The sky was overcast, but the waves were pumping at the spot at the end of the trail. Lower Trestles was its usually rip-able self, minus the sun and great lighting; it is June gloom. America's rising stars didn't let the dreary weather stop their progressive wave riding that would determine the roster of the USA surf team at the Surfing America USA Championships. This just two days after another US team suffered a heart-breaking loss down in South Africa.

Early in the day the talk of the contest could be summed up in one noun, "Brother." As in Kolohe "Brother" Andino, the red, white and blue's next great hope. He was surfing in two divisions and come the end of the day could be 16 and under champ, as well as 18 and under champ.

As expected Brother cruised to victory in the 16 and under division, but when the horn blew for the 18 and under Final he ran into another kind of brother; that is one half of another talented Floridian brother duo. The "Sunshine State" has given us Cory and Shea Lopez, CJ and Damien Hobgood, and now Eric and Evan Geiselman.

Evan Geiselman showed the best surfers America has to offer what the right coast can produce as he edged out Andino and Ezekiel Lau in the fun Lowers surf. Gieselman just has the whole package when it comes to modern surfing. He's got the above-the-lip antics down, as well the ability to surf sound and technical while on the wave. At a spot like Lowers that's so important. It's a slower wave requiring a lot of cutbacks, but it will give you sections to let loose, which is exactly what Geislman did on his way to victory.

Over in the ladies divisions things heated up. Tatiana Weston-Webb was able to bring home both the 16 and under and 14 and under titles. Then there was the 18 and under division, which would feature another big-time American surfing name. Last year's US Open champion, Courtney Conologue, had been surfing great all contest. At the end of the final through it was Kaleigh Gilchrist who edged her out.

Check out a video recap of the action as well as full results below:

Results:

Boys Under 18
1. Evan Geiselman
2. Kolohe Andino
3. Ezekiel Lau
4. Tanner Hendricks

Boys Under 16
1. Kolohe Andino
2. Parker Coffin
3. Colin Moran
4. Ian Gentile

Boys Under 14
1. Ian Gentile
2. Imaikalani Devault
3. Kalani David
4. Joshua Moniz

Boys Under 12
1. Jake Marshall
2. Kaulana Apo
3. Griffin Colapinto
4. Log Ng

Girls Under 18
1. Kaleigh Gilchrist
2. Courtney Conolgue
3. Nage Melamed
4. Lakey Paterson

Girls Under 16
1. Tatiana Weston-Webb
2. Briana Cope
3. Quincy Davis
4. Harley Taich

Girls Under 14
1. Tatiana Weston-Webb
2. Bailey Nagy
3. Kulia Doherty
4. Frankie Harper

Girls Under 12
1. Mahina Maeda
2. Dax McGill
3. Katie Gorder
4. Mainei Kinimaka

Piha Beach, New Zealand- For the 5th consecutive year, team Australia wins gold at the Quiksilver ISA World Junior Surfing Champions in New Zealand. For the Aussies this is their sixth overall victory in the eight-year existence of the ISA WJSC.

Trailing the Hawaiians on the last day, the Aussies rallied from behind on the backs of the winners of the Girls under 18 division Tyler Wright, and the Boys under 16 division Matt Banting.

After seeming to be in the driver seat for most of the competition Team Hawaii finished second, while after a disappointing day 7 team USA settled for third.

Check back for a detailed break down of what happened in New Zealand.


Results-
Team
Gold-Australia (6015)
Silver-Hawaii (5038)
Bronze-USA (4958)

Boys Under 18
1 19.90 Gabriel Medina BRA
2 14.92 Jordin Watson AUS
3 14.90 Tamaroa McComb TAH
4 12.96 Beyrick de Vries ZAF

Girls Under 18
1 16.00 Tyler Wright AUS
2 12.74 Alessa Quizon HAW
3 9.72 Sarah Baum ZAF
4 9.66 Lakey Peterson USA

Boys Under 16
1 15.90 Matt Bantring AUS
4 10.24 Arai JPN
3 10.40 Koa Smith HAW
2 11.60 Jake Halstead USA

Of the 21 teams from around the world that migrated to New Zealand to compete at the ISA World Junior Games, the rosters have been whittled down to a small handful of the usual suspects. And despite the inspiring performances by the Japanese and French teams--mark my words, Dimitri Ouvre has a major future in this sport--the likes of the USA, Hawaii and Australia are standing strong for medal contention with one day of competition left.

Amid a seemingly endless barrage of mouth-watering lefts, the games saw the best surf of the event unfold yesterday with a number of surfers slotting themselves to the tune of high 8s and 9s. Of those donning tubes at the games, the aforementioned French surfer, Dimitri Ouvre, looked way too comfortable pulling in and would throw down one of the best performances of the event.

Never one to be upstaged by the French, Kolohe Andino, a grom who couldn't epitomize California more if he tried, proved that he is worthy of the hype that precedes his name once again when he went well past vertical on his back hands in waves that appeared eerily reminiscent of claim-worthy day at Mundaka. Andino, along with an astounding two other teammates (Trevor Thorton and Jake Halstead) will be surfing in one of the final rounds of the repercharge and looking to final when they surf tomorrow.

Moving forward to the final day of competition, as of press time, Hawaii is in the lead with Australia and New Zealand biting on their leash-tanned heals. Reigning champ Keanu Asing of Ewa Beach had his work cut out for him as he cut through three rounds of competition to find himself once again in the final rounds of the contest.

"I'm so tired," Asing said. "I surfed through like three heats. It was tough. I just gave it my best and got through."

The final fat from the event will be trimmed tomorrow. Will it be the USA, Australia or the Hawaiians donning some gold on the podium? You'll have to come right back here to check it out.

Here are the current team standings heading into the final day of the event:

01 - Haw - 6420
02 - Aus - 6405
03 - USA - 5853
04 - Fra - 4845
05 - Zaf - 4763
06 - NZL - 4575
07 - Por - 4235
08 - Tah - 4168
09 - Jap - 3435
10 - Per - 3241
11 - UK - 2775
12 - Spn - 2690
13 - Arg - 2650
14 - Bra - 2508
15 - Ecu - 1865
16 - Ind - 1620
17 - Mex - 1350
18 - Can - 675
19 - Ita - 475
20 - Fij - 210
21 - Van - 165

With just two days left to go in the Quiksilver ISA World Junior Games, the Americans are positioned perfectly to claim their first Gold medal ever after another round of impressive performances from Kolohe Andino, Evan Geiselman and Andrew Doheny.

Currently, the PacSun USA Surf Team has more surfers still standing than any other team in the competition, which bodes well for their victory chances. That said, ultimately, it will depend on how many of these survivors make it all the way to the finals of their divisions.

Some, like Newport's Andrew Doheny, are living on a thin line. Doheny's been advancing through the repercharge heats, which, is better known as the loser's bracket. But after taking an early round loss he's looked incredibly strong, and Head Coach Ian Cairns is boldly predicting Doheny will fight his way into the U18 final.

If Doheny does make it, he's hoping to meet up with Evan Thompson, who's also in the loser's bracket, and Evan Geiselman, who's dominating in the bright lights of the leader board on the winner's side.

Meanwhile, Kolohe Andino, Jake Halstead and Parker Coffin are holding their ground in the U16 and division. And over on the ladies side Lakey Peterson and Taylor Pitz are through to the semifinals of the winner's bracket, while Courtney Conlogue and Kaleigh Gilchrist are fighting thier way through the loser's side.

The Hawaiians and Australians remain the biggest threats for the team titles, but there are a number of Euros and Brazilians who will be playing the spoiler roles.