Krystian Kymerson and Michael Wright power into Round 4 of CHIKO Pro Junior at Newcastle’s Surfest
Brazil’s Krystian Kymerson and Australia’s Michael Wright won their Round 3 (Round of 64) heats of CHIKO Pro Junior at Newcastle’s Surfest that continued to entertain the crowd at Merewether Beach in New South Wales, Australia, on Friday, March 9.
While the first day of the 4-Star Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) Men’s Junior Qualifying event had gone down in challenging six-foot waves, the conditions had improved considerably on Day 2, with the waves lying somewhere between the range of
four-to-five feet.
Pitted against Australia’s Shane Holmes and Michael Barber as well as French Polynesia’s Enrique Ariitu in the fifth heat of Round 3, Kymerson had his work clearly cut out for him. However, his rivals struggled to read the conditions well, giving him an
advantage as he seemed relatively at ease in the waves on offer. Scoring a 4.00 off his first business-wave and following it up with a 6.25-point wave, the Brazilian finished with a heat-total of 10.25 points to claim top honours and consequently advance through
into the fourth round (Round of 32) of the competition.
Holmes managed to extend his life in the event as well despite a rather lacklustre performance, scoring an overall-total of 8.65 points, which included a 5.75 and 2.90 points. The score placed him in runner-up place to carry him through into the next round.
Ariitu finished third with a heat-total of 7.50 points, while Barber rounded out the bottom position after scoring a 1.00 and 1.05 off his best-two waves for a heat-total of 2.05 points. Both the surfers were removed from the contention for the event title
as a result.
The sixth heat featured an intense battle between Wright and his compatriot Creed McTaggart for the win. Eli Steele and Jake Colreavy from Australia were also part of the heat, but the heated battle between their rivals remained the main highlight of the
heat.
As the four-man battle got underway, Wright got off to a modest start, posting a 3.00 on the score-board off his first business-wave. McTaggart responded with a solid 6.50-point wave to grab the lead and put his rival under pressure.
As the heat progressed, McTaggart added an additional 4.85 points to his account, moving to a heat-total of 11.35 points. Pushed against the wall, Wright stepped up and came back strongly with a spectacular combination of tricks on his second business-wave
to earn a 9.60 for the effort. The resultant heat-total of 12.60 points served to earn him victory while pushing McTaggart to runner-up place. Both the surfers qualified for the fourth round of the event.
Steele finished third with a two-wave total of 5.05 points while Colreavy finished fourth with a heat-total of 3.15 points. Both the surfers got eliminated from the competition as a result of their rather ordinary performances.
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