Clémence Schorsch (FRA) and Catalina Zariquiey (PER) Among Early Standouts as U/18 Girls Competition Begins
Leihani Zoric (AUS) Steals Last-Second Win Before Skai Suitt (HAW) Fires Day’s Highest Score
Manuel Castellanos (ESA) Aces ISA Debut With First Heat Win for Host Nation
Surf City El Salvador – September 6, 2026
The second day of competition in the 2026 Surf City El Salvador ISA World Junior Surfing Championship (WJSC) showcased another pumping day of surf, with a continued run of solid four-to-six foot swell lining the twin podiums of Surf City, La Bocana and El Sunzal. The remaining nine heats in U/18 Boys Main Round 1 were completed at La Bocana, before the first 18 heats of U/18 Girls Main Round 1 took place. At El Sunzal, 5 heats finished U/16 Girls Main Round 1, before the opening 22 heats in U/16 Boys Main Round 1.
Clémence Schorsch and Catalina Zariquiey Among Early Standouts as U/18 Girls Competition Begins
The most decorated surfer in the draw, three-time medalist Clémence Schorsch (FRA) surfed to a solid start. Building through the heat, Schorsch peaked with a series of solid backhand hooks on the La Bocana right to post a 7.33, one of the highest numbers of the round. The 17-year-old has finaled every time she has competed in the event and is feeling relaxed as she starts her campaign to secure the one medal she hasn’t yet achieved, the gold.
“I’m so happy. I had some good waves, like two good waves. It was really fun,” Schorsch said. “It’s really different to home, more impressive, more power in the wave here.”
Last year’s U/16 Girls Silver Medalist Catalina Zariquiey (PER) also got off to a flying start, delivering one of the maneuvers of the event so far, with a single backhand hit earning a solid 7.00. Added to a second similar attack that earned a 6.50, the 17-year-old was excited to perform in her opening heat.
“It was a lot harder than it looked, but it’s still really fun,” Zariquiey said. “I’m riding my board for bigger waves because my other boards are too small, and it worked really well. I wanted to find a wave to do more than one turn, but I’m still happy with my waves and super happy with my scores. The ocean is pretty good out there, it’s big, and it tired me out, but I’m really happy to have made it through. Just excited for the next heat, I love my team, we all get along really well, and I’m just super excited to be here.”
Zariquiey’s performance capped off a second consecutive successful day for the Peruvian team. Of the ten heats surfed so far by the team, nine have resulted in victory, including from Luca Chipoco (PER), who earned the only excellent score of the U/16 Boys division today, an 8.00. Despite Chipoco’s small frame, the 16-year-old drove through multiple aggressive backhand attacks to the lip of a long El Sunzal wall, scoring a bonus section on the inside that he did not hold back on. Peru’s strike rate in the event so far is second only to the defending champions, Australia.
Leihani Zoric Steals Last-Second Win Before Skai Suitt Fires Day’s Highest Score
Leihani Zoric (AUS) was able to maintain Australia’s perfect record after a buzzer-beater in the last 10 seconds of her U/18 Girls heat. Facing fellow 13-year-old phenom Shakti Martinez (PAN), who posted some of the highest numbers of day one in her opening U/16 heat, Zoric was on the ropes from the start after Martinez won the opening exchange, earning a 7.00 to Zoric’s 3.17. The proud Indigenous Australian fought back with a big single backhand blast for a 6.33, however, before repeating the performance with a similar hit on the buzzer for an even better 6.40.
“I’ve had a lot of pressure moments in my life. I did Stab High last year and I was in the finals, hadn’t made an air, and then I made one on my last wave. So I’m used to the pressure a little bit. There are a lot of good girls in Australia so you’re always under the pump, but it was nice to get the win on that one. Hopefully I can just build a house from now, get some good scores and show the world what I’ve got. My mob is from the Yued mob in Western Australia, and I want to say hi to all my family over there, I miss you guys so much. But I have grown up on Bundjalung Country in Byron Bay my whole life, born there and living there right now.”
Surfing in the following heat was the surfer who defeated Zoric in the Stab High Sydney Final, Skai Suitt (HAW). The 16-year-old Hawaiian opened her account in the event by delivering a nail-biting two-turn backhand combo to earn a 9.00, the highest single-wave score of the day.
Manuel Castellanos Aces ISA Debut With First Heat Win for Host Nation
Competing at home in his first-ever ISA heat, Manuel Castellanos (ESA) earned the highest score of the U/18 Boys division for the day, a 7.67, on his very first wave. A critical two-turn combo on Castellanos’ backhand on the right of La Bocana secured the first heat win for the host nation. Jason Molina (ESA) and Emerson Martinez (ESA) both narrowly missed progressing through their U/18 Boys heats on day one, while Ezequiel Navarro (ESA) was also knocked into repechage today in U/16 Boys and Kalani Morales (ESA) and Kal Larios (ESA) still await their first heats.
“I feel really happy because my whole team is supporting me, my friends and everyone,” Castellanos said. “I knew I needed a good wave early. I had to catch the best wave quickly, get a good score, and then go back out and find an even better one. I just had to trust myself, stay calm, and make sure of my first wave. This is a great opportunity for me to gain experience and compete against the best juniors in the world at home. I feel really happy because it’s at home. It’s like my backyard, and I’m so happy to be competing with everyone here.”
The two women on the team, Sophia Ramos (ESA) and Dorothy Moody (ESA), will also need to fight back through repechage. Ramos was unlucky to miss out on advancing by just 0.33 after a near buzzer-beater came in slightly shy of the requirement.
Competition will continue tomorrow, Monday, September 7, at 7:00 a.m. CST with the remaining heats of U/18 Girls Main Round 1 at La Bocana and U/16 Boys Main Round 1 at El Sunzal.