The contest is considered the state championship for surfers under 21, professional or amateur. The top six finishers were invited to represent Hawai'i at the Billabong World Junior Championship later this year (the dates and site have yet to be determined).

Centeio, a 2001 Campbell High graduate from Makakilo, proved his worth as Hawai'i's No. 1 qualifier.

In the four-man final, he scored a perfect 10 on an imperfect wave. With 11 minutes remaining in the 30-minute heat, Centeio paddled into a 3-foot wave and proceeded to complete four spectacular top-to-bottom carving maneuvers. Each move came in the precise spot where the curl of the wave was about to break.

"I didn't think anything of that wave at first," he said. "I kept going straight up for a big turn and every time I came down, the section would open up again right in front of me. The timing was good, I guess."

Earlier in the heat, Centeio posted a 7.25. His two-wave total of 17.25 was enough to top runner-up Eric Taylor's 16.25.

Centeio caught only four waves in the heat (Taylor caught 10), but said that was by design.

"I wanted to be patient and pick the (waves) that had good shape," he said. "The one I got the 10 didn't have that good of a shape, but it held up."

It was the same strategy he used in victories at Kewalo Basin last year and during a pro-am contest two weeks ago.

"I don't know what it is about this spot," he said. "But I feel confident when I'm out here."

Taylor led for the first 18 minutes of the heat before Centeio's perfect ride. Taylor is from Vero Beach, Fla., and was the only non-Hawai'i competitor in the field.

"I just stayed on the inside and went for the smaller (waves)," said Taylor, 19. "The (Hawai'i) guys were sitting outside, so I stayed inside and went for the ones nobody else was going for."

Nathan Carroll of Sunset Beach scored a 9.6 late in the heat and finished in third place with a total of 15.6. He needed a 7.65 in the closing minutes, but the ocean went flat for the final five minutes of the heat. Carroll, 18, was the only amateur to advance to the final.

Jamie O'Brien of Sunset Beach placed fourth and was also frustrated by the lack of consistent waves in the final. His top two waves scored 8.0 and 6.85 — normally considered good scores.

"Guys were scoring 8s and 9s and losing, so it shows that everybody was surfing really well," said O'Brien, 19. "My strategy was to let the little one-footers go by and wait for the bigger ones. I ended up waiting for nothing."

Centeio, who also scored a perfect 10 in his semifinal victory, received $2,500.

The six surfers invited to represent Hawai'i at the Junior World Championship are Centeio, Carroll, O'Brien, Kekoa Bacalso, Daniel Jones and Sean Moody.

Taylor will represent the USA's East Coast.

The contest was held in honor of the late North Shore surfer Ronnie Burns.

Final results