Santa Barbara's Lakey Peterson finished in equal-5th place at the World Junior Championships in Australia. (ASP photo)
Santa Barbara’s Conner Coffin and Lakey Peterson were knocked out of the ASP World Junior Championship over the weekend in Australia, as the pair were competing in the second leg of the inaugural ASP World Junior Tour.
Peterson fell to reigning champion and good friend Laura Enever in the quarterfinals of the women’s competition while Coffin dropped out after the second round of the men’s draw.
The ASP World Junior Tour features the world’s best surfers that are 21 years old or younger.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFO ON BILLABONG WORLD JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIPS
Peterson’s equal-5th matches her result from the tour’s first stop in Bali, when she fell to eventual champion Tyler Wright in the quarterfinals. The 16-year-old phenom did well to get to the quarters, finding a last-second 7.5 ride in the third round to come-from-behind to defeat Hawaiian Leila Hurst 13.43-12.73.
Coffin also made it to the quarterfinals in Bali but couldn’t find any momentum in two heats at North Narrabeen. Evidently, the point break in Bali served Coffin better than the beach break in Australia. Coffin, 17, had said earlier that he was just enjoying the experience of competing in his first World Junior Championship.
“Going into Bali, I definitely felt no pressure as a wildcard and I think that it gave me an advantage,” Coffin said in an ASP press release. “As a wildcard you surf against the high seeds and they tend to have more pressure on them. I’m going into this event with the same mindset and just hope that I can have a good time and get some fun waves. It’s cool that I still have a shot at the title but at this point it’s really just one heat at a time. I was really excited to have the opportunity of competing in this year’s worlds and am looking forward to having some good times over here in Australia.”
Although Coffin has minimal experience surfing at North Narrabeen, the 17-year-old traveled to Australia a week prior to the start of the event to familiarize himself with the break.
“I’m going to be here for the next week before the contest starts so I’m hoping to get some practice out there,” Coffin said. “I’ve watched a ton of video from the past contests out there and it looks like a real rippable little wave.”
The promising talent also feels that competing at the heightened level of competition that unfolds at the ASP World Junior Tour level sets the perfect stage for his personal progression.
“The level of surfing is amazing in the Junior series these days,” Coffin said. “This year was my first year competing in the contest, but it is pretty mind blowing how well everyone is surfing. In Bali it seemed like every heat was so hard. It is definitely really inspiring and motivating to push the level of my surfing.”
