Malia Manuel of Kaua‘i won the girls division of the Nike 6.0 Junior Pro, and placed second in the women’s division of the Hurley U.S. Open today at California.

Finals for both events were run today in 6- to 8-foot wave faces at South Huntington Beach Pier.
Manuel, 15, won the junior pro contest in dramatic fashion. Her final wave in the closing minute of the heat pushed her scores ahead of California’s Sage Erickson.
“I’m glad I had the pro junior to fall back on,” Manuel said. “Some miraculous wave came and I got to pick it up and got a score.”
The junior pro contest was for surfers age 20 and younger. After winning the junior pro, Manuel surfed against California’s Courtney Conlogue in the final of the U.S. Open
Conlogue defeated Manuel, 17.17-12.67.
“I’m so over the moon even to make it to the final day,” Manuel said. “It was great out there. Courtney is an amazing athlete and she was the deserving heat winner.”
Conlogue, who is also 15, defeated Honolulu’s Carissa Moore in the semifinals.
Earlier in the week, Manuel upset two-time defending world champion Stephanie Gilmore of Australia in the quarterfinals of the U.S. Open.
Manuel earned a total of $4,800 — $2,500 for the junior pro win, and $2,300 for second place in the U.S. Open.
Last year, Manuel won the U.S. Open and placed second in the junior pro. At 14, she was the youngest surfer ever to win the U.S. Open women’s title.