Youngsters Shine Alongside Dunedin’s Alexis Owen To Sit in Fourth

The
Kiwi
trio
in
the
Under
16
Boys
Division
all
advanced
to
their
third
round
match
ups
today
with
Sol
Fritchley
(BOP),
Zeke
Pragert
(Piha)
and
Jesse
Frazerhurst
(Auck)
putting
on
some
great
performances
to
win
their
heats
on
Day
5
of
the
ISA
World
Junior
Surfing
Championship
being
held
in
El
Salvador.

As
the
event
makes
it
over
the
halfway
mark,
the
youngest
of
the
New
Zealand
Junior
Surfing
Team
were
joined
by
Alexis
Owen
(Dun)
in
the
Under
18
Boys
Division
who
put
on
a
dominant
performance
to
advance
today.

Day
5
also
marked
the
elimination
of
our
first
surfers
with
Van
Camenzind
(Rag)
and
Poppy
Entwisle
(Tara)
bowing
out
in
the
second
round.

New
Zealand
currently
sit
in
fourth
position
overall,
half
of
the
large
field
of
surfers
having
been
eliminated
from
the
event.
Australia,
Peru
and
Brazil
lead
the
way
with
all
of
their
surfers
remaining
in
the
event.

Sol
Fritchley
led
the
groms
with
a
strong
performance
to
finish
with
a
10.27
point
heat
total,
surfing
with
confidence
and
allowing
his
smooth
style
to
impress
the
judges.

All
three
Kiwi
surfers
in
the
Under
16
Boys
Division
are
first
time
participants
at
the
event,
taking
in
the
enormity
of
the
competition
that
comprises
56
nations
and
over
400
participants.

“I
think
every
time
one
of
us
makes
it
the
others
want
to
match
that
and
make
it
too,
it
definitely
pushes
us
to
want
to
make
more
heats,”
commented
Fritchley
about
performances
of
the
three
of
them.

“I’ve
been
trying
to
surf
the
podium
I’m
competing
on
before
my
heat
each
morning
so
I’m
in
tune
with
the
line-up
out
there,
also
learning
from
what
I
have
done
and
improving
that
for
my
next
heat
so
that
I
can
build
throughout
the
comp,”
added
Fritchley
who
finished
with
a
5.67
and
a
4.60
point
rides.

Piha’s
Zeke
Pragert
took
his
usual
gusto
to
his
heat
opening
with
a
big
forehand
turn
to
net
him
a
5.17
point
ride
early
in
the
heat,
surprising
himself
with
how
it
unfolded.

“I
was
just
trying
to
kinda
get
a
score
on
the
board,
possibly
just
with
a
simple
snap.
My
board
thought
otherwise
and
then
ended
up
in
a
layback,
but
it
actually
had
a
benefit
and
led
to
that
mid-range
score,”
said
Pragert
who
backed
it
up
with
a
4.43.

Jesse
Frazerhurst
(Auck)
looked
comfortable
in
his
performance
surfing
to
a
9.9
point
heat
total,
opting
to
mainly
surf
the
rights
at
the
La
Bocana
podium.

All
three
surfers
will
be
up
again
on
Day
6
(Friday
NZT)
at
the
El
Sunzal
podium
where
they
will
aim
to
advance
into
the
final
24
surfers
in
the
event.

Team
captain
Alexis
Owen
(Dun)
surfed
to
an
impressive
13.0
point
heat
total
in
the
Under
18
Boys
Division,
his
scoreline
including
an
excellent
8.0
point
ride.

Owen
caught
an
inside
wave
at
the
El
Sunzal
break
which
allowed
him
several
powerful
forehand
turns,
linked
with
precision.
He
was
justly
rewarded
and
controlled
the
heat
from
there
to
close
it
out.

“The
waves
at
Sunzal
are
a
lot
fatter
and
slower
so
I
aimed
to
take
my
time
and
really
draw
out
my
rail
turns.
With
the
waves
not
really
having
much
of
an
end
section
I
really
was
looking
for
the
big
outside
combos,”
said
Owen.

“Coming
off
of
my
amazing
result
in
2024
here
I
feel
a
lot
of
comfort
in
the
line
ups
and
a
lot
of
trust
in
myself
that
I
can
find
the
spot
for
the
good
waves,”
he
added.

Teammate
Van
Camenzind
(Rag)
was
not
so
lucky
left
stranded
needing
a
4.67
to
advance
out
of
the
round.
Camenzind
was
beaten
by
surfers
from
Mexico
and
Chile,
finishing
in
third
place.

Poppy
Entwisle
(Tara)
suffered
a
similar
fate
in
her
Under
18
Girls
match
up
finding
it
a
challenge
to
hunt
down
the
long
running
righthanders
at
El
Sunzal.
Entwisle
was
left
requiring
a
5.31
point
ride
for
progression
with
her
American
and
Hawaiian
counterparts
getting
the
nod
on
this
occasion.

All
five
other
girls
on
the
team
had
a
lay
day
with
Piha’s
Kyra
Wallis
and
Poppy
Arkle
set
for
early
match
ups
on
Day
6.
Lola
Groube,
Zara
Owen
and
Alani
Morse
have
another
lay
day.

The
2026
edition
of
the
event
comprises
474
surfers
from
56
countries
across
the
four
divisions.

El
Salvador
is
no
stranger
to
the
event
having
hosted
the
World
Junior
Championships
on
several
occasions
before
it
skipped
down
to
Peru
for
the
2025
edition
at
which
the
team
placed
tenth
overall.
El
Salvador
will
also
be
the
venue
for
the
first
major
Olympic
qualification
opportunity
for
our
top
surfers
in
May
next
year.

Full
results
can
be
viewed
on
the

ISA
website
here.

Day
6
Schedule
(Friday
11^th
September
NZT)

Tower
1
(La
Bocana)
–
Full
broadcast
Under
18
Boys
Round
3

1:00am
–
Sev
Tolhurst
5:20am
–
Alexis
Owen

**More
heats
to
be
added
subject
to
progression
through
Under
18
Girls
Round
2.

Tower
2
(El
Sunzal)
–
Single
camera
broadcast
Under
18
Girls
Round
2

1:20am
–
Kyra
Wallis

1:40am
–
Poppy
Arkle

Under
16
Boys
Round
3

5:40am
–
Jesse
Frazerhurst
7:00am
–
Sol
Fritchley
8:40am
–
Zeke
Pragert

About
International
Surfing
Association
(ISA)
The

International
Surfing
Association
(ISA)
is
recognised
by
the
International
Olympic
Committee
(IOC)
as
the
World
Governing
Authority
for
surfing,
bodyboarding,
SUP
and
surfing.
It
was
originally
founded
as
the
International
Surfing
Federation
in
1964
and
has been
running
world
championships
since
1964,
and
the
Junior
World
Championships
since
1980.

Further
Information
For
further
information
on
the
New
Zealand
Junior
Surfing
Team
please
contact
Surfing
New
Zealand’s
Ben
Kennings
on
021
2278732
or
email

benkennings@surfingnz.co.nz.