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By Press Release:

ASSOCIATION OF SURFING PROFESSIONALS (ASP) NORTH AMERICA

O’NEILL COLD WATER CLASSIC PRESENTED BY JEEP
Steamer Lane, Santa Cruz, California
October 17-22, 2006

HIGH DRAMA AT BUSINESS END OF O’NEILL COLD WATER CLASSIC PRESENTED BY JEEP

SANTA CRUZ, Calif. (Friday, October 20, 2006) – Big upsets went down as the conditions continued to improve at day four of the O’Neill Cold Water Classic presented by Jeep at Steamer Lane in Santa Cruz, Calif.

The Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) World Qualifying Series (WQS) four-star event narrowed it down to the final 32 competitors in the men’s event before moving into the opening round of the ASP grade-two Oakley Pro Junior.

Jay Thompson (Burleigh Heads, AUS) was in devastating form this morning locking in the men’s event high heat score of a 16.57 out of a possible 20. The big natural-footer demolished the roping righthanders looking extremely comfortable and confident.

“I’m from the Gold Coast (Australia) so I’m pretty used to surfing pointbreaks,” Thompson said. “The waves here are great fun and if you can stay close to the pocket, you can really let loose out there.”

As the final event of both the ASP North America men’s tour as well as the Macy’s California Trifecta Surf Series presented by Jeep (an ASP-specialty series), O’Neill Cold Water Classic presented by Jeep saw huge dramas unfold today as the ratings shifted in the Trifecta points race.

Nate Yeomans (San Clemente, Calif.) held on in his Round of 64 heat today to overtake previous Trifecta ratings-leader Dustin Cuizon (Ewa Beach, Haw.). Yeomans muscled his way through a star-studded heat that included Evan Valiere (Kilauea, Haw.), Mike Todd (Laguna Beach, Calif.) and an on-fire local Josh Mulcoy (Santa Cruz, Calif.).

“I’m super psyched to pull ahead for the $10,000,” Yeomans said of his new spot at the top of the Trifecta ratings. “There’re still a few heats to go and though the money is a great bonus, I’m really focused on doing well in the event. A result here would give me a good ratings boost for an assault next year – my goal is the ASP World Tour.”

Should Yeomans finish ahead of remaining Cold Water Classic competitor Nathaniel Curran (Ventura, Calif.) he will secure the Macy’s Trifecta Surf Series presented Jeep title. Curran needs to finish second or better in the Cold Water Classic to overtake Yeomans.

Big upsets were caused today with the surprise eliminations of Gabe Kling (St. Augustine, Fla.) and Patrick Gudauskas (San Clemente, Calif.), No. 7 and 25 respectively on the ASP WQS ratings. Also going down were local standouts Peter Mel (Santa Cruz, Calif.) and Kieran Horn (Santa Cruz, Calif.).

The O’Neill Cold Water Classic presented by Jeep will re-commence tomorrow morning at 8:00am for the Round of 32.

The Oakley Pro Junior (an ASP grade-two event), running in conjunction with the O’Neill Cold Water Classic presented by Jeep, kicked off this afternoon with the Round of 48 hitting the water. The event serves as the ASP North America national championships as it will be the final event of the 2006 season.

Dion Atkinson (Seaford, AUS) went absolutely ballistic in his opening round heat netting a 9.50, a 9.70 and a throwaway 8.93 for the highest heat total of the event, a 19.20 out of a possible 20.

“This event has been my first time surfing Steamer’s and I absolutely love it,” Atkinson said. “I’m competing in both events because although I’m eligible for the Pro Junior, I’m really trying to get a good seed for a WQS campaign next year. As it is right now, I’m 123rd on the WQS and I’d love a result here to push me into the top 100.”

Mason Ho (North Shore, Haw.) dazzled spectators this afternoon with his fully-committed surfing garnering him a 9.77 out of a possible 10 executing a massive four-foot aerial maneuver before flowing into a series of slashes.

“Having all your friends screaming for you up on the point is so motivating,” Ho said. “They’re all screaming for you to do something big, and the waves are so good right now, you can just go out and really push it.”

The international contingent of superstar juniors will meet up with the seeded surfers in tomorrow’s Round of 32 in the Oakley Pro Junior.

The top-four finishers on the ASP North America Pro Junior series, along with Alex Gray (Palos Verdes, Calif.) will be sent to the ASP World Junior Championships held in Narrabeen, New South Wales, Australia. Gray has already secured his entry by being the highest-ranked North America surfer of the WQS who is of junior age – Gray is currently ranked 43rd.

