the ESA Mid-Atlantic Regional Championships at Jennette’s Pier in Nags Head, NC.
Jennette’s Pier and the Outer Banks came through yet again for Regionals.
Perfect Spring weather was coupled with much warmer temperatures, perfect 3-4 + waves kissed and groomed by 10-15 mph. west / southwest winds and a pack of frothing groms going off on shortboards and longboards for a slew of finals heats.
Story Martinez, Womens Open Longboard winner.
Nothing was left on the aqueous playing field by these young lions and lioness’s who earned their way to the Big Show right back here in September for the ESA’s 2024 Championships. Thank you one and all – support staff, sponsors, surfers and their respective families and friends – for all your help and stoke through three long days of competition. See you in Ocean City, MD for third and final Regionals on the road to Easterns this coming September right here at Jennette’s ! -Mez –
Girls U-11 winner, Estorya “Story” Martinez is as promising a female talent we’ve seen in recent years on both short and longboards.
Story with her Ironwoman award to go along with her wins in the Womens Open Longboard and Girls U-11 divisions.
ESA Executive Director, Michelle Sommers welcomed LiveHeats creator / owner-operator, Chris Friend who travelled all the way from Australia watch his game changer app at work wih the worlds oldest and longest running amateur competition organization. LiveHeats is nothing less than brilliant and the Regionals was super stoked to have him hang with us.
The Family Barley of nearby Buxton NC with ( l-r ) shredder dad Brett, sister Malia, mom Casey and head of the clan, grandad Jimbo Barley enjoying Masen’s first ESA Regionals victory in the U-11 division. We’re pretty certain it will be far from his last.
Family tradition. Masen Barley’s full rail carve looking awfully familiar.
The contest support staff are the unsung heroes of any ESA event. They load in and load out all the equipment, judge a zillion heats, entertain the public on the beach and online commentating nearly non-stop all day, tabulating, retrieving and handing out jersey’s, filming for the live feed, hoisting the heat flags, and facilitating too many other things to numerous list here that keeps the machine rolling smoothly start to finish. Take a bow y’all, you certainly deserve it!
Skylar Steinmetz Girls 14-15 winner carving her way to victory during the final.
Girls 14-15 winner Skylar Steinmetz from the Mid Atlantic region powerhouse that is the SSC district.
Cash Souter, Boys 12-13. winner has the fundamental bottom turn down cold as shown here during his prelim heat #4 win netting a combined 14.73 score in some very tricky conditions.
The born and bred Outer Banks groms are coming and they are coming hard. Local shredder Cash Souter, one of the Pride Of Hatteras Island’s rising gom brigade, handily won of the hotly contested Boys 12-13 division and is at the tip of the OBX youth movement spear. Watch out surfing world,, these kids are going to be a force.
Thomas Meekins sealed the deal for Mens Open Shortboard with a close, paper thin win over fellow local Cash Souter pictured above. How close was it ? How about Taylor finishing with a 10.33 versus Cash’s 10.30 combined score respectively. Coolest thing about the heat? Seeing Cash high five his buddy with a huge smile on his face looking genuinely stoked for Meekins huge victory that was determined by fractions of a point. These kids are definitely alright and it’s going to be amazing watching them go at it over the next years.
Tom gets the chair from his buds including his beaming brother, Taylor.
Charlie Guss was one more turn like this away on this Pier bowl right from taking out an on fire Chris Costa in the Legends dogfight racking up a 9.57 combined score but falling to Costa’s 11.27.
Mako Musilunas, power carving during an Open Shortboard pre-lim for which he eventually finaled for a more than respectable fourth place in that final.
Junior Men’s winner, Mako Musilunas not too tired to smile after his marathon, three day run of heats at the 2024 MARSC.
Mako Mesilunas, Mens Open Longboard and Juniors Shortboard winner, has come a long, long way from his mini grom, body boarding shore break days several years ago. Kids dominating!
( L-R ) Ironman winner Hartley De Pass with Junior Ironman Award winner, Mako Musilunas stoked on winning a Tom Dugan photo wall hanger by Plakthat.
Mako Musilunas grabs some solid tip time en-route to the Open Longboard win.
Jesse Heter from SNC, your Mens Longboard ( 18-39 ) winner and the Best ‘Stache Award.
With his running back-like frame Jesse is definitely a power house in the water.
Sisters In Arms. Junior Womans Longboard 14-17 finalists ( L-R )Whitney Gwisc ( third ), Skylar Steinmetz (second ), Georgia Brown ( first ) and Rayna Perez ( fourth ).
How good was finals day Sunday? This damn good.
Thomas Meekins younger brother,Taylor Meekins is another key member of the Outer Banks grom crew and added another trophy to the Meekins family at the mantle by winning the uber competative Boys 14-16 division.
Taylor’s finishing turn securing the win.
The always inimitable announcer and hardcore Philadelphia sports fan, Travis Ajay ( right ) shares the mic with longtime ESA competitor, Harley De Pass . Harley did a great job with his color commentary between both Mens 18-39 and Open and Longboard divisions as well as the Mens 18-39 shortboards taking out the Ironman Award for his indefatigable efforts in the water and keeping up with Travis.
Noah Costa, Boys 14-15 finalist, ripped some impressive turns during the event but came up just a tad short of first place with a 12.27 to winner, Taylor Meekins 13.60 total score. Grom definitely left an impression with some of the tracks he laid down.
