Ready to break out

On a windy, yet sunny day at Newport Beach, three surfers from the Newport-Mesa area walked under the pier.

Amid the rocks and sand the three — Kaleigh Gilchrist, Chase Wilson and Colin Moran — posed with their coach, Joey Buran, in a setting that dripped with symbolism.

For now, Wilson, Gilchrist and most certainly Moran are under wraps, seemingly underneath the atmosphere, but ready and waiting to bust out. They’re wanting to be the next big names in the sport, even reach the status of one Courtney Conlogue, the 16-year-old phenom who attends Sage Hill School.

Tuesday the Newport-Mesa trio gathered for what could be a memorable photo. They are the future.

Wilson and Gilchrist just might be the difference-makers when they compete in the International Surfing Assn. World Junior Championships in Salinas, Ecuador Saturday through April 5.

The U.S. junior national traveling surf team, which includes Conlogue, Wilson, Gilchrist and Moran, an alternate, has the stuff to finish in the top three, win a medal, possibly gold, said Buran, a Costa Mesa resident.

One thing’s for sure, the team is well-represented by Newport Harbor High and the Newport-Mesa area. Buran said no other high school other than Harbor has two starters on the junior travel team, plus Victor Done, another from the Sailors, is on the U.S. junior team that does not travel to compete internationally.

Newport Harbor received fame in recent years from an MTV show and Olympic gold medalists Misty May-Treanor (beach volleyball) and Aaron Peirsol (swimming). But the school with the anchor outside its gymnasium might also become known for its surfers.

Gilchrist seems to be on the path to making that happen. She’s already made a name for herself in water polo. She scored 97 goals to lead Newport Harbor, which won the Sunset League and reached the semifinals of CIF Southern Section Division I. She was a first-team, All-Sunset League selection and also a second-teamer for All-CIF Division I.

But the season is over and now she’s only thinking about the waves. Last year, much like Moran this year, Gilchrist went with the surf team as an alternate for the World Junior Championships in France, where the Americans finished fourth.

“I’m super excited,” said Gilchrist, a 16-year-old junior at Newport Harbor. “It’s my third year going on the trip, but last year I was an alternate so I really want to come out strong and have a good placing ... I want to get top 15 and help this team win the gold medal.”

Wilson is also very excited to be going to Ecuador. After all, he grabbed the fourth and final spot to compete in the boys’ under-18 division. Two months ago during a training camp session Buran held a surf competition for the last spot.

It wasn’t strange territory for Wilson. He made the team the same way last year.

“He delivered in the clutch,” Buran said of Wilson, 17.

The Newport Harbor senior had to surf eight consecutive heats to come out on top at the training camp and punch his ticket to the World Junior Championships, where nearly 30 countries will be competing in the intense event.

“It’s a marathon,” said Buran, a heralded pro in the 1980s who now coaches and is also a pastor of a Calvary Chapel church in Fountain Valley. “The world juniors goes on and on and on. It takes a lot out of you. It’s mentally grueling. In its own way, it’s almost like a surfing decathlon.”

Buran also said he expects the temperatures to be hot, and that he must be mindful of keeping the surfers hydrated. He even used the word, “baby-sit,” as for what he will need to do at times to keep the surfers from passing out.

He won’t need to worry about Conlogue. She’s quite familiar with big-time surfing events.

In January, she finished third in the Assn. of Surfing Professionals World Junior Championships. Last year, she won the Governor’s Cup and was the top female at the National Scholastic Surfing Assn. national championships.

Similar to Gilchrist, Conlogue is putting aside her athletic involvement at Sage Hill to try to bring back home a gold medal from Ecuador. Conlogue, who lives in Santa Ana, competes in the 200- and 400-meter races, as well as the 400 relay and the pole vault for the Lightning.

“I love staying busy,” said Conlogue, a junior. “It keeps me out of trouble.”

Her mother, Tracey, is also one known to keep her in line, Buran said. At most events, Conlogue will stay in a separate room with her mom, away from the team, Buran said.

Conlogue dabbles with track and field, but everyone knows her true sport is surfing, and she is among the best in the world. Where ever she goes the hype follows her and she does her best to live up to.

“There’s definitely pressure,” said Conlogue, who will be competing in the women’s division (under-18) with Gilchrist. “I always want to win. I have my own standards for myself. I probably put more pressure on myself than other people. I take it in and use it for more adrenaline.”

Maybe Moran will do the same and become a famous surfer to come out of Costa Mesa. The 14-year-old, who is an eighth-grader at TeWinkle Intermediate, won’t be competing in the World Junior Championships, but he will be going up against surfers from other countries in a special team event.

It’s a competition that includes four boys and one girl, mostly alternates, from other countries.

“I’ll be able to get experience,” Moran said. “I’ll compete against people I never competed against from other countries.”

Who knows, maybe he’ll also see a couple local surfers break out and win a gold medal.

STEVE VIRGEN may be reached at (714) 966-4616 or by e-mail at steve.virgen@latimes.com.