Event organizers and surfers will meet tomorrow morning to assess a possible 8:00 am start at Steamer Lane or a 9:00 am start at backup location Waddell Creek – depending on conditions.

Live webcasting is available at http://www.oneill.com.

For further information, log onto www.aspnorthamerica.org.

TOMORROW’S SCHEDULE:
8:00 am – 11:20 am: O’Neill Cold Water Classic Round 5 (32 surfers remaining) Heats 1 – 8
11:20 am – 2:40 pm: Oakley Pro Junior Round 12 (32 surfers remaining) Heats 1 – 8
2:40 pm – 3:10 pm: Specialty Heat

RESULTS – Day 3

Round 4 O’Neill Cold Water Classic pres. by Jeep: 64 surfers remain (1st and 2nd advance)

Heat 5: Austin Ware (USA) 10.00, Kellen Ellison (USA) 9.07, Corey Ziems (AUS) 5.16, Ryan Campbell (AUS) 3.07
Heat 6: Josh Loya (USA) 15.33, Nathan Yeomans (USA) 12.00, Evan Valiere (HAW) 9.50, Mike Todd (USA) 9.03
Heat 7: Kahea Hart (HAW) 14.94, Nathaniel Curran (USA) 12.00, Kekoa Bacalso (HAW) 11.20, Sean Marceron (USA) 9.06
Heat 8: Cory Lopez (USA) 11.67, Jason Collins (USA) 9.50, Eric McHenry (USA) 8.50, Cheyne Cottrell (USA) 8.00
Heat 9: Nick Rozsa (USA) 11.50, Dusty Payne (HAW) 8.83, Anthony Petruso (USA) 8.37, Gabe Kling (USA) 6.57
Heat 10: Kyle Knox (USA) 11.80, Nathan Carroll (HAW) 8.73, Beau Mitchell (AUS) 7.97, Raymond Reichle (HAW) 7.57
Heat 11: Dean Randazzo (USA) 12.27, Toby Martin (AUS) 12.07, Daniel Jones (HAW) 11.03, Patrick Gudauskas (USA) 10.53
Heat 12: Jay Thompson (AUS) 16.57, Josh Mulcoy (USA) 12.60, Dillon Perillo (USA) 9.16, TJ Barron (HAW) 8.07
Heat 13: Dane Gudauskas (USA) 13.93, Ben Bourgeois (USA) 11.60, Hank Gaskell (HAW) 11.50, Adam Virs (USA) 10.10
Heat 14: Jesse Merle-Jones (HAW) 11.23, Joel Centeio (HAW) 10.54, Micah Byrne (USA) 8.87, Peter Mel (USA) 8.76
Heat 15: Ola Eleogram (HAW) 12.76, Granger Larsen (HAW) 11.76, Kieran Horn (USA) Asher Nolan (USA) 9.00
Heat 16: Luke Munro (AUS) 11.93, Mike Losness (USA) 10.10, Gavin Beschen (HAW) 9.06, Mark Matthews (AUS) 8.13

Round 1 Oakley Pro Junior: 48 surfers remain (1st and 2nd advance)
Heat 1: Jake Kirschenbaum (USA) 15.16, Andrew Doheny (USA) 12.17, Brandon Roberts (ZAF) 8.10, Chris Ropero (USA) 6.24
Heat 2: Dion Atkinson (AUS) 19.20, Ricky Whitlock (USA) 14.16, Luke Davis (USA) 11.20, Patrick Cahill (USA) 6.83
Heat 3: Brad Burdick (USA) 10.94, Eddie Lester (USA) 10.57, Brad Burdick (USA) 10.57, Casey Landvogt (USA) 7.50
Heat 4: Mason Ho (HAW) 17.40, Kilian Garland (USA) 13.10, Jamie Parkhurst (USA) 10.50, Kevin Kapsky (USA) 6.67
Heat 5: Granger Larsen (HAW) 15.00, Kyle Kennelly (USA) 7.87, Blake Jones (USA) 7.84, TJ Mikus (USA) 5.47
Heat 6: Colin Schildhauer (USA) 11.10, Cody Thompson (USA) 9.33, JC Toro (USA) 8.60, Matt Myers (USA) 7.66
Heat 7: Tom Rudd (USA) 14.40, Dusty Payne (HAW) 12.74, Ben Graeff (USA) 11.43, Trevor Saunders (USA) 10.40
Heat 8: Drew Ventura (USA) 10.43, Dewey Cunnison (USA) 7.33, Charley Stevens (USA) 6.53, Daniel Shea (USA) 4.30

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