Arrambide Wins Oakley Pro Junior pres. by Heritage Surf and Sport

SEA ISLE CITY, New Jersey (Saturday, August 30, 2008) – Cory Arrambide (Ventura, CA), 19, claimed his second Oakley Pro Junior presented by Heritage Surf and Sport title today. Arrambide beat local surfer Rob Kelly (Ocean City, NJ), 18, Nat Young (Santa Cruz, CA), 17, and Trevor Saunders (San Clemente, CA), 18, in improved two-to-three foot (1 metre) conditions this afternoon in Sea Isle City, New Jersey. The Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) North America Pro Junior Grade-2 event marks the completion of the seventh of 10 contests in the series.

With only three events remaining, top ASP North America Pro Junior seeds are trying to buckle down and secure their spot in the Billabong World Junior Championships held in Narrabeen, Australia at the beginning of each year. The top five ASP North America Pro Junior seeds at year’s end will have the chance to showcase their talents against the globe’s finest junior competitors for a chance to claim the title of ASP World Junior Champion.

Arrambide, who won the event last year and was the ratings leader entering the contest, extended his ratings lead over the field with his win this afternoon. Today’s victory marks his third win of the season. Young was rated fourth on the ASP North America Pro Junior Series going into the event, and moved up to third on the ratings after his Finals berth today, while Kelly was the first local surfer to have made the Final in the event’s six year history.

Arrambide was in top form throughout the event, managing to defeat local favorite, Kelly to claim the win. The Californian opened up the lead over his fellow competitors in the latter half of the Final when he paddled away from the pack and issued several backhand blasts on a righthander to secure the win.

“The waves kind of deteriorated, but a couple times I saw Rob getting waves down the beach,” Arrambide said. “He surfs really fast.”

Arrambide was hungry for a second win in New Jersey and repeated last year’s pre-event routine in order to prepare him for this year’s contest.

“I stayed at the same place that I did last year,” Arrambide said. “I ate at the same place. I tried to keep the same routine and New Jersey has always been good to me.”

Kelly’s second place finish was his personal best ASP Pro Junior result, defeating top ASP Pro Junior surfers Travis Beckmann (Vero Beach, FL), Cody Thompson (Jacksonville Beach, FL) and Evan Thompson (Jacksonville Beach, FL) on the way to his Final berth.

“I'm just so stoked to be able to do this at home,” Kelly said. “I leave for California tomorrow to do a bunch of contests, but it’s so sweet to have a good result here.”

Young’s third place finish at this event improved his cause towards qualification for the Billabong ASP World Junior Championships. The Santa Cruz native was hoping for a win at the Oakley Pro Junior, but could not find the wave he needed to top Arrambide and Kelly.

“This morning was good at the higher tide,” Young said. “There were peaks up and down the beach - like stomach-to-waist high. But, it was hard to find a wave in the final. It was so bad, pretty much straight close outs on every wave. There weren't that many waves ridden at all.”

Saunders earned his second Final appearance of the season, but was unable to find the wave he needed to claim his first win. The fourth place finish significantly helps his cause on the ASP North America Pro Junior ratings, moving him into the No. 16 position.

The ASP Pro Junior Series continues with the Grade-2 Billabong Pro Junior pres. by Sun Diego from September 3-6, 2008 and will be held at Ponto in Carlsbad, California.

ASP North America Pro Junior Series Top 10:
1. Cory Arrambide (USA) 2783 points
2. Travis Beckmann (USA) 2436 points
3. Nat Young (USA) 2203 points
4. Blake Jones (USA) 2203 points
5. Andrew Doheny (USA) 2115 points
6. Evan Geiselman (USA) 1940 points
7. Julian Wilson (AUS) 1930 points
8. Brent Reilly (USA) 1860 points
9. Dillon Perillo (USA) 1840 points
10. Cody Thompson (USA) 1813

Oakley Pro Junior pres. by Heritage Surf and Sports Results:
Final:
1- Cory Arrambide (USA)
2- Rob Kelly (USA)
3- Nat Young (USA)
4- Trevor Saunders (USA)

Semifinals: (1st and 2nd advance)
Heat 1: Cory Arrambide (USA) 1st, Trevor Saunders (USA) 2nd, Michael Dunphy (USA) 3rd, Bruno Rodrigues (USA) 4th
Heat 2: Rob Kelly (USA) 1st, Nat Young (USA) 2nd, Travis Beckmann (USA) 3rd, Matt Pagan (USA) 4th

Quarterfinals: (1st and 2nd advance)
Heat 1: Michael Dunphy (USA) 1st, Trevor Saunders (USA) 2nd, Blake Jones (USA) 3rd, Marshall Alberga (USA) 4th
Heat 2: Bruno Rodrigues (USA) 1st, Cory Arrambide (USA) 2nd, Dillon Perillo (USA) 3rd, Jason Harris (USA) 4th
Heat 3: Rob Kelly (USA) 1st, Travis Beckmann (USA) 2nd, Spencer Regan (USA) 3rd, Cody Thompson (USA) 4th
Heat 4: Nat Young (USA) 1st, Matt Pagan (USA) 2nd, Brent Reilly (USA) 3rd, Kolohe Andino (USA) 4th

Round of 32: (1st and 2nd advance)
Heat 1: Michael Dunphy (USA) 1st, Marshall Alberga (USA) 2nd, Evan Geiselman (USA) 3rd, Ian Bloch (USA) 4th
Heat 2: Blake Jones (USA) 1st, Trevor Saunders (USA) 2nd, Chase Wilson (USA) 3rd, Nick Suhadolnik (USA) 4th
Heat 3: Dillon Perillo (USA) 1st, Jason Harris (USA) 2nd, Austin Smith-Ford (USA) 3rd, Riley Metcalf (USA) 4th
Heat 4: Bruno Rodrigues (USA) 1st, Cory Arrambide (USA) 2nd, Ross Stevens (USA) 3rd, Chris Eaves (USA) 4th
Heat 5: Travis Beckmann (USA) 1st, Spencer Regan (USA) 2nd, Sebastian Zietz (HAW) 3rd, Jensen Callaway (USA) 4th
Heat 6:Rob Kelly (USA) 1st, Cody Thompson (USA) 2nd, Evan Thompson (USA) 3rd, Zach Humpreys (USA) 4th
Heat 7: Nat Young (USA) 1st, Kolohe Andino (USA) 2nd, Fisher Heverly (USA) 3rd, Ben Graeff (USA) 4th
Heat 8: Matt Pagan (USA) 1st, Brent Reilly (USA) 2nd, Phillip Goold (USA) 3rd, Keto Burns (USA) 4th