Gilchrist overpowers Conlogue

Kaleigh Gilchrist’s choice for her specialty sport will be a tough one.

The Newport Harbor High senior is a standout water polo player and she’s also regarded as one of the top surfers in the nation. She actually showed that she could very well be one of the top surfers in the world with her performance on Sunday.

Gilchrist won the girls’ under-18 division at the USA Championships at Huntington Beach Pier, beating surfing phenom Courtney Conlogue, a senior at Sage Hill School. Both made the 2010 USA Surf Team that will compete in the International Surfing Assn. World Junior Championships in New Zealand.

Colin Moran of Costa Mesa grabbed one of five spots on Team USA in the boys’ under-16 division and Andrew Doheny of Newport Beach also qualified in the boys’ under-18 division.

Gilchrist’s win against Conlogue was huge, considering Conlogue had recently won the U.S. Open, also at Huntington Beach, and then captured the ISA world women’s championship in Costa Rica.

— From staff reports