Dana Point, Calif. -- San Clemente's Kolohe Andino added another gem to his mantle Saturday by winning the U16 division of the Rip Curl Grom Search National Final at Salt Creek. As expected "Brother" tapped his full arsenal of progressive moves, including a rash of aerial reverses and a text book shove-it to revert that won him the H20 Maneuver of the Day Award, en route to his victory over Hawaii's Nathan Carvalho.

Andino pocketed $500 for the win, plus a new Nintendo Wii and and extra Benjamin for the maneuver award, but the biggest payoff comes next spring, when he will be sent to Australia to represent the USA in the International Grom Search Finals at the Rip Curl Pro at Bells Beach.

"That's like being put on Center Court at Wimbledon," says Dylan Slater, Rip Curl's Director of Marketing. "The Rip Curl Pro at Bells is the longest running contest in professional surfing, and the International Grom Search Final is likely to take place on the final day of competition in front of the typical crowd of 30,000 people."


"I'm so pshyched to be going to Bells," said Andino. "I've been to Australia a bunch of times, but never down to Torquay. It'll be fun to surf against the hottest guys from everywhere else in front of that kind of crowd." While Andino nabbed a lot of the spot light at Salt Creek there were a number of big standouts.

In the girls division Kauai's Nage Melamed came from behind in the closing moments of the final to overtake the nimble-footed Lakey Peterson of Santa Barbara for the win. Melamed's powerful brand of backhand surfing was the perfect match for the punchy lefthanders on tap at the Creek. Her turns were much more mature than her age.

In the U14 division La Jolla's Jacob Halstead was the one who yielded most of the power. Halstead's impressive rail work led to a healthy supply of rooster tails that, according to Doppler radar, might have actually ended the Southern California drought. While beating out Colin Moran for the win, he presented a strong argument for being the best surfer to come out of La Jolla in a generation.

Finally, in the hotly contested U12 division, it was Jacob Davis who nabbed the win over Nick Hdez, Kanoa Igarashi and Colin Deveze. The mini-groms were their usual cool selves, throwing warning shots over the bow of the older kids all day with their penchant for the progressive stuff.

Final Results of the Rip Curl Grom Search National Final

U16 Boys
1. Kolohe Andino
2. Nathan Carvalho
3. Taylor Thorne
4. Koa Smith

U16 Girls
1. Nage Melamed
2. Lakey Peterson
3. Chelsea Roett
4. Frankie Hararr

U14 Boys
1. Jacob Halstead
2. Colin Moran
3. Koa Smith
4. Taylor Clarke

U12 Boys
1. Jacob Davis
2. Nic Hdez
3. Kanoa Igarashi
4. Colin Deveze