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Dustin Cuizon’s return to form put him back on the podium.
Looking unstoppable throughout the day, Cuizon carved up the 1- to 2-foot surf at Kewalos to take the Crown of Town surf contest presented by Norep board shorts.
Cuizon’s silky smooth style took him to the top of a stacked final heat. The Ewa Beach local outsurfed Kekoa Bacalso, Jason Shibata and Kylen Yamakawa to win it.
"I feel pretty good because I never won a contest in a long time," Cuizon said. "It’s great to surf against all the new guys now and come out with a win. I’ve kind of just been hiding out in Ewa Beach surfing lately, so I am really stoked."
The contest also featured team, longboard, women’s and grom divisions.
Team VIP won the team title. Members were Isaiah Moniz, Kaito Kino, Buddy Wiggins and Ezekiel Lau.
"It’s a fun format because you feel a lot more loose because it’s more of a team effort," Lau said. "There were some bangers in the event like Randall (Paulson), Derek Lyons-Wolfe, Gregg (Nakamura), Kekoa (Bacalso), Dustin Cuizon and Jason Shibata, so to come out with a win is great."
Nelson Ahina III won the longboard division. Ahina faced Scotty Fong Jr., Kai Sallas and Kepono Nahina in the final.
"It kind of caught me off guard that I won, so it feels good," Ahina said. "It’s my home break, so I was really looking forward to this contest for a while. On my best wave I took off deep in the pocket and rode it all the way to Rennecks, which is the next spot over."
Fifteen-year-old Mahina Maeda from the North Shore came out on top in the women’s division.
"I am really stoked right now," Maeda said. "I was pretty baffled that I got first because I had 9 (out of 10) for one ride and a 2 on my other one."
Ewa Beach’s Kaulana Apo, 15, took the grom division.
"My strategy was to stay busy and catch the right waves, " Apo said.
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