Huxtable and Ryan reign supreme at Rip Curl Pro URBNSURF QS1000

SURF Coast superstar Xavier Huxtable and Lennox Head’s Nyxie Ryan reigned supreme in the Rip Curl Pro URBNSURF QS1000.

Held on Saturday in pumping waves and sunshine in front of 1,000 spectators at URBNSURF Melbourne, the event marked the first time ever that a World Surf League (WSL) Qualifying Series (QS) event had been held in a Wavegarden Cove.

Attracting more than 50 of Australia’s best up coming competitors all seeking critical ranking points for the 22/23 Australia/Oceania regional QS season, the event was the final QS event in Australia before the New Year.

In the Open Men’s field, Huxtable looked comfortable from the outset, using his experience in the lagoon to amount some huge scores during the earlier round heats.

When the finals came around, the Phillip Island Pro finalist and URBNSURF regular looked unstoppable on his way to two powerful and precise backhand waves to land him a pair of excellent scores.

Huxtable ended up with a whopping 17.40-point heat total out of 20 and was full of jubilation and excitement after winning his first ever WSL QS event.

“I’m stoked to take the win at my home state, as well as take the claim the win of the first WSL Qualifying Series event in a wave pool in Australia,” he said.

“The atmosphere was great in the water, it’s been really unique in comparison to other events.

I felt super-relaxed but had a lot of fun in the water and it was also great to get my mate (Tully Wylie) back from his win at Philip Island earlier in the year.”

Cronulla’s Jarvis Earle was a standout from the event and finished in second, while Huxtable’s close friend and fellow Surf Coast local Tully Wylie came third and New South Wales surfer Michael Clayton-Brown finished in fourth.

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On the women’s side of the draw, Lennox Head powerhouse Nyxie Ryan and Barwon Heads surfer Ellie Harrison looked like the two to beat, as they locked horns and fought it out till the last wave of the final to get the overall title.

However, ultimately, Ryan would be too good for Harrison and her fellow finalists, scoring an excellent 8.77-point ride to put the win out of reach when it really counted.

“It was great to have one last event for the year in Victoria and at URBNSURF,” Ryan said.

“All of the girls were absolutely ripping, I never felt confident that I had it in the bag but I’m pumped with the result.

“Thanks to Ellie Harrison (runner-up) for letting me borrow her board for the event as I snapped mine in an earlier warm up.”

Queenslander Mia Huppatz and Victoria surfer Sage Goldsbury finished third and fourth respectively and showed a variety of manoeuvres with precision throughout the day.

For full results, head to worldsurfleague.com