By Luke Voogt
Charlie Farrer’s last-second victory in the third round was not enough to steal the Victorian Junior Surfing Title from fellow local Ethan Huxtable.
Huxtable (Jan Juc) led yesterday’s final under 18 heat with a combined total of 13.27 until Farrer (Barwon Heads) stole the lead in the dying seconds.
Chasing a five-point ride with the heat drawing to a close, Farrer stroked onto a left-hander and produced a well-deserved 6.93 to take the lead.
“The conditions were quite fun out there,” Farrer said
“I was lucky to have snuck that wave in the last few minutes of the heat, and I’m stoked to take out the win.”
Both surfers have now won a round each in the three-round series, but Huxtable’s two runner-up placings secured him a narrow victory overall for the title.
In the under 18 girls Jan Juc’s Mia Huppatz won the third round with a combined heat total of 8.77 to complete a clean sweep of the titles.
Huppatz showed some smart and strategic surfing with nice powerful manoeuvres throughout the event.
“Conditions became tricky in the under 18 girls final, with backwash creating a lump in the water,” she said.
“I managed to get a couple though.”
Not far behind Huppatz was Point Lonsdale’s Minni Vorrath, who required a 4.61 to advance into first but fell about a point short.
Visiting surfers made the most of fun but tricky 2-3 foot waves in round three at Jan Juc Beach, with Barwon Heads’ Jack Bassett the only other local to win his age group.
But local surfers dominated the overall championship, winning five of six age divisions.
Jan Juc’s Mia Huppatz and Willis Droomer won the under 16 girls and boys titles respectively, while Torquay’s Jarvis Barrow took out the under 14 boys state championship.
Rye’s Sara Hickson won the under 14 girls championship.
Third round results:
Under 14 girls
1st Sara Hickson (Mornington) 12.77
2nd Sophie Wilkinson (Shoreham) 9.73
3rd Anna Huppatz (Jan Juc) 6.43
4th Maeve Wilkinson (Inverloch)
Under 14 boys
1st Rye Cicero (Sandy Point) 14.84
2nd Jarvis Barrow (Torquay) 12.26
3rd Remy Filer (Jan Juc) 9.50
4th Cove McPhee (Barwon Heads) 2.33
Under 16 girls
1st Eva Bassed (Sandy Point) 13.90
2nd Isla Huppatz (Jan Juc) 8.67
3rd Sarsha Panic (Blairgoewrie) 6.27
4th Juliet Muscroft (Jan Juc) 3.00
Under 16 boys
1st Jack Bassett (Barwon Heads) 13.00
2nd Willem Watson (Barwon Heds) 12.83
3rd Lucas Hickson (Mornington) 11.44
4th Isiah Norling (Barwon Heads) 10.16
Under 18 girls
1st Mia Huppatz (Jan Juc) 8.77
2nd Minnie Vorrath (Point Lonsdale) 7.54
3rd Emily McGettigan (Jan Juc) 6.26
4th Elise Franzose (Point Lonsdale) 4.96
Under 18 boys
1st Charlie Farrer (Barwon Heads) 14.63
2nd Ethan Huxtable (Jan Juc) 13.27
3rd Charlie Mahoney (Barwon Heads) 10.73
4th Asher Lens (Jan Juc) 9.44
