Flood lights up golden day for Manly

 Surf Life Saving Australia, April 2, 2014: Olympic kayaker Naomi Flood gave Manly a golden start on day one of the 2014 Australian Surf Life Saving Championships at Scarborough today.

And the Sydney club may well have found the successor to Flood in the form of blonde-haired 17-year-old school girl Mieke Kassulke.

Flood, Kassulke and New Zealand international Devon Halligan gave Manly the best possible start to the carnival, powering to win the club’s third consecutive open ski relay championship, finishing ahead of Queensland powerhouse clubs Northcliffe and North Burleigh.

Manly Ski Relay Team (L-R) Meike Kassulke, Devon Halligan, Naomi Flood

It was the raw power of Flood that turned the race on its head after Maroochydore had led in the opening leg.

Flood hit the water in fourth place but after the second Maroochydore paddler came to grief the London Olympics kayaking representative moved into overdrive and soon opened a good lead.

By the time she reached the beach and tagged Kassulke, Manly’s lead was 40 metres and the youngster showed plenty of quality to increase the advantage further by the time she crossed the finish line –paddling away from noted Ironwomen Kristyl Smith (Northcliffe) and Liz Pluimers (North Burleigh).

“It’s a great way to start the carnival,” said Flood, who has just come off a successful Canoe Nationals in Adelaide as she set her sights on the 2016 Olympics in Rio.

“It’s always good to get the first big race out of the way and even better to win it.”

For Kassulke the gold medal was her first in open competition and she was still shaking with a combination of excitement, nerves and exhaustion five minutes after the race finish.

“It’s just so amazing to be in this team,” said Kassulke, a Year 12 student at Manly’s Stella Maris College.

“Waiting for Floody to finish and knowing she had given us such a good lead was just the worst time. I was so nervous.”

Finish – (L-R) Cory Taylor (Northcliffe) Isak Costello (Redhead) Hayden White (Mooloolaba)

Kassulke made it a golden double in the under-19 board relay, teaming with Georgia Miller and Laura Crerar to win ahead of Trigg Island and Mooloolaba – with the girls also taking silver to Maroochydore in the Taplin Relay with Mooloolaba third.

Team L-R – Luke Cuff, Hayden White, Jacob Marks

In a day of big upsets, Sydney’s Newport club provided the biggest shock by chasing down the all-star Northcliffe A team in the open ski relay.

Boasting Olympic Games K4 kayak gold medallists Murray Stewart and Tate Smith, as well as Ironman champion Shannon Eckstein, Northcliffe looked unbeatable before the start and there was no reason to think anything else after Stewart and Eckstein had given final paddler Smith a commanding lead.

Smith was comfortably ahead within sight of the beach but found trouble on the final wave and fell off his ski.

As Smith tried to recover, Newport’s Luke Morrison paddled his way into the finish, the pair reaching the beach together before Morrison sprinted away to win ahead of Northclife’s B team, with Smith’s team placed third.

It was the biggest win of their careers for Morrison and teammates Mitch Trim and Chad Alston.

“I knew as soon as I turned the last can that the race wasn’t over, with theses waves and this surf, and I know I’m a quick runner,” 29-year-old Morrison, who moved to Newport from South Australia this season, said.

“Even if I’d hit the beach 10 metres behind I’d have still backed myself as a runner.

“When I saw Tate get into trouble, I just lined up the flag, put on the power, got to my feet first and ran my little heart out.”

Newport proved it is an emerging power in surf lifesaving with more success in the under-19 men’s board relay where its teams finished first and second, with the A team of Max Brooks, Cody Marr and Lachlan Reid taking the gold medal.

The upsets continued in the men’s open board relay when the second stringers from Mooloolaba – Luke Cuff, Jacob Marks and Hayden White won a frantic final finish over Redhead and Northcliffe B.

Yesterday, White suggested to his coach Michael King that he didn’t want to “just make up the numbers” and maybe it was better to scratch the team to concentrate on their individual events.

Luke Morrison heads for gold ahead of Tate Smith, leaving Murray Stewart to wonder what if?

King was quick to inform White, who joined Mooloolaba from Warilla Barrack Point two seasons ago, that if he and Luke did their jobs then Marks, a ski paddler by trade would not let them down.

“I was quick to remind Hayden that it was an incredibly talented team and if he and Luke paddled to their potential then Jacob would do his – he is a tough kid,” said King.

