It had been more than eight years since Hawaii’s 19 yr. old surfing prodigy Dusty Payne last won an event. Although he’s finished near the top many times over this span, most recently with his 3rd place finish at the Oakley Pro Junior Challenge this past May at Trestles, the highly-touted Payne has been unable to find his way to the top of the podium. That streak came to an abrupt end today as Dusty surfed like a seasoned pro on his way to a huge victory at the Oakley Pro Junior Challenge in Bali. “I haven’t won an event in so many years,” said Payne. “It’s the best feeling in the world. That’s why I still compete.”

Keramas was firing near 6-8 ft. surf for the final, and the chance to surf the flawless right was as equally rewarding for Payne as the $20,000 prize Payne will be taking back to Maui. “It’s the best contest I’ve ever surfed in,” said Payne,”It’s been my dream to surf a contest at Keramas. The waves were just so good, I’m so stoked with how it turned out.”

Almost as stoked with the results of the event was runner-up Marc Lacamore from France. Lacamore, a goofy-footer from Hossegor, jumped out to an early lead in the final but was unable to withstand Dusty’s methodical shredding at Keramas. Although he won’t be going home with the win, Lacamore was all smiles after the event and received $7,500 from Oakley for his efforts. “I’m really happy right now,” said Lacamore. “Although I didn’t win I still posted a really good result against the world’s best juniors. Dusty has been surfing amazingly all week, so to go up against him in the final was incredible.”
All of the boys put on quite a show in Bali and our hats are off to every one of them. Congratulations to Hawaii’s Dusty Payne on his impressive victory at the Oakley Pro Junior Challenge in Bali!

If you’ve yet to see just why it is Dusty Payne is turning heads with every wave he takes off on, take a look at this dirty little diddy from the Surfline Rising Stars series. The Nike 6.0/Volcom/Body Glove ripper is pure fire when he surfs!

Tags: body glove, Dusty Payne, Nike 6.0, Oakley, Volcom

Posted by Shaun on Tuesday, October 14th, 2008 in Surfing.

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