Dusty Payne and Coco Ho Win the Billabong Junior Pro at Kewalo Basin

The finals for the boys and girls division for the Billabong Junior Pro Series Event 'In Memory of Ronnie Burns' was all about friendship. That's because best friends Coco Ho and Dusty Payne beat out their best friends Carissa Moore and Granger Larsen in the finals.

Dusty Payne, Boys Champion

Conditions at Kewalo Basin went from soft surf and rainy in the morning to hollow and sunny in the afternoon for the man-on-man heats. As the tide dropped, the 1-to 2-foot waves drastically improved for the semi finals.

The home team, Oahu girls in the semi finals out-surfed the visiting Kauai girls with ease. In the first girl's semi final, Honolulu's Carissa Moore used her Kewalo local status to out-surf Kauai's Leila Hurst. On any given day, Moore is one of the best surfers in the Kewalo's lineup. Sunset Beach's Coco Ho, dominated her semi against Kauaian Bethany Hamilton.

And the all Oahu girls final was set with Ho and Moore.

Coco Ho used priority to keep Carissa Moore in second place for most of the final. Until the final 30 seconds when Coco blew up a left with solid backhand snaps and a floater, netting her an 8.5 and the win. For their finals appearances both Coco and Carissa are invited to the World Billabong Junior Championships in North Narrabean, Australia in January.

In the boys division it was all about the Maui boys. Granger Larsen advanced past fellow Valley Isle bruddah Kai Barger in the semis. Kai surfed well the entire heat, but Granger posted a come-from-behind charge at the end of the heat. In the other semi, Maui's Dusty Payne made good use of the sets to dispose of a red, hot Torrey Meister. Payne found his groove in the semi early on and proceeded to go vertical on his backside all the way to the final.

Coco Ho, Girls Champion

The 30-minute final between Dusty Payne and Granger Larsen was a duel that many surf spectators will see in the future. Payne and Larsen are arguably the best amateur surfers in the nation and are constantly making NSSA finals together. Dusty swung first by netting good scores early in the final with inside waves. From there, Granger played catch up all heat long and was left looking for a set that would never come. Dusty surfed with power and critical positioning on the lefts, busting at least five turns in the challenging 2-foot waves. Payne left Kewalo's with the victory and a cool $2000 bucks. All of the boy's semi finalists are invited to the World Billabong Junior Championships in January.

Girls Division

1) Coco Ho $1250

2) Carissa Moore $600

Boys Division

1) Dusty Payne $2500

2) Granger Larsen $1'000

 

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