Senior Spotlight was a series highlighting standout MIL student-athletes as they reflect upon their high school careers and look toward the future. Stories ran periodically throughout the winter and spring in The Maui News.

If you haven’t already, there’s a good chance you will spot Tony Nunez at Lahaina Harbor on any given day of the week this summer.

During the COVID-19 pandemic and even with the absence of organized surf competitions, including the Maui Interscholastic League, Nunez has been out surfing every day and working five days a week with Finest Kind Sportfishing.

“I think just living in Maui, you just naturally feel good when you go in the ocean, so that’s what I like about it,” said Nunez, a senior shortboarder at Lahainaluna High School. “Without (team) practice, I’ve still been surfing every single day and just getting ready for when things open back up again, regardless if it’s high school or not.”

The Westside wave rider and fisherman, who’s also studying for a pilot’s license, has been out on the water his whole life, jumping on his first board at 6 years old under his father’s tutelage and competing by the time he was 9.

Nunez said via phone on Monday afternoon that it’s the “competitive environment” and island lifestyle that inspired him to pursue surfing, which has taken him to contests across Maui and on the Mainland.

And he already is making his mark in the surf world. He finished second in the minigrom division and third in supergrom at the National Scholastic Surfing Association Championships at Huntington Beach Pier in 2013, and has worked with sponsors like Kazuma Surfboards under surfing veteran Mike Kinoshita.

Prior to transferring to Lahainaluna for his senior year, Nunez spent his first three years of high school at Maui Prep, noting that the highlight of his time with Na Pueo was winning the MIL boys shortboard title in 2019.

“I enjoyed it,” Nunez said. “It was really fun to get to surf with all my friends from school.”

He was also selected by league coaches as the 2019 MIL Surfer of the Year. As a junior last year, he finished second at the MIL’s season opener before the remainder of the meets were canceled due to COVID-19.

Before each competition, he said “I just assess the conditions and make a strategy before my heat, and it’s always a little different going into each heat.”

“When I surf, I work on a lot of things,” he added. “I’ve been working on different techniques, which changes over time because I’m surfing every single day, but yeah, just fine-tuning basic stuff that I would need in contests.”

Now, while continuing his passion for fishing, Nunez said he also looks forward to “settling onto a new team.”

“He seemed really excited to get some clips and be a part of the team and have some fun,” said Lahainaluna surf coach Luke Adolfson, who hasn’t officially coached Nunez yet but has known him for a while through the Westside surf community.

“It would be a joy to work with Tony and work on a couple things that I see that might help him,” he said. “Also, he just surfs so good that it would just be fun to interact with him and have him be a leader on the team to set the bar high as far as surfing capabilities. He rips.”

Adolfson, who has also worked as a surf school instructor in West Maui, has competed in the World Surf League men’s qualifying series since 2015.

“I think Tony is really well-rounded. If it were me against Tony, he would demolish me at the Harbor,” he said. “It’s all about doing what you love. He’s a goofy footer, so he’s really good at lefts and he’s really good at airs. He’s also really good on his backside– you can get really vertical at the point at the bay. And he just kills it.”

Due to the uncertainty of the MIL season and the fluid updates by the state Department of Education, many student-athletes decided not to participate in sports this year.

The Lunas have four surfers currently on the roster, in comparison to 26 the year before. They have started practicing again in hopes for a scrimmage that’s tentatively scheduled for May 15 at Hookipa Beach Park, Adolfson said.

“We’re really looking forward to getting back to conditioning and for surfing, conditioning can be out in the water,” he said.

The WSL also has not opened up contests yet for the qualifying series either, but Adolfson said he’s already scouting some Lunas who could compete if and when competitions resume.

Once the school year is up, Nunez said he plans to attend Cal Poly San Luis Obispo — where he’ll study environmental science — and continue to work toward competing in the WSL.

“He’s a good kid, he’s very motivated and humble, he’s a very entrepreneur-style kid, works hard, and he’s a really funny guy, and just enjoys life,” Adolfson said. “A lot of these surfers, all they do is surf, but he likes to live and do other stuff and he’s just out there to have fun. He loves to do huge maneuvers and more high-performance waves, and it’s really cool to watch.”

* Dakota Grossman is at dgrossman@mauinews.com.