Surfers impress at Junior State Titles opener

A QUARTET of Barwon locals have secured round wins in the State Junior Surfing Titles at Bells Beach and Torquay Surf Beach at the weekend.

The state’s best Under 18, Under 16, and Under 14 surfers concluded action on Sunday.

Barwon Heads surfer Max Bassett took home the Under 18 bracket, while Jan Juc’s Chloe Muscroft and Remy Filer were crowned round champions in the Under 16 section. Torquay’s Teddy Robertson finished first in the Under 14 boy’s category.

Muscroft needed to scramble in the dying seconds of her final to jump ahead of runner-up Lillian Bassed on a 9.10 combined heat total.

“It took me a while to get a wave, but once I got one, it was good,” Muscroft said.

“Going into that final wave all I wanted to do was not stuff it up.

“It feels good to take out the final and it’s a good help for my confidence going into the next round.”

For Filer, who claimed his Under 16 win with an 11.54 combined heat total, it was a great result for him despite the somewhat difficult conditions.

“It was hard conditions but there were definitely some good ones out the back on the sets that were coming through,” Filer said.

“It was all fun competing with my mates out there.

“It feels great to take out the event; I’m really happy with the result.”

The next round of the Victorian Junior Surfing Titles will take place on the Mornington Peninsula from April 20-21.