STOKE

By Brandon Petersen

There is one program at Westcliff University that consistently outpaces NCAA Division 1 competition.

One program that competes against the country's best – and beats most of it – every time it suits up.

There's one sport where the name Westcliff is every bit as recognizable as UCLA, UCSD, San Diego State, or USC.

Surf.

Westcliff was the first college in history to offer academic scholarships for surfers.

Now, many others do.

But when the OG of OG's, alumnus Robbie Crist – the first surfer in Westcliff history – shows up at Seaside on the weekend to help hoist a trophy, hard-fought-for and well-deserved, it means something a little bit more.

Westcliff Surf is a family, and it's growing.

Sunday at Seaside, the Dubs didn't win the NSSA California state championship, they finished fourth – but they were just six points from the champs, UCSD.

That's just one heat win.

Four teams separated by a single heat win – UCSD, Point Loma, UCLA and Westcliff.

But Westcliff had something the others didn't.

Taylor Stacy and Jordy Collins.

Two world-class surfing pros who went out there, did their thing, won both the NSSA women's and men's college state individual championships, respectively, and rode a throne of shoulders home.

Westcliff claimed two out of the three major accomplishments at Seaside Reef and finished six points from their second state title.

What a weekend.

And it's not over yet – Nationals is at Salt Creek – it's a home game for the Warriors.

"Feeling good after a long weekend," Westcliff head coach Lucas Taub said. "We battled up until the very end. And to have Jordy win the men's state title, and Taylor win the women's state title – it's huge. Two out of three. Just that right there shows how much this group cares.

"They put in the time outside of Westcliff and their studies to be in the ocean."

And it's not just Collins and Stacy.

It's guys like Cole Futak, who have been around the program forever, a local kid from Dana, who absolutely showed out on the short board on Friday.

It's women like Ninon Mattei, who improved exponentially this season, and made it further than anyone not named Collins or Stacy.

Mattei was out there surfing on Championship Sunday.

It's dudes like Eduardo VanZeller, who pulls off incredible turns, then comes out of the ocean and is happy to teach you about priorities and wave sets.

Or Kylan Crapenhoft, the longboarder with an incredible sense of style, who is always around, supporting his teammates, whether he is competing or not.

And what can you say about a guy like Jack Hopkins, the tall dude from San Clemente with the million-dollar smile? People that genuinely friendly are few and far between.

It will be bittersweet saying goodbye to Hopkins at graduation in May.

Year after year, Westcliff's surf family continues to grow, and Sunday at Seaside it was among the largest – and certainly the loudest – contingent on the beach.

"Everyone supported each other from sun-up to sun-down," Taub said. "At the end of the day, that's what it's all about. I think we were the loudest team on the beach, hands down.

"So, we'll take the win in that, and at the end of the day – hey, we're literally one heat win away from winning the state title, so, we're just going to take that straight into Nationals."

Dana Point is Taub's home.

It's also Futak's.

The 2025 NSSA National Interscholastic College Championships will be held at Salt Creek in Dana on June 13^th through the 15^th.

"For me, I love it, I'm a Dana Point guy, I grew up there, same with Cole, and a couple of others on the team – we know Creek like the back of our hands," Taub said. "We surf there every week. And for the people who don't, we just educate them and give them the local knowledge.

"Jordy's really great out there. Taylor has a really good back-handed approach, so, I'm feeling good about it. Kylan's going to do great.

"We have good momentum."

That's an understatement.

See you at Salt Creek.