Olive Hardy, Kaleisha Launders and Zali Hewson among winner’s circle at State junior surf titles at Trigg

Margaret River’s best young female surfers have come out on top at the weekend’s second round of the State junior titles at Trigg. Zali Hewson claimed the blue-ribbon Under-18 Junior Girls award, Kaleisha Launders battled hard for victory in the Under-16 Cadet Girls, and Olive Hardy took out the Under-14 Grom Girls with back-to-back wins in events one and two. Dunsborough mainstay Maverick Wilson showed his surfing was on what judges called “a steep trajectory”, as he took out back-to-back wins and claimed the Under-16 Cadet Boys State Title for 2022, while Busselton junior Jaspar Glossop claimed a memorable win in the Under-12 Micro Groms division, posting the highest combined heat total of the weekend with a stellar 16.83 (from a possible 20). Dunsborough’s Cruz Uros had the closest win of the weekend in the Under-14 Groms Boys final, using skateboarding skills to sneak ahead of Swanbourne’s Jake Scott by just 0.01. “That was a crazy final and I was so relieved when I hit the beach,” he said. “I didn’t do as well as I’d like in Margaret River (in March) so this makes up for that and I’m looking forward to Geraldton already.” The under-18s title went to City Beach prodigy Jesse Siedmiogrodzki in a tight final which edged out Cowaramup’s Macklin Flynn and Margs surfer Brock Launders by less than one point. Clean early morning waves and sunny skies transitioned to windswept and challenging afternoon conditions which made the going tough for the hordes of frothing grommets who converged from all corners of the State to compete at Trigg. Capes surfers Ruby Berry (Augusta), Sid Englert (Gracetown) and Kade Martin (Dunsborough) all rated in the mentions, pressing hard in their finals to win up-and-coming marks. Wilson said he was stoked to lock in this year’s State title and looked forward to representing WA in Queensland later this year at the national comp. He would be joined by Hewson, who acknowledged the tough conditions unsettled her. Those comments were echoed by Launders who described the final as “hard work”. “I know how well all of the girls can surf, so I was relieved to hear the siren sound,” she said. Surfing WA events manager Justin Majeks congratulated the winners as well as those who scored their State crowns early. “WA’s junior surfers continue to impress me and with four State titles still up for grabs, I’m sure Geraldton will provide some fireworks,” he said. The surfers would meet up again in Geraldton in July.