Torquay finish runner-up at Australian Boardriders Battle National Final

TORQUAY Boardriders has achieved its best competitive teams result, finishing runner-up at the Australian Boardriders Battle National Final.

The local surfing club turned nearly being eliminated in the first round on Saturday into a famous weekend for all involved.

The event at Burleigh Heads saw 42 of the country’s best boardriding clubs take to the water for their chance at national bragging rights.

Torquay finished fourth in its first heat, narrowly qualifying for the redemption round.

Led by the efforts of former world tour competitor Troy Brooks, the club finished atop of the field, advancing into the quarterfinals.

From then onwards, Torquay steamrolled through its heats, smashing its quarterfinal and semi-finals with high scores, setting it all up for a grandstand finish.

The finale of the event was a nail-biter between Torquay, eventual winners North Shore and Mereweather.

Torquay kicked off in incredible fashion with standout surfer Tully Wylie locking in an 8.45 out of a possible 10 points.

Ellie Harrison followed with a sharp 7.28 to put Torquay out into the lead heading into the final ten minutes of the event.

However, it all came down to the final surfer, with North Shore surfer Alister Reginato locking in a 5.88 to inch them just ahead.

Local star Xavier Huxtable was left needing a mid-range score to put Torquay back into the lead, however fell just short.

North Shore finished with 39.34, followed by Torquay on 38.19, Mereweather on 37.45, Snapper Rocks on 34.37, North End on 30.66 and Byron Bay on 23.04.

Huxtable, who was awarded the Oakley Prizm Performer of the event, said he could not be any more proud of the club.

“It was just huge for us and for our local community!

“For us to firstly not even be in the event, to then getting a wildcard, and then sneaking through our first heat, it was just sick!

“We built momentum through every single heat, and we kept getting better and went from strength to strength.

“We are so stoked. If someone told us at the start of the week that we’d be in it to win it, far out you’d take it. I’m so proud of everyone.”

For full results, head to liveheats.com/surfingaus