LIHU‘E — Hawai‘i and the USA are leading the way after Day 6 of the Quiksilver International Surfing Association’s World Junior Surfing Championship in Punta Hermosa, Peru. After 52 heats of competition Thursday, the final two days are shaping up
LIHU‘E — Hawai‘i and the USA are leading the way after Day 6 of the Quiksilver International Surfing Association’s World Junior Surfing Championship in Punta Hermosa, Peru.
After 52 heats of competition Thursday, the final two days are shaping up to be intense, with Hawai‘i and the USA tied atop the leaderboard and five-time defending champion Australia in third, followed by France, Brazil, Tahiti and Peru.
Eleven of the 12 Hawai‘i surfers are still competing in their respective divisions, including three of the four girls still in the main event draw. Princeville’s Tatiana Weston-Webb and Koloa’s Brianna Cope, along with teammate Mahina Maeda are all into the fourth round of the qualifier bracket.
Cope and Maeda competed together in the first heat of Round 3 Thursday, with Cope taking first place with 12.34 points and Maeda grabbing second with 10.00.
Weston-Webb’s 8.63 in the fifth heat of the round was good for second place and a spot in the fourth round.
After a huge second-round showing, Bailey Nagy was a third-place finisher in her third-round heat, but rebounded with a 9.83 total for a win in the repechage fourth round.
Just 12 girls remain in the main draw — including the Hawai‘i trio — while Nagy is among the 12 left in the repechage bracket.
The four Hawai‘i teammates are also all still active in the Boys Under 16 division, with Kain Daly in the fourth round of the main draw. Kaua‘i surfers Koa Smith and Kaoli Kahokuloa, along with teammate Ian Gentil are all in the fifth round of repechage competition.
Daly put up a 9.17 to just slide into the fourth round ahead of third-place finisher Elivelton Santos’ 9.07 score.
Gentil slammed a 15.67, including an 8.50 on his first ride, for an easy first-place finish in his fourth-round repechage action.
Smith also crushed his heat with a 13.67 for first with an 8.50 on his final ride to seal the deal.
Kahokuloa’s heat was tighter, but he took first with an 8.93. His 6.00 third wave was the highest total of the heat.
The quartet, just like the girls, are among the 24 still vying for a medal — 12 in each draw.
In the Boys Under 18 division, Ezekiel Lau and Keanu Asing are into the fourth round of the main draw, while Kaua‘i’s Kaimana Jaquias is in the repechage fifth round.
Lau was involved in one of the closest heats one can possibly witness. His 11.56 point total was just enough for second place. Peru’s Carlos Zapata came away with the heat victory, scoring 11.83, while USA’s Derek Peters was third (11.50) and Australia’s Connor O’Leary (11.00) moved to repechage action.
Asing also finished second with an 11.93 behind American Jake Halstead (14.27), to move into the fourth round.
Jaquias tied for third in his third-round heat, but then put up an 8.73 in his repechage heat to take second place and remain alive.
Isaiah Moniz was eliminated from the event, finishing third in his third-round repechage heat.
There are 32 boys left in the Under 18 competition, with 16 in each of the qualifier and repechage brackets.
The Peruvian waves proved again to be reliable as a clock, states a release from the ISA. For the fifth day in a row, waves were excellent in Caballeros and Señoritas Thursday with long and glassy three- to six-foot faces.
The repechage rounds saw 80 surfers and nine countries saying goodbye to the event. Some surfing powerhouses had some shockers. South Africa and New Zealand lost seven surfers apiece, Peru five and Brazil four.
The event will be back live today at 8 a.m. local time (3 a.m. Hawaiian).
To watch live heats online, go to www.isawjsc.com.
