Team USA wins first Continental Surf Cup title in Chelan

CHELAN — Team USA captured its first Continental Surf Cup title, defeating three-time defending champion Team Europe 27.75-23.25 during the two-day standing wave surfing competition at Lakeside Surf.

Cash Hoover of Oahu, Hawaii, led the U.S. women and won the individual championship. Hoover earned the maximum 9.5 team points available to her, including 5 points for the individual title and a half-point for winning the best trick competition.

Hoover and Chelan surfer Reese Bordner helped secure the team victory in the women's overall final after Team Europe's comeback had cut a five-point U.S. advantage after the opening day to 1.5 points.

Bordner scored an 8.83 on her first run in the final after landing her first air-reverse in a standard heat. She finished second individually and contributed 7 team points during the competition.

Hoover's victory was her second individual Continental Surf Cup championship and her third consecutive major title at Lakeside Surf after winning the 2025 Gerry Lopez River Surf Invitational.

Chelan's Maya Cowan and Wenatchee's Sierra White also competed for the U.S. women, who won six of eight heats during the first four rounds and contributed 14.25 points to the team total.

The U.S. men won six of eight heats during the Surfing Classic and Best Trick rounds. Jose "Cacaro" Lopez, the 2025 Panama Ocean Surfing national champion and a Team USA wildcard entry, led the U.S. men with 4.5 points, including a half-point for the best trick title.

Chelan's Cash Eygabroad contributed 4 points and advanced to the men's overall final. Germany's Lenny Weinhold won that final to claim his fourth individual Continental Surf Cup championship.

Ben Benson helped halt Team Europe's late comeback in the men's consolation final. The three-time Continental Surf Cup runner-up scored a 9.08 on his opening run and improved his score on his next two attempts, finishing fifth and adding to the U.S. lead before the overall finals.

Team USA held a three-point advantage after four rounds and expanded the margin during the consolation and overall finals to finish with a 4.5-point victory.

Other U.S. competitors included Kielan Jardini and 12-year-old Jax Oshiro-Labbe of Hawaii, Elijah Moody and Logan Watson of Chelan and Austin Fernand of Boise, Idaho.

The next Continental Surf Cup is scheduled for Labor Day weekend in 2028 at Lakeside Surf in Chelan.