Streets lined with palm trees, firing beach breaks and an abundance of talented shredders, Oceanside Harbour Beach was the perfect place to host the 2025 USA Surfing National Championships. With Southern California's notorious ‘June Gloom’ bringing misty mornings, it was perfect #DryrobeTerritory, too. 

Perched by the North Jetty for 6 days of action-packed surfing, it was an unforgettable week. Not only is this a competition with national titles and ISA world team spots on the line, but also a heartwarming celebration of the sport and its communities.

What went down?

The USA Surfing National Championships took place from June 9th to 14th and featured Para Surfing, Longboard, Shortboard, and SUP Surfing, with a final day of SUP and Prone Paddle Races. Each day brought its own charm and was a true demonstration of the diverse talent coming from across the states. 

As proud partners of USA Surfing, we were thrilled to go out to Oceanside and support the championships. We provided free rental of Dryrobe® kit to the athletes, met some inspiring people and witnessed phenomenal surfing, and hopefully provided some good vibes, games, and kit in return!

Full results of the event can be found at the end of this report.

Day 1 - Para Surfing 

The Para Surf team are resilient and talented beyond words, and there was no better team to kick off the championships. The divisions included Men’s and Women’s Prone 1, Prone 2, Stand 1, Stand 2, VI (visually impaired), V2 and Waveski. We saw some epic scores, sick drops and turns, and an overall display of skill and stoke. It was also a great opportunity to catch up with familiar faces, particularly competitors we met at the 2023 World Para Surfing Championships at Huntington Beach, some of whom were repping the Dryrobe® Adapt, designed specifically with wheelchair users in mind.

José Martinez, adaptive surf athlete, co-team captain and U.S. Army veteran, shared his personal experience of getting into surfing, and how crucial this has been for his wellbeing: 

“The military started using surfing as a way of therapy for us… and I fell in love with it. If it wasn't for surfing, I probably wouldn't be alive right now to be honest with you. I've hit rock bottom in the last twelve years, maybe five or six times, maybe a little bit more. And every single time instead of going to the bottle, instead of doing something that’s gonna hurt myself, I always remember the ocean is the one that’s gonna save me…it allows me to live in the moment more than anything”. 

Hearing stories from these athletes is a true testament to the importance of inclusivity in surfing and how powerful the adaptive surf community is. The sportsmanship and camaraderie are unmatched, and they absolutely rip. A highlight for us was seeing Co-team and 4x ISA Surfing World Para Surfing Championship Gold Medalist captain Sarah Bettencourt drop a 9.0 score on a bomb. 

The Para Surfing heats also wouldn't have been made possible without the help of the water safety teams and support surfers, so we want to say a huge thank you to the broader team helping out in the water. 

Day 2 - Longboarding, Part 1

Pumping surf and grey skies welcomed us to day two, just in time for the longboarders to hit the water. Vibes on the beach were high and full of stoke, especially among the young groms. The day saw Girls and Boys U14, U18, Women and Men 18-39, and Senior Women and Men 40+. It was awesome to witness the future of surfing, seeing shredders as young as 10 hitting the water with style and finesse. 

The head coach of the USA Junior National Team, Ryan Simmons, explained that the judges were looking for “clean transitions of nose rides, old school and new school rail surfing, speed, power and flow, transitioning through the outside to the inside with style and grace,” and that’s exactly what they got.  

Standout moments included 10-year-old Makaha’s Kahekili Denson performing his signature headstand on a wave, seeing so many young surfers drop high scores, and the general support for one another on the beach. 

Day 3 - Longboarding, Part 2

On day three, the stakes were raised, as the Open Men and Women Longboard divisions were ISA team qualifiers, giving athletes the chance to win their spot to compete for Team USA. With the waves picking up in size, we saw bigger turns and more critical manoeuvres, and some incredible nose rides.

Current WSL Women's Longboard World Champ, Racheal Tilly, flew through her heat with an impressive 8.50 and an 8.33. Huge well done to all the surfers who competed, it was an absolute pleasure to witness so many rising stars and experienced longboarders perform. 

Rachael Tilly closed out the day with an inspiring ‘Power your Performance’ workshop, where she shared her tips on competitive mindset, surfing goals and training advice with the aspiring professional surfers. Thanks so much for sharing your wisdom with us all!

Day 4 - Longboarding, Finals Day

Day 4 was finals day for the Longboarding championships! This was a crucial day for competitors, as the top two women and men earned their spots on Team USA to compete on the world stage. Another day of solid swell brought the same epic standard of longboarding.

