Some high school students have to be dragged out of bed on school mornings, but a group of teens at Point Loma High School aren’t among them. They’re headed to the beach to go surfing long before school bells ring.
The Surf Team at PLHS, which practices at early morning hours, has been in existence for about a decade. As one might expect, it is among the top teams in the county.
The team is under the leadership of teacher Mike “Esto” Estanol, who teaches classes like Advanced Placement Human Geography when not on the beach with his surfers. And Estanol has high standards for the young people who represent the school.
“Better person, better Pointer, better surfer,” is Estanol’s mantra and his surfers listen.
The “better surfer” part was clearly seen Nov. 6 when the Pointers took on the powerful Torrey Pines High surf team in a Division I “home meet” at Avalanche break in north Ocean Beach.
While the Pointers had no individual champions, their team depth was obvious as they outscored Torrey Pines in an 82-36 victory.
The surfing league is under the auspices of Scholastic Surf Series and they reported 4-6 foot waves along with students from eight county schools on hand and surfing at a very high level.
Placing in the event were Ava North (6th place overall in women’s shortboard and semifinalist in women’s longboard); Lukas Shipley (5th place overall, men’s longboard); freshman Kylie Davis (semifinalist, women’s shortboard and longboard) and Logan Aldrich (quarterfinalist, men’s shortboard).
The team is led by seniors Matthew Caldwell, Bubba Holly, Johnny Nuanez and junior Sophia Cale.
Estanol and his skilled surfers are hoping to ride their own wave of success all the way to the state championships March 25-27 at Oceanside Harbor South Jetty.
The next Scholastic Surf Series events are scheduled for Jan. 22 at Ponto in Carlsbad, Feb. 12 and March 5, both at Oceanside Harbor South Jetty.
Scholastic Surf Series conducts five divisions in the state as far north as Morro Bay, each with separate meet schedules and a middle school and bodyboard division.
