Cuizon surfs to Kewalo win

Ewa Beach’s Dustin Cuizon surfed with style and precision to win the inaugural NoRep Boardshorts Hawaiian Surfing Championship at Kewalo Basin on Sunday.

He ripped apart the 2- to 3-foot surf throughout the day. On his high score in the final, he attacked a lined-up left and hit the lip six times for a 9.0.

"It feels good to win out here against a lot of these younger guys," Cuizon, 29, said. "I have been surfing a lot, practicing for this event, so it feels great to achieve your goals. My strategy was just to get two good lefts in every heat, stay patient and hopefully the good ones come to you."

The Kewalo event is the first out of three that will make up the Hawaii Surfing Championship series and crown a regional winner. There are various divisions — men’s pro-am, team challenge, open longboard and open women. The next stop will be at Ala Moana Bowls, followed by Sandy Beach.

Coming out on top in the heated team challenge was Green Hornet, with Hawaii powerhouse Ezekiel Lau and the brother duo of Kylen and Cole Yamakawa.

"To be with my brother and one of my best friends at our home break and take the win just feels amazing," Kylen Yamakawa said.

Lau scored several 10s during the event.

"Zeke did probably the best air the south shore has ever seen, which he got a 10 (in the final)," Kylen Yamakawa added. "It was a full 360 in the air and he landed straight forward toward the beach."

Mahina Maeda won the women’s pro-am division in a hard-fought final against a stacked field.

Kai Sallas captured the open longboard division, beating Nelson Nahina in the final.