As if to keep everyone on their toes, the last wave tabulated at the 2010 NSSA East Coast Championships was also the most pivotal, as Garden City Beach, SC’s, Cole Richards shocked himself and everyone on the beach by pulling off a massive upset of NSSA golden boy Evan Geiselman in the marquee Open Men’s final. Evan, who had already cruised to convincing Explorer Juniors and Airshow victories, was the heavy favorite in Open Men’s as well, going up against the powerful attack of Richards, the spot-on fundamentals of Southern North Carolina’s Nick Rupp, and the snappy grom maneuvering of fellow Smyrnan Noah Schweizer.

Geiselman jumped out to a quick lead with three frontside smacks for a 7.33 and a buttery frontside air reverse for a 6.23, and although Schweizer sat too far to the south, perhaps deferring to his hometown friend, Rupp and Richards kept battling back with technically sound bottom turns, critical pocket snaps, and a workman-like approach overshadowed by Evan’s above-the-lip finesse. With five minutes remaining in the final, Richards needed a 6.40 and Rupp a 6.99 to unseat Geiselman, but the wily ASP Pro Junior veteran shadowed Cole and Nick around the lineup, preventing either of them from catching a scoreable wave. As a rainstorm loomed offshore and the beach cleared out in anticipation of the awards ceremony, Richards finally scratched into an unimpeded right with 10 seconds left in the heat, bashing three of his trademark frontside power hacks to secure the first NSSA title of his career, in the most cherished division of the contest, against the East Coast’s best under-18 surfer.

“I spent a long hour waiting for this result,” Richards laughed in between huge grins after the awards ceremony. “It could have gone either way, because Evan and I went back and forth all comp. I won a heat, he won a heat, we tied for a heat. But this win is huge for me. It’s my first title in my last NSSA East Coast Champs ever. What could be better?”

For Geiselman, even a division win in Explorer Juniors and $500 for acing the NSSA Airshow couldn’t make up for a painful last-minute loss in Open Men’s. “I’ve got 15 [regional NSSA titles] now, and it felt good to get two more today, but I’m disappointed, too,” he said. “I really don’t have much else to say.”Another fresh rivalry flared between dominant New York wahine Quincy Davis and fast-rising Central Florida surfer Nikki Viesins. Quincy’s no stranger to the NSSA winner’s podium, but Nikki has steadily worked her way up from the bottom of the Explorer Girls heat sheet and gave Davis all she could handle in three divisions this year. Quincy won Explorer Girls 12.97 – 12.67 over Nikki, Viesins flipped the script to win 15.00 – 13.46 in Explorer Women’s, and in deteriorating conditions for the Open Women’s final, the two wahine wonders went back and forth until the final buzzer, with Quincy coming out on top 12.57 – 11.4. The two 14-year-olds have undergone recent growth spurts, but both showed added power and increased commitment on a wide variety of turns — and with four-plus years of NSSA eligibility left, expect a long-running relationship to form between these two female leading lights.

FINAL RESULTS OF THE 2010 NSSA EAST COAST CHAMPIONSHIPS