Noe Mar McGonagle has been unstoppable in 2012. The young surfer from Pavones is now in the semifinals and his incredible performance thus far places him as one of the top ten surfers under-16 in the world. Thanks to strong swell conditions at Playa Venao in Panama yesterday, Noe Mar took advantage of two lefts averaging between 2.5 and three meters to beat Brazilian and South African surfers with a score of 12.93.

Speaking to Carlos Enrique Brenes from the Costa Rican Surf Federation (FEDESURF in Spanish), Noe Mar admitted that the heats yesterday were not the easiest, and thus he was stoked to advance to the semifinals. He now has one of the highest scores of the tournament.

McGonagle and Manuel Mesen are the two Tico hopefuls who can bring back medals from Panama. The young Tica surfers who traveled to Panama with the National Team have been disqualified after two sudden death eliminations. Noe Mar’s sister, Leilani -a member of the Roxy Surf Team in Costa Rica- will have to watch her brother from the beach. Emily Gussoni, Tamara Futch and Arisha Grotti will be by her side as they did their best in back-to-back sudden death heats, but failed to advance to the next rounds.

The surfing team with the most gold medals will receive a special trophy from the International Olympic Committee, a gesture that many hope will indicate that surfing is closer to becoming an Olympic competition. Our National Surf Team no longer has a chance to bring back home that trophy, as the team from the United States brought major talent to Panama and is currently positioned to earn the most gold medals, according to the Dana Point Times.