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​Atlantic City, New Jersey (October 14, 2018) – After two-days of intense competition and challenging conditions, USA Surfing announced the winners for the first stop of its East Coast Prime Series in Atlantic City, N.J.  Nearly 70 of the best under 18 surfers from Florida to New York competed in USA Surfing’s elite Prime Series in front of Ocean Resort Casino. See results below. 

As hurricane Michael swell dissipated, wins were earned by the surfers with smart wave selection and those able to generate enough speed to perform a combination of maneuvers. 

Highlights included Florida’s Ava McGowan winning both Girls Under 16 and Under 18 divisions. The highest scoring wave for girls was an 8 earned by South Carolina’s Bree Labiak who performed a series of vertical turns. Virginia Beach’s Rachel Wilson earned the contest’s highest heat total of 12.26.

The highest scoring wave and heat total of the competition for boys went to Cocoa Beach Florida’s William Hedleston who scored an 8.83 on a ride with a series of slashing turns, combined with another multi-maneuver 7-point ride earned a heat total 15.93. 

Host resort Ocean Resort Casino provided an excellent backdrop, beach, good food and entertainment for the athletes and their families.  

“The Prime Series which celebrates its 10th anniversary this year is universally regarded as the highest level of junior surfing in the USA and has been instrumental in transitioning talented kids to become standouts on the USA Surfing ISA World Junior Championship training team, the WSL Qualifying Series, Championship Tour and potentially the Olympics,” USA Surfing President and Prime Series co-founder Andrea Swayne said.

Full results are as follows: 

Girls U16

1st  Ava McGowan, New Smyrna, Fla. 

2nd Rachel Wilson, Virginia Beach, Va. 

3rd  Bree Labiak, Conway, S.C.

4th  Symcha Sachs, Rockaway Beach, NY 

Girls U18

1st  Ava McGowan, New Smyrna, Fla.

2nd Rachel Wilson, Virginia Beach, Va. 

3rd  Bree Labiak, Conway, S.C. 

4th  Morgan Iglay, Manasquan, N.J. 

Boys U18

1st  William Hedleston, Cocoa Beach, Fla. 

2nd  Ryan Huckabee, Flagler Beach, Fla..

3rd  Blayr Barton, Virginia Beach, Va

4th  Owen Moss, Wrightsville Beach, N.C.

Boys U16

1st  Blayr Barton, Virginia Beach, Va. 

2nd William Hedleston, Cocoa Beach, Fla. 

3rd  Braeden Kopec, Flagler Beach, Fla. 

4th  Owen Moss, Wrightsville Beach, N.C.

Boys U14

1st   Owen Carter, Wrightsville Beach, N.C.

2nd  CJ Mangio, Long Island, NY

3rd  Chase Lieder, Montauk, NY

4th  Ethan Harbinson, New Smyrna Beach, Fla.

The elite event sponsored by Got Milk? takes on extra excitement as surfing prepares to make its 2020 Olympic debut. USA Surfing is the National Governing Body for the sport of surfing in the Olympics. 

USA Surfing’s Prime Series is a nine-stop, cross-country tour created to bridge the gap young surfers experience when trying to make the leap from pro junior competition to next-level competition opportunities, including a position on the USA Surfing national teams, the World Surf League (WSL) Qualifying Series and potentially the Olympics and WSL Championship Tour. 

East Coast surfers competing in the Prime Series experience an event with judging, announcing and organization on par with WSL pro events, including four-person heats with priority, computer scoring, professional WSL/ISA judges and announcers. It’s an important step up from competitions with six-person heats without priority, and manual, volunteer judging.  

Several current WSL pro surfers honed their competitive skills through USA Surfing’s Prime Series, including 2018 US Open champions Courtney Conlogue and Kanoa Igarashi, 2nd-ranked Lakey Peterson, 8th-ranked Kolohe Andino, 15th-ranked Griffin Colapinto and 14th-ranked Conner Coffin. No. 5 in the world, 16-year old Caroline Marks qualified for the WSL Championship Tour while still competing in the Prime Series.  

The Got Milk Prime Series continues in venues across the country including: 

• October 20 - 21, 2018 – USA Surfing Prime Junior Event – Ocean Beach, San Francisco, Calif.
• November 17 – 18, 2018 – USA Surfing Prime Junior Event and East Coast Junior Team Training – Nags Head, N.C.
• December 8 – 9, 2018 – USA Surfing Prime Junior Event, Salt Creek, Dana Point, Calif.
• January 13 – 14, 2019 – USA Surfing Prime Junior Event – Steamer Lane, Santa Cruz, Calif.
• February 9 – 10, 2019 – USA Surfing Prime Junior Event – Huntington Beach Pier, Calif.
• March 2 – 3, 2019 – USA Surfing Prime Junior Event and East Coast Junior Team Training – New Smyrna Beach, Fla.
• March 9 – 10, 2019 – USA Surfing Prime Junior Event – Oceanside Harbor, Calif.

The series culminates with USA Surfing Championships in June – the pinnacle competition with 250 of the nation’s top surfers competing for national titles at one of the world’s best surf breaks – Lower Trestles. 

Media contact: Becky (at) usasurfing (dot) org

USA Surfing is the National Governing Body for surfing in the United States, recognized by the International Surfing Association (ISA) and the United States Olympic Committee (USOC). USA Surfing’s mission is to promote and grow the sport of surfing and support United States athletes of all backgrounds to achieve sustained competitive excellence in Olympic, Paralympic, Pan American and Parapan American competition. USA Surfing will oversee and support America’s Olympic team as surfing makes its debut in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, and surfing and stand-up paddleboarding athletes compete in the 2019 Pan American Games.