Santa Cruz surfer wins Mavericks

Anthony Tashnick, 20, of Santa Cruz, won this year’s Mavericks big wave surf contest, according to the AP story on the Merc’s site. Defending champion Darryl "Flea" Virostko dropped out of the contest at the last minute because of injuries from a wipeout in Hawaiii a few weeks ago. Virostko has been the only man to win Mavericks in the three years it has been held: 1999, 2000 and 2004.