Santa Cruz’s Nat Young tops Olympics champ and 2 others, produces another heat win in Portugal | Surfing Roundup

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Santa Cruz's Nat Young surfs in Heat 5 of the Round of 48 at the WSL's Meo Vissla Ericeira Pro on Tuesday in Ericeira, Portugal. Young won the heat with a two-wave score of 13.27. (Damien Poullenot - World Surf League)

Santa Cruz’s Nat Young won his second straight heat to advance to the Round of 24 at the World Surf League’s MEO Vissla Pro Ericeira, a Men’s Challenger Series event, in Portugal on Tuesday.

Young earned a 13.27 total score in 3- to 4-foot surf to win Heat 5 of the Round of 48, counting wave scores of 7.40 and 5.87. Brazil’s Thiago Camarao took second with a 11.67 total to advance from the four-surfer heat.

France’s Charly Martin (11.40) and Brazil’s Italo Ferreira (10.77), the 2020 Olympic Gold Medalist and 2019 WSL World Champion, were eliminated.

  • Santa Cruz's Nat Young surfs in Heat 5 of the Round of 48 at the WSL's Meo Vissla Ericeira Pro on Tuesday in Ericeira, Portugal. Young won the heat with a two-wave score of 13.27. (Damien Poullenot - World Surf League)

  • Brazil's Mateus Herdy competes in Heat 6 of the Round of 48 at the Meo Vissla Ericeira Pro on Tuesday in Ericeira, Portugal. (Damien Poullenot - World Surf League)

  • Australia's Jackson Baker surfs in Heat 9 of the Round of 48 at the WSL's Meo Vissla Ericeira Pro on Tuesday in Ericeira, Portugal. (Damien Poullenot - World Surf League)

  • Olympic Gold Medalist Italo Ferreira of Brazil competes in Heat 5 of the Round of 48 at the WSL's Meo Vissla Ericeira Pro on Tuesday in Ericeira, Portugal. (Damien Poullenot - World Surf League)

  • Brazil's Samuel Pupo of Brasil surfs in Heat 8 of the Round of 48 at the WSL's Meo Vissla Ericeira Pro on Tuesday in Ericeira, Portugal. (Damien Poullenot - World Surf League)

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Brazilian surfers were in dominant form Tuesday; they won four of the 10 heats held. Deivid Silva (11.93; Heat 1), Joao Chianca (13.37; Heat 2), Mateus Herdy (13.93; Heat 6), Samuel Pupo (14.90; Heat 8) earn wins.

Jacob Willcox (13.33; Heat 4), Jackson Baker (15.80; Heat 9) and Cooper Chapman (15.50; Heat 10) gave Australia three heat winners.

Young squares off against Willcox, a wildcard entry in two Championship Tour events in ’21, and Japan’s Hiroto Ohhara in Heat 3 of the Round of 24.

The contest window runs through Sunday.

In the Round of 96 on Sunday, Young’s produced the highest single-wave score (9.00) and his two-wave score of 14.20 in Heat 10 was the sixth highest winning score.

NSSA Northwest Open and Explorer: Several Santa Cruz County surfers earned wins in the National Scholastic Surfing Association’s Northwest Conference season openers over the weekend.

The Open competition was held Saturday and Explorer competition Sunday in 2- to 4-foot surf at The Hook in Pleasure Point. Santa Barbara’s Vela Mattive, 14, won both the Girls’ Open and Girls’ Explorer finals.

Also in Explorer Division action, Santa Cruz’s Keanna Miller, 17, a senior at Santa Cruz, won the Women’s Division; Santa Cruz’s Jackson Taylor, 17, a freshman at Soquel, won the Men’s Division; and Santa Cruz’s Brody Price, 12, a sixth-grader at New Brighton Middle School, won the Menehuene Division.

Other Explorer winners included Huntington Beach’s Dylan Sloan, 14, in the Boys Division and Manhattan Beach’s Kai Kushner, 14, won the Juniors Division.

Local Open winners included Santa Cruz’s Adam Bartlett, 14, an eighth-grader at St. Abraham’s, in the Juniors Division and Corralitos’ Harper King, 12, a seventh-grader at Aptos Junior High, in the Longboard Division.

Other Open winners were Camarillo’s Tanner Vodraska, 17, in the Men’s Division; Half Moon Bay’s Zoe Chait, 15, in the Women’s Division; Costa Mesa’s Jesse Rapp, 13, in the Boys Division; Dana Point’s Marlo Leigh Harris, 12, in the Juniors Division; Kirra Huntress in the Mini Grom Girls Division and Goleta’s Ronin Castorino, 11, in the Mini Grom Boys Division.

Other Open events are scheduled at Steamer Lane on Dec. 5 and Jan. 8 and The Hook on March 12. Other Explorer events are scheduled for Steamer Lane on Jan. 9 and The Hook on March 13.

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