HALEIWA, Oahu/Hawaii – (Sunday, October 15, 2017) — World Surf League (WSL) Hawaii/Tahiti Nui Regional Junior pacesetters Barron Mamiya and Zoe McDougall both surfed into the Finals today at the Hurley Surf Club Pro Junior, the concluding event of the region’s annual Junior season. The energy spiked on the North Shore today at Turtle Bay Resort with sixty 18-and-under athletes charging Pool Bars in whipping 30mph easterly winds and semi clean 5-foot wave face heights.
Mamiya secured the Regional Junior Champion title earlier in the year by winning three out of four Pro Junior events (Sunset Pro Junior, Papara Pro Junior and the Pipe Pro Junior) and earns a top slot into the World Junior Championship in Australia, regardless of his final placing in the Hurley Surf Club Pro Junior. Come Finals day tomorrow, the North shore native will also take home a scholarship check to help fund his travels for 2018 as the Regional Junior Champ and is now preparing for his rookie season in the Vans Triple Crown of Surfing.
Mamiya moves into the Final and looks for a fourth Pro Junior win this season. Image: WSL/Freesurf/Heff
“My motivation is just to win all those events on the North Shore because that is where I’m from and it’s a big deal to me,” said Mamiya. “If I get to win, that would be awesome because I will have won every [Pro Junior] event in Hawaii and I don’t know if anyone has ever done it before. I’m stoked to surf and I haven’t competed in a little bit so I’d be stoked to win.”
McDougall leads the Women’s regional junior ratings by 500 points and was in-form during today’s competition, especially during Quarterfinal Four where she secured a 6.93 and the heat win. The Sunset Beach local has had six first-place finishes across the International Qualifying Series (QS) and Junior series this year with an additional four more podium places and has traveled the world to compete and gain more experience.
McDougall demonstrates power and precision on her forehand. Image: WSL/Freesurf/Keoki
“I think bringing a QS1,000 to Turtle Bay brought a lot more girls from the mainland and overseas,” said McDougall. “It’s pretty cool to surf against them and have some other girls mixing up the competition so it’s not just all the same faces.” McDougall will go against Summer Macedo, Leila Riccobuano and Keala Tomoda-Bannert in the Final.
Kauai’s Tomoda-Bannert made a lasting impression in the opening heat of the Women’s division with an 8.50 on her backhand, the highest single wave score of the morning. A series of vertical re-entry floaters and some nice carving maneuvers saw her advance into the Quarterfinals where she continued her dominating routine and bested her former high score with another excellent 8.67.
Tomoda-Bannert was the standout surfer of the day in the Women’s division. Image: WSL/Freesurf/Heff
“My 8.67, I was looking at it and then I was so close to not going, but then I thought, this one looks like it’s going to wall up,” said Tomoda-Bannert. “This morning the waves were pretty tricky and I didn’t know where to place myself and then I figured it out in my second round and I’m pretty stoked right now to have made it through.”
Big Island boy Brodi Sale, 14, scored the highest single wave score of the day, a 9.0 after he took off on a head high wave that lined up perfectly at the point. Sale hit the reform section with precision and then continued to the inside for a couple more turns to punctuate his performance.
Sale hits the reform section and closes out the wave for a near-perfect 9.0 score. Image: WSL/Freesurf/Heff
“I kind of battled for position with the kid in white [Levi Young] and lucky the wave came – probably one of the better waves so far today – it just kind of kept giving so it was good,” said Sale. The young gun bowed out in the Semifinals and will return to the Big Island with a 5th place finish.
Finding their place in the Final alongside Mamiya is Ocean Macedo, Logan Bediamoland Robert Grilho, all Hawaii athletes. The Men’s and Women’s Hurley Surf Club Pro Junior will finalize tomorrow afternoon after the Turtle Bay Resort Pro Women’s QS1,000. For LIVE scoring, tune into WorldSurfLeague.com or check out the WSL app.
HURLEY SURF CLUB PRO JUNIOR RESULTS
Surfers shown in order of 1st through 4th
All athletes from Hawaii unless otherwise noted
MEN’S Semifinals (1st and 2nd advance, 3rd = 5th place, 4th = 7th place)
SF1: Barron Mamiya, Ocean Macedo, Kainehe Hunt, Cole Frye
SF2: Logan Bediamol, Robert Grilho, Brodi Sale, Cody Young
WOMEN’S Semifinals (1st and 2nd advance, 3rd = 5th place, 4th = 7th place)
SF1: Leila Riccobuano, Keala Tomoda-Bannert, Gabriela Bryan, Vahine Fierro
SF2: Summer Macdeo, Zoe McDougall, Savanna Stone, Gabriella Knudson
MEN’S Quarterfinals (1st and 2nd advance, 3rd = 9th place, 4th = 13th place
QF1: Ocean Macedo, Cole Frye, Gavin Hogan, Maikai Burdine
QF2: Barron Mamiya, Kainehe Hunt, Wyatt McHale, Elijah Hanneman
QF3: Cody Young, Robert Grilho, Tyty Kirby, Ocean Donaldson-Sargis
QF4: Brodi Sale, Logan Bediamol, Sage Tutterow, Haunui David (PYF)
WOMEN’S Quarterfinals (1st and 2nd advance, 3rd = 9th place, 4th = 13th place
QF1: Keala Tomoda-Bannert, Gabriela Bryan, Brisa Hennessy, Luana Coelho-Silva
QF2: Vahine Fierro, Leila Riccobuano, Ariana Shewry (NZL), Kelta O’Rourke
QF3: Savanna Stone, Summer Macedo, Moana Jones, Alyssa Spencer (USA)
QF4: Zoe McDougall, Gabriella Knudson, Summer Ivy, Angelina Yossa
MEN’S Round of 32 (1st and 2nd advance, 3rd = 17th place, 4th = 25th place)
H1: Cole Frye, Barron Mamiya, Rian Son (USA), Kalani Rivero
H2: Ocean Macedo, Elijah Hanneman, Cole Alves, Arnau Martinez (ESP)
H3: Wyatt McHale, Maikai Burdine, Keanu Taylor, Dylan Franzmann
H4: Kainehe Hunt, Gavin Hogan, Ryder Guest, Dante Silva
H5: Cody Young, Sage Tutterow, Makana Franzmann, Tony Nunez
H6: Tyty Kirby, Haunui David (PYF), Makana Pang, Sammy Gray
H7: Brodi Sale, Ocean Donaldson-Sargis, Jake Riccobuano, Levi Young
H8: Logan Bediamol, Robert Grilho, Luke Swanson, Neil Piper
WOMEN’S Round of 20 (1st and 2nd advance, 3rd = 17th place, 4th = 25th place)
H1: Keala Tomoda-Bannert, Ariana Shewry (NZL), Alexa Muss (USA), Malaika Bishaw
H2: Alyssa Spencer (USA), Gabriella Knudson, Tegan Harrs, Tiana-Breeze De Mooij (NZL)
MEN’S Round of 40 (1st and 2nd advance, 3rd = 33rd place, 4th = 37th place)
H1: Rian Son (USA), Arnau Martinez (ESP), Robby Shoop (USA)
H2: Keanu Taylor, Dante Silva, Nakoa Mendiola (USA), Dwight Pastrana (PRI)
H3: Makana Franzmann, Haunui David (PYF), Joshua Chester, Kyle Tester (USA)
H4: Ocean Donaldson-Sargis, Neil Piper, Zac Hedeman, Riley Morgan (USA)