The USA National Longboard champions were crowned. Massive congratulations to Kaitlin Mikkelson and Tony Slivagni on taking the win! It was all smiles on the beach watching Kaitlin and her son Madix share a super special moment together on the shoreline, one of many examples of the family and friend support on the beach. 

Day 5 - Shortboarding and SUP Surf

The vibes switched up on day 5 as the Shortboarding and SUP Surfing kicked off.

The first heat in the water was the “Legends”, who truly lived up to the name. San Clemente’s Matt Archbold took the win in the legends category, serving critical turns at high speed. We also saw the highest heat total of the whole event from Zachary Keenan in the men's 40-49 division, dropping scores of 9.83 and 7.17 with a huge air. 

This was also a big day for South Carolina’s Mako Musilunas, who, after taking the win in the men's Longboard 18-39 category on the previous day, also took the crown for the shortboard 18-39 Men's category, in an epic double win. 

We were also stoked to hang out with Dryrobe® ambassador Izzi Gomez, who came down to Oceanside for the day. Izzi joined Ryan Simmons in the judging booth, jumping on the mic and giving commentary on the competition. It was awesome to have her down the beach chatting with competitors, surfing, and chilling with the Dryrobe® team.

Day 6 - SUP and Prone Paddle Championships

The final day of the championships was brought to us by the talented paddle community and some epic swell for the USA SUP and Prone Championships. Friend of Dryrobe® and World Champion Connor Baxter joined us in California for a strike mission to compete. It was awesome to witness him race and to catch up with him. 

Multiple divisions of incredible athletes fought it out in Prone and SUP distance races in one of the most surf-heavy courses ever run by USA Surfing. We saw an epic battle in the SUP Open 10K race between Connor and Campbell Carter, with Campbell taking the win. We also saw Connor earn gold in the Tech Race, battling huge swell and crushing it. 

The Tech Races, where athletes started on the beach and pushed out through the surf, paddling laps of the course, were a phenomenal watch. For the SUP Open Women’s heat, it was a tense battle of true determination fighting through the surf. ISA World Championship Bronze Medalist, 16-year-old Soryn Preston, punched through a huge set, which ended up snapping her board in two. Showing incredible perseverance, she swam in, grabbed another board, and finished the race in second place. It was awesome to see her race again in Oceanside after meeting her at the World Championships in Copenhagen last year. Huge congratulations to Seychelle for taking the win, and to them both for qualifying for Team USA!

Reflecting on the event now, we are in awe of the dedication and commitment these athletes brought to North Jetty and the talent and community they brought with them. Connected by a shared drive for their sport, it’s incredible to see what USA Surfing is doing for competitive surfing. We want to say another huge well done to ALL the athletes who showed up, and an extra shoutout to all the ISA qualifiers. 

Results:

Daily results and the ISA Surfing Team USA qualifying athletes: 

DAY 1

Team USA Qualifiers: 

    •    Jacob Pacheco – Prone 1 Men
    •    Parker Olenik – Prone 1 Men
    •    Sarah Bettencourt – Prone 1 Women
    •    Katherine Beattie – Prone 1 Women
    •    Ashley Bunting – Prone 2 Women
    •    Quinn Waitley – Prone 2 Women
    •    Joshua Loya – VI1 Men
    •    Emily Purry – VI2 Women
    •    Chris Oberle – Waveski Men
    •    Jeff Munson – Waveski Men
    •    Carter Hess – Stand 2 Men
    •    Forrest Weinberg – Stand 2 Men
    •    Jesse Billauer – Prone 2 Men
    •    Jose Martinez – Prone 2 Men

Full results in place order: 

