Malibu’s 16-year-old surfing phenom, Dillon Perillo, brought back the glory he has been seeking for his city last week by capturing the number one spot in his age group at the National Scholastic Surfing Association 2006 Championships. It is only the second time in the 30 years of the competition that the Open Juniors title has been won by a surfer from Malibu.
Held at the famous Lower Trestles near San Clemente during the five days preceding the Fourth of July, the championship event began with hundreds of surfers competing from all over the nation, including Hawaii, traditionally the home state of many of the world’s best surfers.
Eliminations during the week reduced the field of competitors to just a select few in each division. From more than 100 young surfers in the Open Juniors (15- and 16-year-olds) at the start of the event, only six made the finals. Five were Hawaiians. Perillo was the sixth.
According to the NSSA Web site, “The Open Juniors final was no cake walk either. Fortunately for the mainland, there was Malibu’s Dillon Perillo, a standout member of the USA Surf Team. He actually snagged the best wave of the heat during the very first exchange, in which he surfed an overhead right nearly perfect by throwing in countless power gouges and full rail roundhouse cutbacks.”
Two of the Hawaiian surfers then gave Perillo a run for it near the end but, as the NSSA report continued, “Deep into the five-minute warning, Perillo secured another well-ridden righthander and his title became apparent.
“As soon as the final horn sounded, the Cali crew met Perillo on the sand and hoisted him up the beach on their shoulders. There was a flurry of photos snapped, hugs and kisses given, and interview questions asked. After the whirlwind of the victory quieted down, a shocked Perillo simply asked his mom, ‘What do I do now?’
“The crowd gathered around him exclaimed in unison, ‘Celebrate!'”
Not one given to overstatement, Perillo said in an interview this week, “Yeah, it was pretty tough competition.” Dillon Perillo edges five Hawaiians to win first place in the Open Juniors category at the NSSA championships.