Ultimate Boarder Competitors Ride the Cardiff Waves

Strong winds, gray skies and cool temperatures greeted surfers at Cardiff's Seaside Reef on Thursday for the second leg of the Ultimate Boarder competition, a three-event contest to crown a champion of the board sports.

San Diego County residents took four of the top five places in wind-whipped waves about three to four feet high. Nathan Zoller of Laguna Beach took the top spot, with Kyle Knox (Imperial Beach),  Josh Morse (Ocean Beach), Pat Millin (Solana Beach) and Eric McHenry (Cardiff)  rounding out the top five.

In the fourth edition of this annual triathlon for extreme sports, athletes compete in snowboarding (held last weekend up in Mammoth), surfing and skateboarding (to be held Saturday on ramps set up in the Seaside Reef parking lot). Points earned in each venue are added up to determine a champion, who will take home $30,000 of the 60,000 prize purse.

Pro snowboarder Chas Guldemond of Reno, who took first at Mammoth, didn't have much luck in the surf, finishing last in his heat. Encinitas residents Adam Taylor and Todd Richards, Carlsbad's Aaron Astorga and Del Mar's Zach Miller are expected to pick up the pace in Saturday's skateboarding action. Taylor and Astorga claimed second in their heats.