Piha’s
Poppy
Arkle
and
Mount
Maunganui’s
Tyler
Stenzel
have
surfed
to
victories
at
the
final
event
of
the
New
Zealand
Grom
Series
held
at
Gisborne
over
the
weekend.
The
Sequence
Surf
Gisborne
Junior
Pro
presented
by
Creatures
and
Sex
Wax
was
contested
in
some
of
the
best
conditions
of
the
series
with
perfect
1.0m
waves
at
Makorori
Beach
north
of
Gisborne.
Six
surfers
rode
to
victory
across
the
junior
divisions
with
Zara
Owen
(Dunedin)
and
Luca
Thompson
(Raglan)
takin
the
Under
16
divisions
and
Louis
Macquet
(Ohope)
and
Summer
Holmes
(Mount)
taking
the
Under
14
Divisions.
Arkle
had
a
stellar
season
making
eight
from
eight
finals
but
this
weekend
was
her
first
win,
capping
off
the
season
on
her
last
ride
of
a
9.57
and
a
17.07
heat
total.
“Yeah,
I’m
pretty
stoked.
I’ve
made
in
every
single
final
this
year,
and
I’ve
never
won
one,
so
this
is
like
a
real
change
for
me,
and
I’m
just
so
happy,”
said
Arkle.
“I
didn’t
know
how
high
my
last
wave
was,
but
I
remember
getting
three
good
turns,
so
I
was
like,
this
is
worth
a
claim,
and
it
was,
so,
yeah,
that’s
pretty
cool,”
she
added.
Despite
Arkle’s
impressive
heat
total,
she
had
a
battle
on
her
hands
the
whole
final.
Kyra
Wallis
(Piha)
pocketed
a
pair
of
seven-point
rides
and
looked
strong.
Sage
Fritchley
(Mnt)
posted
an
excellent
8.67
to
be
in
the
hunt
until
the
final
hooter
but
could
not
find
a
backup
finishing
behind
Wallis
in
fourth
with
Indi-Lee
Ruddell
(Whngrei)
finishing
in
fourth.
Tyler
Stenzel
surfed
to
his
third
win
of
the
season
at
Makorori
on
Sunday.
The
smooth
natural
foot
surfer
rode
to
a
15.50-point
heat
total
in
another
tight
final
with
Sev
Tolhurst
(Piha)
and
Van
Camenzind
(Rag)
both
challenging
for
the
win.
Sev
Tolhurst
hugged
the
lefts
all
final
as
did
Camenzind
who
posted
a
late
8.23
point
ride
but
he
had
to
settle
for
third
behind
Tolhurst
and
first
time
finalist
Sam
Greetis
(Rag)
in
fourth.
The
big
final
in
the
Under
16s
came
from
the
boys
with
Luca
Thompson
stomping
his
authority
on
the
division
with
a
15.84
point
win
ahead
of
Sol
Fritchley
(Mnt),
Fritchley
posting
a
9.17
on
his
last
ride
as
he
searched
for
a
near
perfect
wave
to
steal
the
win.
Jesse
Frazerhurst
finished
in
third
place
in
the
final
with
local
surfer
Jaxon
Pardoe
finishing
fourth
in
the
final.
Dunedin
surfer
Zara
Owen
surfed
to
a
win
in
the
Under
16
Girls
Division.
It
was
another
15-point
winning
heat
total
for
the
young
14-year-old
surfer.
Isla
McKay
surfed
to
her
first
final
of
the
year
finishing
in
second
place
ahead
of
Selva
Petzold
de
la
Cruz
(Rag)
and
Jade
Nias
Phillips.
The
Under
14
Divisions
were
claimed
by
Louis
Mcaquet,
his
first
of
the
year
and
Summer
Holmes
(Mnt)
who
took
home
her
second
win
of
the
season.
2026
NZ
Grom
Series
Winners
Under
18
Boys
–
Alexis
Owen
(Dun)
Under
18
Girls
–
Maya
Mateja
(Rag)
Under
16
Boys
–
Sol
Fritchley
(Mnt)
Under
16
Girls
–
Lola
Groube
(Pau)
Under
14
Boys
–
Ffeon
Clifford
(Mnt)
Under
14
Girls
–
Summer
Holmes
(Mnt)
Further
Information
For
further
information
on
the
2026
Sequence
Surf
Shop
Gisborne
Junior
Pro,
please
contact
Surfing
New
Zealand’s
Gavin
Bisman
on
027-446-4174
or
email
gavin.bisman@surfingnz.co.nz
Imagery
High-resolution
images
will
be
available
to
media
upon
request.
Images
will
be
distributed
free
of
charge
courtesy
of
Surfing
NZ.
Please
contact
Gavin
Bisman
for
further
details.
Event
Details
The
draw
and
results
can
be
viewed
at www.Liveheats.com/SurfingNewZealand.
Follow
the
event
Follow
the
action
via
social
media
@surfingnz
across
Facebook,
Instagram,
Twitter
and
TikTok.
Surfing
New
Zealand
is
proudly
partnered
by:
Sport
NZ
Sun
Bum
ACC
Kiwi
Holiday
Insurance
Ends
Go to Surfing New Zealand
Author: Ben Kennings