One of the goals of the Rip Curl GromSearch contest is to find the best surfers in the world under the age of 17.

Hawai'i showed yesterday that it has its share of candidates.

The Hawai'i region championship of the Rip Curl GromSearch was run yesterday in 1- to 2-foot waves at Kewalo Basin.

Four surfers walked away with individual titles: Derek Wong (boys 16-under division), Alessa Quizon (girls 16-under), Keanu Asing (boys 14-under) and Luke Hitchcock (boys 12-under).

Those four champions and the four second-place finishers received trips to Salt Creek, Calif., where they will represent Hawai'i at the national finals of the Rip Curl GromSearch.

The winners of the national finals will advance to the international finals at Australia in 2008.

"The conditions were good, even though it was small," Wong said. "The waves were nice and glassy."

Wong, a senior-to-be at Roosevelt High, received an 8.93 late in the heat of the boys 16-under final. He practices daily at Kewalo Basin, and he said it paid dividends yesterday.

"You had to know where to sit and manage the time," he said.

Nathan Carvalho of Kaua'i placed second and also received a trip to California. Lahiki Minamishin of the Big Island was third, and Keanu Asing was fourth.

Asing, 14, actually surfed in two finals. After placing fourth in the boys 16-under final, he came back to win the boys 14-under division.

He also scored the only perfect 10 of the contest after unleashing a series of textbook carving maneuvers in the boys 14-under final.

"I was pretty tired surfing in both finals," said Asing, a freshman-to-be at Campbell High. "But I got that one good wave and I just went for it. I did as many turns as I could."

Ezekiel Lau was a close second, and also earned a trip to California. Matt Costa was third and Isaiah Moniz fourth.

Quizon dominated the girls 16-under division. She received a near-perfect 9.0 and also had an 8.17 for a total of 17.17.

"The whole time, I wasn't really thinking that I was in the lead," said Quizon, who will be an eighth-grader at Wai'anae Intermediate. "I was just trying to get my waves because there were no waves for like the first 15 minutes."

She also practices often at Kewalo Basin.

"That helped a lot," she said. "It wasn't the best Kewalos today, but I surf a lot out here on days like this."

Tatiana Weston-Webb was second, followed by Alyssa Wooten and Hana Harrison.

Kaua'i's Hitchcock won the boys 12-under division, even though he described the waves as "super-duper small."

"It was still fun," said Hitchcock, who will be a seventh-grader at Kapa'a Middle School.

Kealamakia Naihe placed second, Kaoli Kahokuloa was third, and Isaiah Moniz was fourth. Moniz made the final in both the boys 14-under and 12-under divisions.

JANNA IRONS ADVANCES TO LONGBOARD SEMIS

Kaua'i's Janna Irons won three heats yesterday to advance to the semifinals of the Roxy Women's World Longboard Championship.

The fourth day of the event was run in 2- to 3-foot waves at Biarritz, France.

Irons won her third-round, fourth-round and quarterfinal heats yesterday. She defeated California's Jennifer Flanagan in the quarterfinals, 14.5-8.75.

"What ever happens (today), I'll be happy," Irons said. "I'm just so stoked to get this far."

She is scheduled to face California's Jennifer Smith in today's semifinals. Irons is a cousin of pro surfing stars Andy and Bruce Irons.

Three other Hawai'i surfers were eliminated yesterday.

Miku Uemura lost in the fourth round; Crystal Dzigas and Joy Magelssen lost in the quarterfinals.

Magelssen needed a score of 7.76 to advance in the closing minutes of her quarterfinal heat, but received a 7.15 on her final wave.

Justine Dupont, a 15-year-old surfer from France, defeated Dzigas in the quarterfinals, 15.5-7.25. Dupont will face Australia's Chelsea Williams in the other semifinal.

BILLABONG PRO MEN'S EVENT POSTPONED

The Billabong Pro Jeffreys Bay men's contest was postponed yesterday due to poor conditions at Jeffreys Bay, South Africa.

Four Hawai'i surfers remain in the competition: Andy Irons, Bruce Irons, Fred Patacchia Jr. and Pancho Sullivan.

Reach Dayton Morinaga at dmorinaga@honoluluadvertiser.com.