Gabe Kling and Chase Wilson put on a superb show in Round 4 of ASP 4-Star Vans Pier Classic
America’s Gabe Kling and his fellow countryman Chase Wilson made their way through into the fifth round (Round of 32) of the Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) 4-Star Vans Pier Classic after emerging triumphant in their respective Round 4 (Round
of 64) heats that went down at the Huntington Beach Pier in California, America, on Friday, March 30.
America’s Jake Halstead and his compatriot Nathaniel Curran confirmed their spot in the next round of the event as well after taking first runner-up place in the 13th and 14th heat respectively.
There was a large crowd gathered at the primary event site on Friday, anxious to see the international talent in action up-close while providing support to their local surfers. The atmosphere was filled with excitement as the battles for survival continued
in demanding surfing conditions.
Squaring off with his fellow Americans Halstead and Oliver Kurtz as well as Hawaii’s Ian Gentil in the 13th heat, Kling managed to put on a superb performance to steal the show.
Locking his first business-wave in the opening minutes of the four-man battle, Kling posted a 6.00 on the score-board. Almost halfway through the heat, he collected an impressive 7.07-point ride to move to a heat-total of 13.07 points, which remained unbeatable
through the course of the battle to earn him victory.
Halstead moved into the next round as well after securing second place with a heat-total of 12.67 points, which included an impressive 7.50-point wave along with a 5.17-point ride.
Gentil and Kurtz rounded out the bottom-two positions with a heat-total of 8.50 and 6.43 points respectively, consequently getting eliminated from the competition.
The 14th heat saw the 21-year-old Wilson get the better of his compatriots Curran and Michael Dunphy, along with Hawaii’s Chris Foster to advance through into the next round.
The Newport Beach-based surfer collected an 8.17 through a massive aerial on a steep left-hander and went on to back it up with a 6.67-point wave to finish with a heat-total of 14.84 points. The score served to earn him a comprehensive victory.
“The waves are really fun out there,” Wilson said. “Yesterday kind of had that onshore in the afternoon, but luckily it’s staying down today. I didn’t really even expect that section to stand up like that. I just dropped in and did a little cutback and was
setting it up and I saw the section standing up down the line and just went for it. Luckily I pulled it off.”
Curran followed his compatriot into the next round after taking first runner-up place with a heat-total of 11.94 points, which comprised of a 6.17 and 5.77-point wave.
Foster finished third with a two-wave total of 10.94 points, whereas Dunphy rounded out the bottom-position with a heat-total of 9.47 points. The bottom-two finish resulted in the elimination of both the surfers from the ASP 4-Star event.
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