Steamer Lane Prepares For Oakley Pro Junior Series Finale
The nation's top professional junior surfers will compete at the Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) Grade-3 North America Oakley Pro Junior Championships at the 2008 O'Neill Cold Water Classic at Steamer Lane, Santa Cruz, Calif. Oct. 21-26. The showdown of 48 of the best American and international junior surfers (20 years and under) will be the final opportunity to earn critical points toward year-end ratings
Sebastian 'Seabass' Zietz leads the Macy's CA Trifecta which will ultimately decide the five Pro Juniors who will advance to the ASP World Junior Championships in Australia in January, as well as, the Macy's CA Trifecta Surf Series Junior Champion.
The ASP Grade-3 Oakley Pro Junior National Championships is the biggest event of the season, and will offer the most points, so it is very possible that the ratings may shift substantially after this third and final event on the Macy's CA Trifecta Surf Series. After the Oakley Pro Junior at the Oakley Newport Beach Pro, the top five ASP North America rated juniors are:
1. Cory Arrambide (Ventura, CA) 2888 pts
2. Nat Young (Santa Cruz, CA) 2533 pts
3. Travis Beckman (Vero Beach, FL) 2516 pts
4. Andrew Doheny (Newport Beach, CA) 2505 pts
5. Blake Jones (Melbourne Beach, FL) 2345 pts
Arrambide enters Santa Cruz with three 2008 Pro Junior wins under his belt including: the Billabong Pro Junior Sebastian Inlet, Arnette Pro Junior Newport Beach and Oakley Pro Junior Ocean City. He made it to the ASP World Junior Championships last year and strives to win the event this year. Last year's Oakley Pro Junior Santa Cruz Champion and local up-and-comer, Nat Young, has also had a stellar 2008 season and will look to defend his title on his home turf. Florida's Beckman has climbed the ASP North America ratings in 2008. He had a solid performance in last year's Oakley Pro Junior in Santa Cruz with a fourth-place finish. Doheny has also come up in the ranks for 2008, consistently placing in the top 10 at every Pro Junior he has competed in. A good performance in Santa Cruz could garner him a ticket to the ASP World Junior Championships as it could for Florida's Blake Jones. All five of the above surfers are seeded into the Round of 32 at the Oakley Pro Junior in Santa Cruz, and therefore will receive an equal 25 place (320 points) just for showing up. However, several additional competitors are in a good position to move up based on a solid performance in Santa Cruz and shouldn't be counted out of contention:
6. Dillon Perillo (Malibu, CA) 2340 pts
7. Brent Reilly (Carlsbad, CA) 2115 pts
8. Evan Geiselman (New Smyrna Beach, FL) 2030 pts
9. Trevor Saunders (San Clemente, CA) 1945 pts
10. Quinn McCrystal (Huntington Beach, CA) 1938 pts
11. Julian Wilson (Sunshine Coast, AUS) 1930 pts
12. Evan Thompson (Jacksonville Beach, FL) 1913 pts
13. Michael Dunphy (Virginia Beach, VA) 1878 pts
14. Cody Thompson (Jacksonville Beach, FL) 1813 pts
15. Bruno Rodrigues (Huntington Beach, CA) 1803 pts
Defending Oakley Pro Junior Santa Cruz Champion Nat Young
The ASP also grants a World Junior Championship entry to the highest-rated North American junior surfer on the World Qualifying Series (WQS) tour, which will also be decided at Santa Cruz. The ASP WQS 4-Star O'Neill Cold Water Classic will be the final event tallied for this fifth qualifier. Tanner Gudauskas (San Clemente, CA), currently ranked No. 55 on the WQS, is the frontrunner for automatic entry into the Championships even if he doesn't finish within the top four Pro Junior rankings. Eric Geiselman (New Smyrna Beach, FL) is the next highest rated junior, sitting at No. 90 on the WQS.
The ASP North America Oakley Pro Junior Championship is also the last stop of the Macy's California Trifecta Surf Series, which will award an additional $10,000 to the top three juniors within the series. After stops in Lower Trestles during the 6.0 Lowers Pro in April and Newport Beach during the Oakley Newport Beach Pro in September, the current Macy's California Trifecta Pro Junior standings are:
1. Sebastian Zietz (Hanalei, HI) 778 pts
2. Dillon Perillo (Malibu, CA) 725 pts
3. Jason Harris (Huntington Beach, CA) 630 pts
4. Nat Young (Santa Cruz, CA) 583 pts
5. Trevor Saunders (San Clemente, CA) 565 pts
6. Blake Jones (Melbourne Beach, FL) 555 pts
7. Andrew Doheny (Newport Beach, CA) 555 pts
8. Travis Beckman (Vero Beach, FL) 525 pts
The payout for the Grade-3 ASP North America Oakley Pro Junior Championship will be $15,000, plus an extra $10,000 Trifecta bonus cash, $7,000 for first, $2,000 for second and $1,000 for third).
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