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OCEANSIDE ---- At the ripe old age of 14, Mila Finley already has reached the pinnacle of her sport. Twice.
 On Sunday, the Mission Viejo resident took home the women's
Grand Championship of the World Bodysurfing Championships at the Oceanside Pier for the second consecutive year. Only two other competitors ---- men's winner Mike Cunningham ('78, '79) and
women's winner Sonya Bertsch ('90, '91) ---- have won back-to-back championships in the 23-year history of the world championships.
"A lot of people are in it because
they want to win," Finley said. "But I just go out to have fun. It wouldn't really bother me if I didn't win."
Not that Finley has felt the disappointment of losing all that
often. In just her third year at the world championships, she has won three titles in the women's 12-17
division. She lost to New Zealand's Virginia Cartwright in the women's Grand Championship in 1 997 before winning the past two.
 "My first year, I was a little nervous
about the whole thing," said Finley, who beat out Cartwright and Lisa Bye of San Diego for the Grand Championship. "But now it doesn't really bother me, because if I don't
win them, then I don't win. This year, my competition was probably harder, but I'm a year older."
Finley might be a year older, but her strategy shows she is still a kid at heart.
"If the wave looks fun, I'll take it," Finley said. "I have fun, and that counts for something, because I don't think I do anything really special."
Oceanside's Thorsten Hegberg won the men's Grand Championship for the second time. Hegberg, who won the men's 25-34 division, first took home top honors in 1994.
 "This one's a little bit better," Hegberg
said. "I broke the first (Grand Championship) trophy, so I never had proof that I really won it."
In the eight-man final heat, Hegberg stood out from the other competitors by
impressing the judges with several quality scoring rides. Hegberg stayed outside for most of the heat, waiting near the pier for the larger sets. He left a lasting impression on the judges
with a solid ride in the last 10 seconds, the final wave of the heat.
"I saw a bump on the horizon so I knew there was something coming,"
Hegberg said. "I knew it was really inconsistent out there, so you have to be somewhere where you aren't desperate at the end. I was able to pick and choose a little bit better. I was
lucky."
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