Sloane Jucker of Maui Prep and Angel Jardine of Maui Christian won their first Maui Interscholastic League individual titles in a return to Lahaina Harbor on Saturday.

The season-ending contest featured the top surfers, 36 girls and 41 boys, from the 12 Maui Interscholastic League surfing high schools vying for the individual titles. King Kekaulike won both the boys and girls team titles as a culmination of the four previous contests at D.T. Fleming Beach, Koki Beach, and two events at Hookipa.

For Jucker, a junior, winning was special in more than one way. Last year she missed the individual finals because she was competing in the International Surfing Association Junior World Championship in El Salvador. She finished tied for 19th out of 98 girls in the U16 division.

Secondly, Lahaina Harbor is the homebreak for this Lahaina girl. “It’s so awesome to be back here and surf with everybody that we would surf with here before the fire,” Jucker said, “and just get back that happiness of being with everyone at some place as awesome like the Harbor.”

Jucker won all four contests during the MIL team competition, but winning the individual title was something else. “It feels awesome,” Jucker said. “I’m super happy to do it at Lahaina Harbor too, so that makes it even more special. After the fire it’s been tough. We haven’t been able to surf down here.”

Jucker’s family didn’t lose their home in the Lahaina wildfire, but it did affect her family in a major way. “Well, the emotional toll was incredible,” Jucker admitted. “My dad’s business went out of business after that. He does purely online business now. The fact that we were able to get the contest down here is positive and optimistic for the future of opening Lahaina back-up and just getting the community back together.”

Chrislyn Simpson-Kane, of King Kekaulike, was second in her final MIL event. Simpson-Kane, a senior, was the MIL champion her freshmen and sophomore years.

“It’s so meaningful having my last event at the Harbor, especially everything that’s happened out here,” Simpson-Kane said. “Every single one of my heats today, I paddled a ti leaf out with me and I threw it into the line-up. It’s so special that I had the opportunity to be with everyone and surf out here for the first time since the fire.”

In the boy’s competition, Jardine flipped the script on Maui Prep’s Zolten Poulsen. Last year Poulsen defeated Jardine for the MIL title at Koki Beach in Hana. This time Jardine got off to the fast start to win his first crown.

“This mean a lot, I’m just really stoked to be able to win,” Jardine said. “Just a lot of work and time in the ocean and surfing.”

The waves were consistent during Jardine’s three preliminary heats before the final. But the tradewinds picked up for the final making wave selection a little tougher. For the 20-minute final, the best rideable waves came at the start of the final.

“In the final, the waves were basically like right at the beginning,” Jardine said. “Right off the bat, I just got two 6’s. Just started with a bang, and then it kind of just slowed down which worked in my favor.”

Jardine’s actual scores were 5.40 and 6.07 for a two-wave total of 11.47. Poulsen scored an 8.67 on his first wave, the boy’s highest single wave score in the whole event.

“It was a big set in like the first two minutes of the heat so I was really stoked,” Poulsen said. “Everybody tried to paddle for the first one, and left me all by myself on the second one. Figured I probably had like around an 8. I just knew I needed a good back-up score. I waited, waited, and waited all the way down to like three minutes. I realized I needed to grind a score, not sure what that score was at the time. But yeah, unfortunately, it didn’t happen.”

The best Poulsen could grind was a 2.30 which gave him a two-wave total of 10.97, a ½ point short.

“It was a great season, honestly,” Poulsen said. “I mean the best season I’ve had for sure. Almost every contest had good waves. It’s been super sick.”

Poulsen’s family lost their home in the fire, just four blocks down the street from the Harbor.

“After the fire, I’d come down here last summer and just do a long paddle from Baby Beach,” Poulsen said. “It’s super cool to be competing here with my friends and other schools and my entire community. It’s obviously been super tough, but I’ve always been connected to the ocean since a young age. I’ve pretty much grew up on this wave, probably thousands of hours surfing here, so it’s really cool to be experiencing this with so many good people. It’s really special.”

Results

Semi-final 1

1. Angel Jardine, Maui Christian 13.43

2. Kahlil Pineres-Schooley, Seabury Hall 10.96

3. Ezra Offergeld, Maui Prep 10.56

4. Aiden Haas, Kihei Charter 8.37

5. Duke Stanton, Baldwin 7.59

6. Memphis Brown, Haleakala Waldorf 0.00

Semi-final 2

1. Zolten Poulsen, Maui Prep 13.17

2. Kai Nelson, King Kekaulike 12.04

3. Kanoa Kualilani, King Kekaulike 10.44

4. Keano Jardine, Maui Christian 10.10

5. Rex Ang, Baldwin 6.93

6. Jack Hill, Maui Christian 4.17

Final

1. Angel Jardine, Maui Christian 11.47

2. Zolten Poulsen, Maui Prep 10.97

3. Kahlil Pineres-Schooley, Seabury Hall 10.40

4. Kai Nelson, King Kekaulike 10.26

5. Kanoa Kuailani, King Kekaulike 7.77

6. Ezra Offergeld, Maui Prep 5.30

Girls

Semi-final 1

1. Thayane Colpas, Maui Christian 9.43

2. Layla James, Kihei Charter 7.86

3. Mikaia Barnes, Maui Christian 7.47

4. Graye Smith, Baldwin 5.17

5. Bella Kuailani, King Kekaulike 5.13

6. Kaya Przecieshowska, King Kekaulike 3.40

Semi-final 2

1. Sloane Jucker, Maui Prep 11.40

2. Chrislyn Simpson-Kane, King Kekaulike 8.76

3. Kela DeCaro, Kihei Charter 8.67

4. Layla Merrill, Maui Prep 7.30

5. Lila Sloan, Maui Christian 6.50

6. Ayla Daian, King Kekaulike 6.50

Final

1. Sloane Jucker, Maui Prep 12.30

2. Chrislyn Simpson-Kane, King Kekaulike 9.1

3. Mikaia Barnes, Maui Christian 6.5

4. Thayane Colpas, Maui Christian 7.23

5. Layla James, Kihei Charter, 6.93

6. Kela DeCaro, Kihei Charter 3.76