It was all about high performance surfing on the second day of men's competition at the Reef Hawaiian Pro yesterday.

Contestants of the 6-Star Qualifying Series event displayed their full repertoire of tricks as the swell declined at Haleiwa.

Wave face heights hovered in the 6- to 10-foot range, allowing Triple Crown surfers to ride shorter boards and lay down critical maneuvers.

Brett Simpson, 23, of Huntington Beach, Calif., went off with his short board. Simpson posted the highest scoring wave of the event, a 9.9 on his first wave of the Triple Crown.

“;There's really good waves out there and it's just a matter of getting them,”; Simpson said. “;Hopefully, I'll keep starting off with a little bang.”;

In 2006, Simpson placed fourth at Haleiwa and was awarded the Nose Guard Rookie of the Year. His experience at Alii Beach Park helped him beat Hawaii surfers Fred Patacchia, Daniel Jones and Gavin Gillette in the third round. Patacchia advanced out of the heat in second place, but Simpson asserted his contention for this year's Reef Hawaiian Pro trophy.

“;This is one of my better events and the waves are super good and fits my surfing,”; said Simpson, who is in 27th place on the Qualifying Series. “;It's pretty high performance and just like surfing Lower (Trestles), just a little bit more powerful.”;

Simpson needs to make the final heat of the Reef Hawaiian Pro and turn in a great result at the O'Neill World Cup of Surfing to have a chance at qualifying for the world tour.

The top 17 ranked surfers on the Qualifying Series at the end of the year are invited to the 2009 WT, the most prestigious professional surfing tour in the world.

Hawaii's Sunny Garcia, 38, also needs amazing results at the first two contests of the Triple Crown to qualify.

Garcia squeaked out of his third round heat with classic power surfing. Garcia, who was world champ in 2000, was hoping for big surf at Haleiwa yesterday.

“;I'm happy to get through, but I know if the waves were big I would have a better chance,”; said Garcia, who is ranked 33rd on the Qualifying Series. “;In this kind of stuff the kids these days surf incredible. They're able to do airs and all those things that I can only dream about doing. I was hoping to level the playing field with some big waves.”;

This was Garcia's first year on the QS since retiring two years ago. After a brief stint in jail for tax evasion and a longer house arrest last year, Garcia is trying to prove his critics wrong by doing the tour.

“;A lot of people said I couldn't make it back (to the WT) if I tried. I have nothing better to do than to prove people wrong, so I'm trying,”; Garcia said. “;I want to make it. That's why I'm a little disappointed that the waves are small and it doesn't seem like there's anything coming.”;

With no significant swells forecasted for the rest of the holding period, things aren't looking promising for high surf at Haleiwa in the near future.

The men will have a lay day while the women of the Reef Hawaiian Pro take to the water today.

Look for Kauai's Bethany Hamilton and Alana Blanchard to lay it all on the line at Alii Beach Park. Both women are looking to qualify for the world tour, but need to make the final at the first jewel of the Vans Triple Crown of Surfing.