Another successful week in the surfing community for Raglan Area School students. Event 2 of the Billabong Grom Series was held at Whangamata over the weekend of 10th to 11th February.
Results:
- U14 boys: 1st – Jayden Willoughby, 2nd – Navryn Malone.
- U16 boys: 1st – Josef Jungwirth, 2nd – Kora Cooper.
- U16 girls: 3rd – Brie Bennett.
- U18 boys: 2nd – Lee Ririnui.
Northland surfer Manu Scott – Arrieta (Sandy Bay) has gone back-to-back with his second straight win in the Billabong Grom Series presented by Oceanbridge today (Sunday 11th February) taking a comfortable ratings lead in the process.
The second of three events in the series was held at Whangamata in messy 1.0m – 1.5m waves, the Coromandel Peninsula coastline blanketed by low cloud and rain. Conditions were far from ideal for a summer event but New Zealand’s top junior surfers battled it out across eight divisions to secure titles.
Scott – Arrieta won the first event held at Mount Maunganui two weeks ago and today he rode to a 12.0 point heat total in the final to defeated Waihi Beach surfer Zac Curle. He will now head into the final event of the series at Piha in two weeks looking to close out the series with one more good result.
Placing third in the final was Jamahl Moselen (Whangarei) who finished ahead of Henry Gautrey (Wgtn) in fourth.
New Zealand Women’s Champion Raiha Ensor (Mnt) returned to domestic competition today with a win in the Under 20 Girls Division. The 18 year old made easy work of her final picking up a pair of six point rides midway through the final for a 13.16 point heat total defeating Lily McDonald (Te Aroha) who finished second ahead of Billie Scott (Whangarei) in third.
The Under 18 Divisions were won by New Zealand representative Jared Gebert (Ohope) and first time-winner Aimee Brown (Great Barrier). Gebert’s win sees him climb to number one on the rankings while Brown jumps into second place behind Kea Smith (Mnt), today’s runner up and winner of the first event of the series. Australia’s Eden Gray finished in third and Tegen Bishop (Chch) in fourth.
In the Boys final, runner up Lee Ririnui surfed a clutch wave as the hooter sounded and posted a 7.0 point ride to go from fourth to second but brutally falling short of the 7.08 points required for the win. Ririnui finished ahead of Tom Norton (Whangarei) in third and William Van Der Beek (Mnt) in fourth.
Josef Jungwirth (Rag) ended a seven year journey to the top of the podium winning the Under 16 Boys Division. Jungwirth has made numerous finals in the age group categories over those seven years but the win eluded him, until today. Jungwirth defeated Kora Cooper (Rag) who had to settle for runner up for the second time in this series. Whangarei surfer Tom Robinson finished third in the final ahead of Finn Johnson (Gis) in fourth.
Estella Hungerford (Chch) claimed her first national event winning the Under 16 Girls Division. After a finals berth at the National Championships in January, Hungerford found herself atop the strong field of female surfers in her division with a 10.84 point heat total. Hungerford defeated Ariana Shewry (Tara) in second, Brie Bennett (Rag) in third and Georgia Wederell (Mnt) in fourth.
Jayden Willoughby (Rag) ran away with the Under 14 Boys Division for the second event running to claim back-to-back wins in the series. Willoughby’s performance was highlighted by one long right-hander that saw him post an 8.0 point wave score. Navryn Malone (Rag) had to settle for second place in the final behind his Raglan counterpart. Finishing in third was Harper McBride (Mnt) ahead of Mathias Thompson (Piha) in fourth.
After missing the first event of the series, National Champion Ava Henderson (Chch) continued her winning way for the year claiming the Under 14 Girls Division from Piha’s Liv Haysom. Event one winner Natasha Gouldsbury (Tara) had to settle for second ahead of Carol Fujino (AUS) in fourth.
Please see below for final results from the second event of the Billabong Grom Series presented by Oceanbridge completed at Whangamata today (Sunday 11th February).
