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OCEANSIDE -- For Day 1 of the World Bodysurfing Championships, the waves were up and the water temperature was down.
That combination, however, could not keep Matt McKinney of Escondido from
recording the highest score on Friday, an 81 that was good for first place in his heat of the Men's 15-17 age division.
"It was a little slow out there, so I had to kick real hard to catch
up," said McKinney, who advanced to Sunday's finals at the Oceanside Pier.
Friday marked the first of three days of competition in the 22nd edition of the World Championships. Preliminary
heats were held for Men's 18-24, 15-17 and 12-14, and women's 12-17.
Prelims continue at 7 a.m. today for the remaining age divisions. Finals for all divisions are on Sunday.
McKinney was
one of two Escondido prep water polo players who showed their stuff on the waves Friday. Also advancing to Sunday's finals was Andrew Petterson, who placed third in his 15-17 heat.
"The waves
kind of popped up out of nowhere," said Petterson, who will be a junior at Escondido High, where he is a member of the school's water polo and swim teams. "It was inconsistent, and the water
was super cold, but it was still good fun."
Petterson competed in the first of two 12-minute heats, and once he reached the beach after finishing his turn in the waves with a nice spin move,
he advised listeners around him to watch McKinney in the next heat.
"He's real good at this stuff," Petterson said of his friend, who backed up Petterson's words by following a lull
midway through his heat with three quality rides in the final five minutes.
"I was trying to get outside as quick as I could to get first dibs on the wave," said McKinney, who placed
third in his division last year and will be a senior at San Pasqual when school starts next month.
McKinney, who stands 6-foot-3 and tips the scales at 200 pounds, muscled his way into a left curl
with five minutes left in his heat, and then caught a smaller wave and rode it to the barrel at the two-minute warning.
He closed out his heat by switching directions and catching an inside right just before the final horn.
"There wasn't much of a current, but you get pulled when the big waves come," said
McKinney, who was San Pasqual's most valuable player and an All-Avocado League selection during last year's water polo season.
The waves, which reached 5 feet, and the water temperature, which
dipped to 65 degrees, are both being affected by a tropical storm that is stirring up the sea off the coast of Baja California.
"It's colder than it was last year," said Mila Finley of
Mission Viejo, the defending champion in the women's 12-17 age group. Finley had the best score in her division, and two Oceanside girls, Naomi Beck and Lucille Boss, also qualified for Sunday's final.
Two other Oceanside residents advanced from the men's 12-14 prelims. Austin B. Mackin edged Clancy Cornell of Hemet by a tiebreaker score to win the first heat of the 12-14 division, and Andrew
J. Miller placed third in the second heat and advanced by the slim margin of one point over the fourth-place finisher.
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