ENCINITAS — In a battle of Southern California surfers on the East Coast, Kyan Yang emerged victorious at the Virginia Beach Pro.
The Qualifying Series victory marked the first World Surf League win for Yang, a 21-year-old Encinitas native.
“It’s been a long time trying to get this one, and I’m so stoked,” he said. “Thank you to all my friends and family, and everyone back home supporting me. I’m just so thankful for this.”
Yang’s supporters had to sweat it out during both the semifinals and final of the event in Virginia Beach, Virginia.
Facing Jabe Swierkocki, a 23-year-old Ventura native, in the semifinal, Yang got off to a fast start, recording the two rides that made up his final score among his first three waves.
Swierkocki responded with a 6.10 on his fourth wave and another strong ride on his fifth and final wave but fell 0.20 points short in his comeback bid.
In the final, Yang faced Cannon Carr, a 20-year-old San Clemente native.
Once again, Yang posted his final score using rides from two of his first three waves.
Carr attempted a comeback in the second half of the final as the waves quieted, recording the highest-scoring ride of the day on his fifth and penultimate wave. It was the highest-scoring ride by either surfer in the final, though Carr needed less than half a point more to overtake Yang and earn the honor of being carried out of the water and across the sand.
Yang later said the calm conditions and tough competition contributed to a tense but memorable final as he held on for his first WSL title.
“That was probably the longest 20 minutes of my life out there,” he said. “It was super slow, but lucky for me there, but just happy to get it done. I was super nervous at the end. I didn’t play priority that well at the end, and then he sat with priority for a while, and Cannon’s so good that the last wave was super nerve-racking.”
Skateboarding was Yang’s first love, but he began falling in love with surfing in middle school. He said in an interview with Turtlebox Audio that “now all I do is surf and I haven’t touched a skateboard in awhile.”
With the Aug. 29 victory, Yang moved into first place in the Qualifying Series standings after finishing 17th at the SLO CAL Open at Pismo Beach and fifth at the Vans Jack’s Surfboards Pro.
