Lightfoot in nail biting finish and win at Seals

Dylan Lightfoot ©Aerialmedia

 

In a nail-biting final, Dylan Lightfoot of JBay won the U20 WSL Pro Junior Men’s event at the Billabong Junior Series Grand Finale at Seals Point.

In the closest heat in the Billabong Junior history  Lightfoot overtook Adin Masencamp from Strand on the last wave of the heat and won by a mere .05 of a point. This was the narrowest of margins, in the small but highly contestable 3-foot conditions.

In the U20 WSL Pro Junior Women’s event, Nicole Pallet from Durban repeated her victory from the first event at Magnatubes, taking out Sophie Bell from Umdloti in the final.

Nicole and Sophie were the two stand-outs in their divisions and faced off in the Women’s pro final. Sophie placed second in this U20 but won the U16 Girls division.

Earlier in the three-day event St Francis Bay’s Crustal Hulett, suffering from a knee injury, was ousted by Chanelle Botha.

Nicole Pallet © Kody McGregor

James Ribbink was the stand-out in the U12 division, winning this event and  the U12  Boys Series.  Gabi Lailvaux did the same by winning the U14 Girls division in this event and the U14 Girls Series.

“I’m very very happy that I won this event,” said James Ribbink. “It was very hard in the beginning, and then I got the one good wave, but I couldn’t hear the scores. After the heat everyone told me I had probably won, and then I went and stood on two urchins and now I can’t get them out of my foot. I’m also very stoked to win the series.”

James Ribbink © Kody McGregor

“It has been a great two event series, and we’re very proud of all the junior surfers and their performances,” said Billabong South Africa Marketing Manager Chad D’Arcy. “The other great thing is that most of these surfers are going to stick around to compete in the Billabong SA Junior Champs presented by BOS that will take place next week and weekend in JBay. After we have wrapped here we’re going across to set up at the Lower Point for this very popular 5-day junior event.”

(Edited by St Francis Chronicle)

Final Event Results:

U12 Boys
1. James Ribbink (Durban)
2. Mitch Du Preez (East London)
3. Daniel Emslie (East London)
4. Christian Venter (Melkbos)

U14 Boys
1. Max Elkington (Kommetjie)
2. Luke Slijpen (Hout Bay)
3. Eli Beukes (Kommetjie)
4. York Van Jaarsveldt (Kommetjie)

U14 Girls
1. Gabi Lailvaux (Westbrook)
2. Julia Ploughman (Cape Town)
3. Tayla De Coning (East London)
4. Kelly Medley (Port Elizabeth)

U16 Girls
1. Sophie Bell (Umdloti)
2. Kirsty McGillivray (JBay)
3. Danica Stockigt (East London)
4. Taghiti Gericke (Wilderness)

U16 Boys
1. Sebastian Williams (JBay)
2. Koby Oberholzer (Warner Beach)
3. Joshe Faulkner (JBay)
4. Luke Slijpen (Hout Bay)

WSL Pro Junior U20 Women’s
1. Nicole Pallet (Durban)
2. Sophie Bell (Umdloti)

WSL Pro Junior U20 Men’s
1. Dylan Lightfoot (JBay)
2. Adin Masencamp (Strand)

Billabong Junior Series Presented By BOS 2015 Series Results:

U12 Boys
1. James Ribbink
2. Nathan Spalding
3. Mitch Du Preez

U14 Girls
1. Gabi Lailvaux
2. Julia Ploughman
3. Kelly Medley

U14 Boys
1. Max Elkington
2. Luke Slijpen
3. Eli Beukes

U16 Girls
1. Kirsty McGillivray
2. Danica Stockigt
3. Anna Jellema-Butler

U16 Boys
1. Sebastian Williams
2. Ethan Fletcher
3. Ford van Jaarsveldt


U20 Pro Junior Men’s

1. Dylan Lightfoot
   2. Jordy Maree
   3. Adin MasencampU20 Pro Junior Women’s
   1. Nicole Pallet
   2. Gina Smith
   3. Olivia BrandWSL Africa regional squad team for the World Junior Championships in 2016 –
   Men:
   Dylan Lightfoot, Shane Sykes, Adin Masencamp, Jordy Maree, Matt McGillivray, Bevan Willis
   Women:
   Nicole Pallet, Gina Smith