Under 20 Boys Division Final
Manu Scott Arrieta (Sandy Bay), 12, 1, Zac Curle (Waihi Bch), 9.17, 2, Jamahl Moselen (Whangarei), 7, 3, Henry Gautrey (Wgtn), 3.07, 4
Under 18 Boys Division Quarterfinals
Heat 1
Conor McLennan (Chch), 13, 1, William Van der Beek (Mnt), 9.4, 2, Max Brunker (Whngrei), 8.64, 3, Jack Rosewarne (Ham), 6.36, 4
Heat 2
Luke Griffin (Mnt), 11.9, 1, .Tom Norton (Waipu), 9.23, 2, Ayrton Yarrell (Waihi Bch), 8.36, 3, Lockie O’Connor (Mnt), N/S, 4
Heat 3
Jared Gebert (Ohope), 12, 1, Lee Ririnui (Mnt), 9.13, 2, Thomas Carter (Waihi Bch), 8.83, 3, Zayne Stringer (Rag), 5.93, 4
Under 18 Boys Division Semifinals
Heat 1
Lee Ririnui (Mnt), 12.5, 1, Tom Norton (Waipu), 11.8, 2, Conor McLennan (Chch), 8.47, 3
Heat 2
William Van der Beek (Mnt), 12.8, 1, Jared Gebert (Ohope), 11.2, 2, Luke Griffin (Mnt), 9.3, 3
Under 18 Boys Division Final
Jared Gebert (Ohope), 12.1, 1, Lee Ririnui (Mnt), 12, 2, Tom Norton (Waipu), 10.5, 3, William Van der Beek (Mnt), 9.77, 4
Under 16 Boys Division Quarterfinals
Heat 1
Finn Johnson (Gis), 9.4, 1, Tom Butland (Tara), 9.1, 2, Jack Hinton (Mnt), 8.6, 3, Jack Lee (Whaka), 8.1, 4
Heat 2
Kora Cooper (Rag), 12.5, 1, Myka Black (Chch), 12.1, 2, Manawa Ruru (Gis), 8, 3, Thomas Charlesworth (Auck), 6.94, 4
Heat 3
Tom Robinson (Whngrei), 10.7, 1, Josef Jungwirth (Gis), 8.93, 2, Jacob Saunders (TGA), 7.77, 3, Finn Vette (Gis), 5.84, 4
Heat 4
Mitchell Dalley (Mnt), 8.57, 1, James Ririnui (Mnt), 6.33, 2, Taylor O’Leary (Mur), 6, 3, Ben Smith (Coro), N/S, 0
Under 16 Boys Division Semifinals
Heat 1
Finn Johnson (Gis), 15, 1, Kora Cooper (Rag), 11.5, 2, Tom Butland (Tara), 9.83, 3, Myka Black (Chch), 6.8, 4
Heat 2
Tom Robinson (Whngrei), 14.37, 1, Josef Jungwirth (Gis), 12, 2, James Ririnui (Mnt), 8.47, 3, Mitchell Dalley (Mnt), 5.6, 4
Under 16 Boys Division Final
Josef Jungwirth (Gis), 14.67, 1, Kora Cooper (Rag), 13.23, 2, Finn Johnson (Gis), 9.74, 3, Tom Robinson (Whngrei), 7.3, 4
Under 14 Boys Division Semifinals
Heat 1
Jayden Willoughby (Rag), 10.7, 1, Mathias Thompson (Piha), 4.3, 2, Bill Byers (Piha), 4.27, 3
Heat 2
Navryn Malone (Rag), 9.1, 1, Harper Mcbride (Mnt), 7.37, 2, Te Kauwhata Kauwhata (Sandy Bay), 6.1, 3
Under 14 Boys Division Final
Jayden Willoughby (Rag), 15.6, 1, Navryn Malone (Rag), 11.7, 2, Harper Mcbride (Mnt), 7.5, 3, Mathias Thompson (Piha), 4.06, 4
Under 20 Girls Division Final
Raiha Ensor (Mnt), 13.2, 1, Lily McDonald (Te Aroha), 3.77, 2, Billie Scott (Whangarei), 3.13, 3
Under 18 Girls Division Semifinal
Heat 2
Eden Gray (Aus), 10.57, 1, Tegen Bishop (Chch), 9.24, 2, Tia Ngarimu (Whiti), 0.83, 3
Under 18 Girls Division Final
Aimee Brown (Auck), 8.17, 1, Kea Smith (Arataki), 5.5, 2, Eden Gray (Aus), 4.94, 3, Tegen Bishop (Chch), 4.07, 4
Under 16 Girls Division Semifinals
Heat 1
Estella Hungerford (Chch), 7.1, 1, Brie Bennett (Rag), 6.83, 2, Charlie Phillips (Aus), 5.83, 3
Heat 2
Ariana Shewry (Tara), 11, 1, Georgia Wederell (Mnt), 9.7, 2, Summer Carkeek (Auck), 1.9, 3
Under 16 Girls Division Final
Estella Hungerford (Chch), 10.8, 1, Ariana Shewry (Tara), 7.8, 2, Brie Bennett (Rag), 7.23, 3, Georgia Wederell (Mnt), 4.1, 4
Under 14 Girls Division Final
Ava Henderson (Chch), 9.84, 1, Liv Haysom (Piha), 7.4, 2, Natasha Gouldsbury (Tara), 7.3, 3, Coral Fujino (AUS), 5, 4
The 2018 edition of the Billabong Grom Series presented by Oceanbridge is split into four divisions ranging from Under 14 through to Under 20 in two-year increments.
It is the thirteenth year that Billabong has sponsored the series in partnership with Oceanbridge who has been a proud supporter of surfing in New Zealand. This year’s series is also supported by BMW Motorrad.
Entry into the final Billabong Grom Series presented by Oceanbridge event can be completed here:
Event 3 – 24 – 25 February, Piha Beach, Auckland