Briefly In Sports

Pitz helps Team USA to bronze

Laguna Beach High junior Taylor Pitz competed at the Quiksilver International Surfing Assn. World Junior Championship, which ended Thursday in New Zealand.

Pitz was one of four surfers on the girls’ Under-18 national team. She helped Team USA, coached by Laguna Beach resident Ian Cairns, to a third-place finish and bronze medal.

Pitz finished in 11th place in individual U-18 girls’ competition.

For more extensive coverage of the event, see next week’s Coastline Pilot.

Meisberger wins go-kart title

Laguna Beach High freshman Matthew Meisberger has received recognition for winning the 2009 season go-karting championship. Meisberger received his award at the Los Angeles Kart Club banquet in December. He dominated the club’s popular HPV-2 Junior class with three wins and seven podium appearances.

He also completed his championship season with a second-place finish while driving with a broken wrist.

“I needed a top-three finish to clinch the championship, so I had to race with my wrist taped up,” he said in a release. “Actually, it didn’t hurt as much as I expected.

Meisberger, who has been racing go-karts competitively since he was 6, has several sponsors, including the UPS Store in Laguna Beach.

“” Matt Szabo