Ramzi Boukhiam and Johnny Hicks prevail in Round 4 of CHIKO Pro Junior at Newcastle’s Surfest
Morocco’s Ramzi Boukhiam and New Zealand’s Johnny Hicks emerged triumphant in their respective Round 4 (Round of 32) heats of CHIKO Pro Junior at Newcastle’s Surfest that continued at the renowned Merewether Beach in New South Wales, Australia, on Saturday,
March 10.
South Africa’s Beyrick De Vries and Australia’s Creed McTaggart finished in runner-up positions in their respective heats to join the winners in Round 5 (Round of 16).
With four-foot waves on offer at the primary event site on the third day of 4-Star Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) Men’s Junior Qualifying events, the surfers seemed much more at ease
Boukhiam, who had collected a number of runner-up results, made use of the good surfing conditions to claim top honours in the third heat of Round 4. Getting down to business as soon as the four-man battle commenced, the Moroccan surfer locked a wave to
open his account with a 7.00-point wave and continued his charge to back his first-wave score with an even more impressive 8.40-point wave, finishing with a heat-total of 15.40 points.
De Vries put on quite an impressive show as well, scoring a 7.65 and 6.30 off his best-two waves for a heat-total of 13.95 points. Finishing in second place, he successfully ensured his survival in the event.
Australia’s Michael Wright finished third with a heat-total of 9.75 points, while Brazil’s Krystian Kymerson failed to put on another solid performance and found himself sitting in fourth place with a two-wave total of 6.35 points.
The fourth heat of Round 4 pitted Hicks against three in-form local surfers, namely Creed McTaggart, Thomas Woods and Shane Holmes.
Getting off to a patient start, Hicks gradually built momentum before beginning his charge. The Kiwi locked his first business-wave halfway through the heat to collect a 6.50 off it and later backed it up with a 7.75-point wave for a heat-total of 14.25
points.
McTaggart had no intention of letting Hicks walk away with an easy win and put up a strong fight. Despite a determined effort, he was eventually forced to concede victory to his Kiwi rival after finishing with a heat-total of 13.75 points, 0.50 points short
of the required score. However, he still managed to secure runner-up place to successfully extend his life in the event.
Woods finished third with a heat-total of 9.75 points, while Holmes rounded out the fourth position with 9.50 points. Both the surfers were forced to make a premature exit from the competition due to their bottom-two finish.
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