Last summer, Nathan Rex wasn't even entering surfing competitions.

Based on his performance yesterday, he can now be considered one of Hawai'i's rising surf stars.

Rex, who is from Kilauea, Kaua'i, won two of the top divisions in the Hawai'i Amateur Surfing Association State Championship meet.

"I was hoping just to get one," said Rex, 17. "I'm super-psyched to get two."

Finals in 27 divisions were completed yesterday in 1- to 3-foot waves at Ala Moana Bowls. The top finishers earned spots in the USA Championships, July 11 to 19 at Oceanside, Calif.

Rex won the prestigious junior men's division and the open men's division. The junior men's division is for surfers age 15 to 17, and many of them are considered soon-to-be professionals.

"This is by far the biggest win I've done so far," Rex said after winning the junior men's final.

He surfed all weekend with a "good luck" surfboard that was held together by duct tape. The board was made by his father, Steve Rex.

"I buckled it on the nose and then I cracked the rail, but it still works," he said.

Rex's performance is especially impressive when considering he is still a novice competitor. He has been surfing for more than a decade, but did not start entering contests until last winter.

"It's starting to sink in a little bit," said Rex, who is a senior-to-be at Kapa'a High. "But all the other guys are really good. Anybody can win it at any time. I was just the one who got it this time."

Lani Hunter of Punalu'u won the prestigious girls division for the second time in three years. She said it was a meaningful victory because it was her last appearance in the HASA organization.

She plans to turn professional later this summer, after competing in the national championship contests.

"It's hard because this is the state championships and all the good girls are here," said Hunter, who is 17 and graduated from a home school program in March. "But it's very good practice for nationals."

The Smith brothers from Kilauea, Kaua'i, also had a productive day. Koa won the menehune surfing division, Travis won the boys bodyboarding division, and Alex placed fifth in the junior men's surfing division.

Travis was one of the top performers of the day, with his two best waves receiving scores of 8.8 and 7.7 for a total of 16.5.

"It was a little windy and the waves were inconsistent, but there were still some good ones," he said. "I got some little barrels."

Other two-division winners yesterday were Travis Miyazaki (launch bodyboarding and men's bodyboarding), and Genki Kino (junior men's longboarding and open men's longboarding).

FINAL RESULTS

BODYBOARDING

Women: 1, Summer Hillen. 2, Kamalu Hawelu. Launch: 1, Travis Miyazaki. 2, MacKenzie Yoshida. 3, Bradlee Titus. 4, Kailon Tyndzik. 5, James Gilleran. 6, Erika Steiner. Boys: 1, Travis Smith. 2, Pohaku Kekaualua. 3, Kailon Tyndzik. 4, Steton Dervis. 5, Pono Grace. 6, Michael Petro. Junior men: 1, Ansen Achuara. 2, Kula Funn. 3, Daniel Alfons. 4, Nainoa Place. 5, Etienne Trillo. 6, MacKenzie Yoshida. Men: 1, Travis Miyazaki. 2, James Clancy. 3, Daniel DeMello. 4, Kaaina Hawelu. 5, Mark Gervacio. 6, Kyle Sumida. Dropknee: 1, Kyle Sumida. 2, Nainoa Place. 3, Travis Miyazaki. 4, Kawika Kaui. 5, Travis Iwata. 6, Ansen Achuara.

SHORTBOARD SURFING

Menehune: 1, Koa Smith. 2, Luke Hitchcock. 3, Kaikea Elias. 4, Kaoli Kahokuloa. 5, Christian Graham. 6, Keola Carreira. Boys: 1, Kiron Jabour. 2, Hizson Lin-Kee. 3, Dylan Goodale. 4, Matty Costa. 5, Keanu Asing. 6, Johann Hedemann. Junior men: 1, Nathan Rex. 2, Forrest Troxell. 3, Kekoa Cazimero. 4, Kai Barger. 5, Alex Smith. 6, Brennan Boudreau. Masters: 1, Brad Chang. 2, Matt Kenny. 3, Richard Tom. 4, Brice Yamashita. 5, Darren Mahoe. 6, Toshie Ueda. Senior men: 1, Christian Budroe. 2, Dale Sabate. 3, Robert Howard. 4, Todd Murashige. 5, Steven Iwanaga. 6, Adam Escobar. Grandmasters: 1, Rodney Nakashima. 2, Russell Lewis. 3, Les Tabuchi. 4, Brian Suratt. 5, Bobby Judd. 6, Raymond Shito. Men: 1, Pancho Peterson. 2, Andrew Copeland. 3, Makana Ciotti. 4, Grant Decker. 5, Kenji Jones. 6, Sev Smith. Women: 1, Candice Appleby. 2, Virginia Fajardo. 3, Yukiko Whiteside. 4, Susan Nishida. 5, Bonnie Campanella. 6, Kamalu Hawelu. Girls: 1, Lani Hunter. 2, Nage Melamed. 3, Alessa Quizon. 4, Leila Hurst. 5, Alana Blanchard. 6, Monica Byrne-Wickey. Legends: 1, Koapaka Brown. Open men: 1, Nathan Rex. 2, Tonino Benson. 3, Kekoa Cazimero. 4, Kai Barger. 5, Brad Chang. 6, Billy Kemper. Senior grandmasters: 1, Craig Hoshide. 2, Eddie Pieper. Airshow: 1, Dylan Goodale. 2, Levi Gonzales. 3, Albee Layer. 4, Kyle Galtes. 5, Brooke Bateman.

LONGBOARD SURFING

Open men: 1, Genki Kino. 2, Cedric Caires. 3, Waiakea Winchester. 4, Les Tabuchi. 5, Gavin Hasegawa. 6, Gino Bell. Menehune: 1, Micah Moniz. 2, Micah Miguel. 3, Nelson Ahina. 4, Dennis Walsh. 5, Erika Steiner. 6, Manuhea Kane. Girls: 1, Kristen Steiner. 2, Visha Bungo. 3, Erika Steiner. 4, Kelia Moniz. 5, Vanessa Martinez. 6, Leila Hurst. Women: 1, Mimi Horiuchi. 2, Candice Appleby. 3, Chie Matsuoka. 4, Kamalu Hawelu. 5, Susan Nishida. 6, Jeanna Fear. Junior men: 1, Genki Kino. 2, Cedric Caires. 3, Tai Graham. 4, Keanu Kaaa. Senior men: 1, Jon Okamura. 2, Gino Bell. 3, Gavin Hasegawa. 4, Corbin Kuhns. 5, Les Tabuchi. 6, Eddie Pieper. Masters: 1, Robert Fernandez. Men: 1, Waiakea Winchester. 2, Shane Stedman. 3, Daniel Johansen. 4, Kaaina Hawelu. 5, Keola Hawelu.

Reach Dayton Morinaga at dmorinaga@honoluluadvertiser.com.