Junior surfing stars shine on Phillip Island

THE INAUGURAL Phillip Island Junior Pro has gone down as one to remember, with six division champions being crowned in amazing surfing conditions.

180 of the countries’ best junior surfers descended on Phillip Island last week for the four-day 10,000 point rated event.

Competition came to a climax on Saturday when six divisional champions were crowned in clean conditions at Cape Woolamai Beach.

New South Wales pair Harley Walters (Angourie, NSW) and Milla Brown (Bungan, NSW) were able to reign supreme in the premier Under 18 Boys and Girls divisions.

In the Under 18 Boys final, both Harley Walters and Dane Henry fired off a range of strong scores to give themselves every chance of taking home the title.

Henry was able to land the first blow and score a 6.35 ride for a powerful combination of manoeuvres, however, Walters hit back with some heroics of his own, smashing out four huge turns to nail 7.75 points.

With the ocean slowing down, Walters was able to stay in the hotspot and hold off some last-minute hail Mary efforts from Victorian surfer Willem Watson and Dane Henry.

Henry was able to shoot to the sky and land a huge air, however his score would fall just shy of the required 7.85 points to defeat Walters.

Walters said he was over the moon to secure the title.

“I wanted to get a quick start but then it went slow so I was stoked to get a couple of little ones.

“It was so fun, I’m just so happy to take it out.”

On the other side of the draw, Milla Brown was also able to get a quick start in the U/18 Girls final, hooking into three excellent re-entry manoeuvres to start off her campaign.

Margaret River powerhouse Ruby Berry and fellow West Australian Willow Hardy fired back with quick scores of their own, leaving it incredibly close as the heat went into its dying stages.

After the dust had settled and with Brown taking the slenderest of leads, she was able to compose herself and take off on one of the best waves of the day.

On her last wave, Brown secured a 8.75 ride and put the win out of reach for her fellow competitors.

“It was super-fun with all the girls out there but it was tricky as always. I’m stoked to get the win, though.

“I saw this sick one coming towards me and then I did what I could on it and got the score.”

Other division winners included Ocea Curtis (Lennox Head, NSW, Under 16 Girls), Lachlan Arghyros (Kingscliff, NSW, Under 16 Boys), Eliza Richardson (Sunshine Beach, QLD, Under 14 Girls) and Locana Cullen (Avalon Beach, NSW, Under 14 Boys).

For full results, head to surfingvic.com/phillipislandjunior