“Maybe I will have to go and apologise to Kingy – the boys did a great job to set me up,” said White.

“I wanted to take the inside running to work with the chop and then stay on the inside coming home. When that wave came up and put us all together I knew it would come down to the run.

“When I jumped off my legs were like jelly and as fast as I swung my arms my legs just wouldn’t work. I had absolutely nothing in the tank.”

Just enough to win a helter-skelter dash to the line with Isak Costello (Redhead) and Cory Taylor (Northcliffe) and claim their first ever Australian gold medal.

Marks admitted it was a spare parts team.

“I’m only a part time board paddler – I paddle skis and was really only filling in,” said Marks.

Best result was North Burleigh girls won the Open board relay. Liz Pluimers, Tara Coleman, Brodie Moir. beat the two Northcliffe teams – As and Bs.

Australian Surf Lifesaving Championships 2014: Scarborough: WA: Day One:

Men:
Open: Champion Lifesaver: M White (Alexandra Headland) B Doughan (Alexandra Headland) N Stevens (Dicky Beach). Malibu Long Board: C Anthony (Bronte), C Nigel (Northcliffe), D Jarrad Cottesloe). Board Riding: J Cummings (Currumbin), B Webb (Currumbin), Luke Calo (North Cronulla). Board Relay: Mooloolaba B, Redhead A, Northcliffe B. Ski Relay: Newport A, Northcliffe B, Northcliffe A.

 U/19Yrs: Champion Lifesaver:  T Hunt (North Burleigh) L Yeates (Newport) M Harper (Maroubra). Ski Relay: Avoca, Noosa, Newport.Board Riding: B Smith (Newport), D Page (The Lakes), L Calo (North Cronulla)Board Relay: Newport A, Newport B, Avoca.

U/17Yrs: Champion Lifesaver:  Jake de Kort (Collaroy) Jackson Borg (Newport) Brock Redwood (Sunshine Beach).Board Riding: T Bissell (Trigg Island), M Gibbs (Trigg Island), J Williams (Alexandra Headland). Surf Teams: Nth Cronulla, Newport, Mooloolaba.

U/15Yrs: Champion Lifesaver: J Shute (Northcliffe) C Woods (Dicky Beach) M Richardson (West Beach).

 

Women:
Open: Champion Lifesaver: K McKenzie (Northcliffe) K Thornton (Alexandra Headland) N Dreibergs (Trigg Island). Ski Relay: Manly, Northcliffe, North Burleigh.  Board Relay: North Burleigh, Northcliffe A, Northcliffe C. Malibu Long Board: T  Smith (Northcliffe), B Alicia (Northcliffe), T Samantha (Alexandra Headland). Board Riding: M Quinn (Dee Why), T Smith (Northcliffe), E McGuigan (Maroubra).

U/19Yrs: Champion Lifesaver: S Mason (Manly) T Miller (Umina) T Mitchell (Dicky Beach).  Board Relay: Manly, Trigg Island, Mooloolaba.      Board Riding: J Turner (North Cronulla) M King (Terrigal), Tess Wartmann (Tweed Heads Coolangatta). Taplin:  Maroochydore, Manly, Mooloolaba.

U/17Yrs: Champion Lifesaver:  C Sloan (North Steyne) L Brown (Northcliffe) E Grand (Coogee (NSW). Board Relay: North Cronulla, Swansea Belmont, Nth Bondi. Board Riding: Emma McGuigan (Maroubra), Danielle Calo (North Cronulla). Taplin: Northcliffe, Byron Bay, Currumbin.

U/15Yrs: Champion Lifesaver:  J Smith (Umina) K Petrie (Carlton Park) G Moore (Northcliffe).  Board Riding: Sienna Coulter (Manly) Tiarnee Massie (Maroochydore), Eleanor Harrison (Nth Cronulla)

Mixed:
Open: Patrol Competition:  Northcliffe, Alexandra Headland, Coogee (NSW).

U17: Patrol Competition: Sunshine Beach, North Steyne, Alexandra Headland.

Progressive Pointscore: Northcliffe 102 Newport 44 Manly 43 Alexandra Headland 36 Nth Cronulla 35Trigg Island 26 Maroubra 22 Currumbin 22 Mooloolaba 22 Maroochydore 19 Nth Burleigh 19 Dicky Beach 14 Umina 13

 

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