WET ‘N’ WILD WITH ROCKIN’ FIG:

Quiksilver ISA World Junior Champion- ships finished up last weekend at Playa La Fae Beach in Salinas, Ecuador.

In the boys’ 16 and younger final, hot goofy foot from Brazil Gabriel Medina opened up with an incredible left, right at the start of the heat with numerous cut backs and slashes all the way to the inside, to score a whopping 9.52 ride and the lead. Hawaiian Keanu Asing struck back with a series of rides with some power packed turns building on his scores one wave after another. Asing’s last wave came in the low nine zone with a series of powering cutbacks and that wave gave him the slim 17.54 to 17.38 decision and the gold medal. Medina picked up the silver.

The U.S.’s big hope to make the under 16 final, Kolohe Andino, was ripping, but lost out in Round 6 to other U.S. hopefuls Conner Coffin in Round 4 and Ian Crane and Evan Geiselman in Round 3.

In the women’s 18 and under division, Australian Tyler Wright got off to a fast start with wave in the seven range with a series of off the tops all the way to the beach, taking the early lead, which she would never relinquish. Hot on her heels was the U.S.’s Courtney Conlogue, who was getting some good sets and throwing some solid turns. Hawaii’s Alessa Quizon had a few workables but wasn’t getting quite the maneuvers in and last year’s champ, Aussie Laura Enever, never really got into rhythm. Tyler nailed another seven score and sealed the deal, a second last year, and a gold this year. Conlogue, making finals two years in a row, scored the silver, Quizon earned the bronze and Enever got the copper.

In the heated boys’ 18 and unders it was the closest final as all competitors were racking the big scores. Australian Dean Bowen was ripping the hardest though, big cracks off the top, carves, slashing moves and racking two big scores — an 8.5 and a 9.10 to take it and the gold medal. Second was Brazil’s Miguel Pupo, who had a mid-eight-point ride but couldn’t come back at the end. France’s Maxine Huscenot caught the biggest set, landing a weightless floater for another wave in the eight-zone and ended up with the bronze while Hawaii’s Dylan Goodale finished fourth to win the copper.

The United State’s Nat Young came up one heat short of the final after blowing up through the repro-charge round, heat after heat. And Fisher Heverly had a good run but went down in Round 3.

So team placings: Australia for four years in a row takes the gold. Hawaii had its chance to win and ended up second. Third went to Brazil for the bronze and fourth the U.S. for the copper. Those were the medal placings. Fifth was France, sixth South Africa, seventh New Zealand, and equal eighth Tahiti, Peru and Costa Rica. Till next time. Fig over and out!

RICK FIGNETTI is a 10-time West Coast champion and a longtime KROQ-FM surfologist. He owns a surf shop on Main Street. You can reach him at (714) 536-1058.