An "underdog" surf shop from Kona will represent Hawai'i at the Quiksilver Surf Shop Challenge next month at Lower Trestles, Calif.

Pacific Vibrations beat eight other Hawai'i shops in 2-foot waves last weekend at Kewalo Basin to win the state title.

"It's the first time we ever entered something like this, and for a small shop like us to take it back to the Big Island was pretty exciting," team captain Makai McMichael said. "There were so many of the big surf shops there; we kind of knew we were the underdog, but we kept going."

Each shop could enter four surfers in the contest, and the surfers had to be either employed or sponsored by the surf shop.

Pacific Vibrations team members were McMichael, Casey Brown, Mikey Bruneau and Kaupena Miranda. All four are from Kona.

"People in Kona know about this shop; we've been here for 28 years," McMichael said. "But outside of here, I don't think too many people know about us. It was a good chance for us to represent."

Brown was selected the most valuable surfer of the contest, and scored a near-perfect 9.7 (out of 10) in the final. Brown is 17 and the youngest surfer on the team.

"We've sponsored almost all the top surfers to come out of Kona, and a lot of them have made it as pros," McMichael said. "We think Casey is the next in line. He's got so much talent and he came through for us with the big scores."

Team Boardriders placed second, Town & Country Surf Factory was third, and Town & Country Surf Shop was fourth.

As the Hawai'i champion, Pacific Vibrations received a trip from Quiksilver to compete in the national championships, Sept. 13 to 18 at Lower Trestles. The winning shop at the nationals will receive $10,000.

"We're going for sure," McMichael said. "We just hope to keep it going since we'll be representing Hawai'i."

Reach Dayton Morinaga at dmorinaga@honoluluadvertiser.com.