Prone 1 Men

1. Casey Proud
2. Jacob Pacheco
3. Parker Olenik
4. Marten Bradley

Prone 1 Women

1. Sarah Bettencourt
2. Katherine Beattie

Prone 2 Women

1. Ashley Bunting
2. Quinn Waitley

Prone 2 Men

1. Jesse Billauer
2. Jose Martinez
3. Christopher Waker
   
4. Robert Browne

Stand 1 Men

1. Ant Smyth

Stand 2 Men

1. Carter Hess
2. Forrest Weinberg
3. Dana Cummings

VI1 Men

1. Joshua Loya

VI2 Women

1. Emily Purry

Waveski Men

1. Chris Oberle
2. Jeff Munson
3. Daniel Lombardo

DAY 2

Girls U14 Longboard


1. Story Martinez

   
2. Amaya Ranne

3. London Lorber
4. Jewel Evans

Girls U18 Longboard


1. Cash Hoover

   
2. Story Martinez

   
3. Maddison Bennett

4. Po’akalani Rangel

Boys U14 Longboard


1. DeSales Mudd

   
2. Kahekili Denson

Boys U18 Longboard


1. Noah Hogle

2. Kydon Legend Larrabee

3. Bode Davis
4. Alex Ranne

Women’s 18–39 Longboard


1. Katarina Nowack

2. Fiona Sargente

3. Rhonda Jones

Men’s 18–39 Longboard

1. Mako Musilunas

2. Pearce Mendoza

3. Ian Appling
4. Vincent M Franks

Senior Men 40+ Longboard


1. Nicholas Riopelle

2. Michael Lorne
3. Jorge Barba

4. Tony Barona

Senior Women 40+ Longboard

1. Aarin Ashley Hartwell

DAY 3

Top 12 competitors with score totals:

Open Men’s Top 12:

1. Kevin Skvarna – 15.93
2. Gavin Idone – 15.77
3. Christian Stutzman – 15.47
4. Tony Silvagni – 15.17
5. Steven Newton – 14.17
6. Cole Robbins – 14.00
7. Noah Hogle – 12.33
8. Emiliano Mendez – 10.63
9. Wynter Hero Larrabee – 10.47
10. Baron Banuelos – 10.20
11. Kaimana Takayama – 10.00
12. Kydon Legend Larrabee – 9.87

Open Women’s Top 12:

1. Rachael Tilly – 16.83
2. Sally Cohen – 15.43
3. Cash Hoover – 14.73
4. Avalon Gall – 14.66
5. Kaitlin Mikkelsen – 13.13
6. Frankie Seely – 10.20
7. Estorya Martinez – 9.27
8. Malia Ilagan – 9.07
9. Kayla Luce – 7.27
10. Fiona Sargente – 6.90
11. Ella Anderson – 6.63
12. London Lorber – 6.13

DAY 4

Results from the Finals, as well as the qualifying athletes for Team USA:

Open Women’s Final Results:

1. Kaitlin Mikkelson – 14.27

2. Malia Ilagan – 11.26

3. Rachael Tilly – 11.00

4. Avalon Gall – 10.14

Open Men’s Final Results:

1. Tony Silvagni – 17.23

2. Kevin Skvarna – 13.74

3. Christian Stutzman – 12.97

4. Noah Hogle – 9.77

ISA Team USA Qualifiers

Tony Silvagni, Carolina Beach, NC
Kevin Skvarna, Capistrano Beach, CA
Kaitlin Mikkelson, Encinitas, CA
Malia Ilagan, Ventura, CA

DAY 5 

Shortboard results:

Men’s 18–29

1. Mako Musilunas
2. Jeremiah Lantz
3. Marco Leon
4. Gabriel Farias Guerreiro

Men’s 30–39

1. Joshua Stiers
2. Stefan Lewis
3. Daniel Pelt
4. Patrick McCuen

Women’s 30+

1. Danielle Hightower

Men’s 40–49 (Senior Men)

1. Zachary Keenan
2. Philip Rush
3. Peter Hanel

Men’s 50+ (Legends)

1. Matt Archbold
2. Rick Gannon
3. Jason Shook
4. Erik Krammer

SUP Surf results:

SUP Surf Men 40+

1. Jonatas Novatos
2. Matt Kryger
3. Kurt Benson

SUP Surf Women 40+

1. Rachel Cantore

SUP Surf Open Men

1. Anthony Maltese — ISA Team Qualifier
2. Jason Latham — ISA Team Qualifier
3. Jonatas Novatos
4. Matt Kryger

SUP Surf Open Women

1. Candice Appleby — ISA Team Qualifier
2. Rachel Cantore — ISA Team Qualifier
3. Samantha Estabrooks
4. Katniss Paris

DAY 6

Full results for day 6 can be found here.

Follow USA Surfing: 

Website: usasurfing.org

Instagram: @usasurfing 

Facebook: USASurfing

X: @usasurfteam

YouTube: @usasurfing

Photo credit: 

Images 5, 7, 8 by @thesaltypaz

Images 1, 3, 9, 10 by USA Surfing/@waterworkmedia

 

Published on June 26, 2025