Todd Rosewall : photo Adrian Hart
Quiksilver State Junior Titles Victoria
Surfing Victoria Jan Juc, Victoria 10 - 11 May 2008
Rosewall and Laing claim Victorian Quiksilver State Junior Titles
Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 12 May, 2008 : - - Todd Rosewall (Jan Juc) and Jess Laing (Phillip Island) have claimed decisive victories in the Quiksilver State Junior Titles held in clean one-metre waves at Jan Juc on the Surf Coast at the weekend. Rosewall entered the third and final round of the blue-ribbon U/18 Boys division as favourite and despite confronting stiff competition at his home break, the hungry field of competitors could do little to stop him.
With local knowledge on his side, Rosewall qualified for the final by surfing through three heats, saving his best for when it counted most; exploding in the decider by locking in top-scoring rides of 7.50 and an excellent 8.00 pointer to claim the prestigious title. Rosewall’s final two-wave combined tally of 15.50 points out of a possible 20.00 was easily enough to relegate fellow favourite, Mitch Baker (Phillip Island) to second on 10.15 points.
Rosewall will now go into the Quiksilver Australian Junior Titles scheduled for Margaret River, Western Australia in December as the State Champion and number one seed for the Victorian team. “This has been the best win ever for me in this series and also the hardest,” said Rosewall.
“Mitch is a tough competitor and could have easily outscored me in the final. I was nervous not having won a heat all day. So I am absolutely stoked to finish my junior’s campaign on a high,” he added. Runner-up Baker was disappointed with his final performance though still had cause to celebrate, pushing the experienced Rosewall to the wire in his first year in this age division.
“I was confident in every heat and felt good. Yet it slipped away in the last heat of the day and I didn’t get the waves. But all is good and I am looking forward to competing in the Quiksilver Australian Junior Titles,” said Baker.
Shyama Buttonshaw (Bells Beach) finished third on 8.10 points and Adam Rawson placed fourth on 7.60 points. Both were in blistering form throughout the early heats with Buttonshaw popping a number of aerial moves and Rawson ripping into Jan Juc’s meagre walls - but neither could find the waves when it counted.
Jess Laing (Woolamai) confirmed her status as a future star, notching up 12.50 points to claim the U/18 Girls division ahead of Georgia Fish (Flinders) who finished on 5.7 points. The win was particularly satisfying for Laing given both girls were tied on equal points going into the third and final round. Laing won at Woolamai, while Fish finished first at Gunnamatta.
“I’m really happy with my win but it was hard sitting waiting for waves knowing that this was the decider,” said Laing. “Georgia is a great competitor and friend. I could see she had picked off some waves and I just concentrated on trying to find one that could get me the points. I was lucky,” she added.
In the U/16 Boys Harry Mann (Jan Juc) charged his way through to the podium, winning all heats to claim his Quiksilver State Junior Title ahead of Jamie Powell (Bells Beach), Tom Cole (Phillip Island) and Sam Chalmers (Mt Eliza). The U/16 Girls Champion was Nikki Van Dijk (Phillip Island) with wins at Gunnamatta and Woolamai over India Payne (Phillip Island) who has been a fantastic competitor in this division and great challenger.
The U13 Boys was won by Joe Van Dijk (Phillip Island), second Darcy Day (Apollo Bay), and third Francis Meade (Phillip Island) and in fourth place Matthew Lawrie (Torquay). In the U/13 Girls division Ginger Brown (Jan Juc) won the event over second Zoe Clarke (Jan Juc), third Julia Mann (Torquay) and in fourth Kelly Laity (Sandy Point).
The Victorian Team heading to the Quiksilver Australian Junior Titles in December will be comprised of the top four U/18 and U/16 Boys, along with the best two performing girls in the both U/18 and U/16 divisions. The Quiksilver State Junior Titles, Victoria is proudly supported by “Play it Safe by The Water” and Vic Health.
Official Results - Quiksilver State Junior Titles, Victoria - Round 3
U/18 Boys 1st Todd Rosewall 2nd Mitch Baker 3rd Shyama Buttonshaw 4th Adam Rawson
U/18 Girls 1st Jess Laing 2nd Georgia Fish 3rd Molly Kenwood 4th Sophie Collins
U/16 Boys 1st Harry Mann 2nd Jamie Powell 3rd Tom Cole 4th Sam Chalmers
U/16 Girls 1st Nikki Van Dijk 2nd India Payne
U/13 Boys 1st Joe Van Dijk 2nd Darcy Day 3rd Francis Meade 4th Matthew Lawrie
U/13 Girls 1st Ginger Brown 2nd Zoe Clarke 3rd Julia Mann 4th Kelly Laity
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