Kylie Pulcini, Gavin Idone Jonathan Wallhauser bring surfing titles home to Brevard County
While Taylor Swift has been electrifying stadium audiences on her tour this summer, a couple of Brevard County surfers also were captivating crowds on California beaches, ushering in their own eras of East Coast dominance in an otherwise left coast-dominated sport.
Melbourne's Kylie Pulcini, 15, won two huge national titles to etch her name among the best U.S. amateur surfers of all time, and Cape Canaveral's Gavin Idone, 18, also brought home a pair of national titles in the longboard division, despite being stung by a stingray.
Not to be outdone was an impressive performance by Satellite Beach's Jonathan Wallhauser, who cruised to the National Scholastic Surfing Association (NSSA) national title for collegiate longboarders while competing in his fourth year for the University of Central Florida team.
Just eight years from when she first hopped onto a surfboard at Todd Holland's School of Surf in Cocoa Beach, the 5-foot-4 Pulcini was winning the Rip Curl Grom Search National Final for under-16 girls at Kelly Slater's Surf Ranch in Lemoore, Calif., last month. She then won the under-18 (oldest division) at the USA Surfing's U.S. Championships at the famed Lower Trestles wave break farther west.
"It's definitely a big deal because it's kind of what I strive for, to get that first year of winning a national title," she said.
Making her mark: Caroline Marks win surf event in El Salvador, boosts chances at making Olympics
Pulcini became the first East Coast surfer in nearly a decade to win the USA Prime event, dating back to the storied days of Melbourne Beach's Caroline Marks, who twice swept all four divisions, and going back further to Indialantic's Nikki Viesins.
"My dad had to carry that (Terry McCann Memorial Cup trophy) through the airport; it's probably 20 pounds," laughed Pulcini, a Ron Jon team rider who will be enrolled in 10th grade in the Florida Virtual School when summer ends.
At the man-made wave ranch, where a locomotive chugs along a track to generate enough force to create waves, Pulcini was awe-struck.
"It was my first time, actually, but it's super sick," she said after defeating Eden Walla of San Clemente, Calif., in the final. "It's a pretty hard place to surf unless you're a world-class surfer (who competes in contests) or pay (big money) to practice there.
"I was afraid to miss a wave, but they have people there telling you when to 'paddle, paddle, paddle!' I just didn't want to get too excited and fall. I had a couple of good runs."
At the USA Surfing event, Pulcini won the major division, and that is no easy task, head judge Gordon Lawson said.
"It was really awesome to see her win an event like that," he said. "Lower Trestles is the best venue in North America, and it's the hardest amateur event all year. ... And when she won at the wave pool, it was a big deal, because it was the inaugural (Grom Search) event."
Pulcini said she celebrated with her friends, Remy Todd and Alana Lopez, just "blasting some music, chilled and ate ice cream."
For Holland, a former world title contender on the Association of Surfing Professionals circuit, it was rewarding to see one of his pupils do so well.
"I was so stoked for her, and we're so proud of her," Holland said. "She was calling me before the heats and after her heats. She has the most upbeat, positive attitude of anybody I've ever met."
He said it's "too early" to compare her progress to what Marks had done, "but she's doing really incredible."
Idone, meanwhile, was making some magic of his own on his 9-foot, 4-inch Core Surf longboard, winning the Scholastic division of the NSSA at Dana Point, Calif., and sparking Cocoa Beach Jr./Sr. High to an outstanding second-place showing in the team event. He had won the Open division in 2022 at Huntington Beach.
At the USA Surfing's U.S. Championships, the recent high school graduate won the Junior Longboard title, his third national title in two years.
Now, he is ranked third in North America on the World Qualifying Series, in which just the top two advance to the Challenger Series.
Idone said he's been surfing since age 5, but only switched to longboards five years ago, "something I can do a lot more often here (in Cocoa Beach's wave conditions)" and where he can illustrate his agility and style as well.
He said he couldn't get the customary "chair ride" to the beach after his USA Surfing victory because he had been stung by a stingray on his first wave of the finals.
So, how did he celebrate?
"I surf and fish, all I do with my life," he said.
Marks again a semifinalist
Former Melbourne Beach resident Caroline Marks continued her winning ways on the World Surf League tour, reaching her fourth straight semifinal berth, this time at the Vivo Rio Pro in Brazil (she won the previous event in El Salvador). It solidified her third-place standing behind top-ranked Carissa Moore and Tyler Wright, who eliminated Marks in Rio, with two events remaining before the Final 5 playoff.
The contest marked a tumultuous month on the WSL, which was hit with claims of unfair scoring by at least three Brazilian male surfers in the Surf Ranch Pro, followed by the departure last week of CEO Erik Logan. Cocoa Beach's Kelly Slater did not compete in Rio, citing an illness.
Board shorts
◦ After two early exits on the WSL Challenger Series, Palm City surfer Zoe Benedetto advanced to the round of 32 before bowing out Tuesday in the Ballito Pro contest in South Africa.
◦ The Florida Surf Museum will host a public gathering Friday from 6-10 p.m. to honor members of the Space Coast BoardRiders team, which finished second in the national club event among a group of California teams.
◦ Surfing and live music will be part of Saturday's Central Florida District-Eastern Surf Association contest being held at the north end of Nance Park in Indialantic in front of BB's Beach Bar at the Bleu Beach Resort. Action and festivities run from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.
This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Pulcini, Idone, Wallhauser bring surfing hardware back to Brevard
