Shortly after Joel Centeio woke up yesterday morning, he walked across the street from his house to the beach, and surfed all day.

He surfed in spectacular fashion, in spectacular waves.

By the end of the day, he was $20,000 richer, and the lead surfer in a local-boy-makes-good story.

Any thoughts of still being in dreamland were doused by the celebratory beer shower he received from his friends and family moments after winning the Reef Hawaiian Pro men's surfing contest at Hale'iwa Ali'i Beach.

"This is a dream come true," Centeio said. "It's the best feeling ever, just for it to happen right here at my home break, with all my family and friends here."

The final day of the four-day contest was completed in wave-face heights that ranged from 10 to 18 feet throughout the day.

Centeio's victory was a testament to commitment.

The waves became inconsistent during the 35-minute final, yet Centeio remained committed to his strategy of waiting patiently for the biggest waves.

Even when the other three finalists moved inside to surf the smaller waves as the time ticked away, Centeio stayed outside.

"There was some lulls, and I just sat out the back —I was even like 50 yards farther out than those guys," he said. "I was praying for a set to come, and that one set came."

That one set provided a gaping barrel for Centeio to ride. He made it through successfully, and received a score of 9.33 (out of 10).

"Best wave of my life, for sure," said Centeio, 26.

As Centeio exited the barrel, the crowd's roar was loud enough to drown the sound of the crashing wave behind him.

"I could hear them yelling and cheering and I was so excited I was yelling myself," he said.

Centeio caught just two waves in the final, and it resulted in a total score of 14.76. It was enough to earn him the $20,000 first-place check and put him in the early lead of the Vans Triple Crown of Surfing.

The Hawaiian Pro is the first of three North Shore contests in the Triple Crown series.

Florida's C.J. Hobgood placed a close second with a two-wave total of 13.74. On the wave in front of Centeio's barrel, Hobgood received a score of 8.07.

"I was on one of my better waves, but right after my wave I turn around and see Joel flying out of the barrel," Hobgood said. "I felt all kind of emotions."

Centeio and his wife, Ashley, live across the street from Hale'iwa Ali'i Beach.

He said yesterday's victory was the high point of an already-commendable career. Centeio won a junior surfing world championship in 2000, and won the Xcel Pro contest at Sunset Beach in 2007.

"Winning the Xcel Pro was huge, but I live across the street from here," he said. "I surf here all the time. This is by far the biggest one."

It almost didn't happen.

In the ultimate act of commitment, Joel and Ashley were married in February of this year.

Shortly after, Centeio proved his commitment by "taking a break" from surfing in international contests. Losing some of his sponsorship money for travel didn't help.

"He wasn't doing so well (in surfing) and with the economy being what it is, and us just getting married, he decided to take a break and focus on what's important," Ashley said.

They used some of their savings on home repairs. The time off also allowed Centeio to recommit himself to surfing in his home waters.

"I just surfed a lot for fun right here, like I did when I was a kid," he said. "It helped. I'm ready to get back out there now."

Based on his recent success, Centeio plans to start traveling around the world for surf contests again in 2010.

"We're going to rent out part of our house so he can fulfill his dream," Ashley said. "He definitely still has it in him."

Jay Thompson of Australia placed third, and Alain Riou of France was fourth.

Defending Triple Crown champion Joel Parkinson of Australia scored a perfect 10 in his morning heat, but was eliminated in the quarterfinals.

The next contest in the Triple Crown series is the O'Neill World Cup of Surfing at Sunset Beach. That contest will run between today and Dec. 6. For daily updates visit triplecrownofsurfing.com.

Final results

1, Joel Centeio (Hawai'i), $20,000. 2, C.J. Hobgood (Florida), $10,000. 3, Jay Thompson (Australia), $5,100. 4, Alain Riou (Tahiti), $4,900. 5 (tie), Damien Hobgood (Florida) and Hank Gaskell (Hawai'i), $3,000. 7 (tie), Kai Otton (Australia) and Dion Atkinson (Australia), $2,900. 9 (tie), Matt Wilkinson (Australia), Roy Powers (Hawai'i), Torrey Meister (Hawai'i) and Sunny Garcia (Hawai'i), $2,400. 13 (tie), Sebastien Zietz (Hawai'i), Joel Parkinson (Australia), Adrian Buchan (Australia) and Nathan Yeomans (California), $2,100.