Mount Maunganui surfer Josh Taylor is the second place getter at the weekend's Billabong Grom Series presented by Oceanbridge event held at Whangamata in clean 1m waves.

He was beaten in the final of the under-16 division by home town surfer Dune Kennings.

Arataki surfer Kehu Butler finished second in the under-12 boys' final of the Billabong Grom Series presented by Oceanbridge event held at the weekend.

Small natural foot surfer Josh continues to fly under the radar yet he racks up the good results and turns heads where ever he goes.

He pushed Dunes at several stages throughout the 25 minute final finishing up on 12.77 points out of a possible 20.
Dune mastered several waves in the final, seemingly with one eye on the overall win but one eye on the prize for the best manoeuvre of the event – the winner of which received a Sony Playstation. His 13.93 point heat total secured both.

'I was happy with the whole outcome,” says Dune.

'I wanted to win the Playstation so I knew I had to do something big for that.

'It was a medium sized air, it could have been bigger,” added the modest 15 year old of the aerial manoeuvre he pulled in the final which netted him 6.83 points out of a possible 10.
'It feels good after having a whole year with not real good results and then winning the first three events of the year.

'The naming of the New Zealand team has been in the back of my mind and to win three puts me in front of all the selectors. The three wins couldn't have come at a better time,” says Dune of his chances of being named in the New Zealand Junior Surfing team when announced on March 1.

In the girls' event, Ella Williams was equally impressive in the final scoring 11.10 to win the final in front of her family and hometown friends.
'I have been practising really hard and I have been training with Matt and Digga so have been feeling confident,” says Ella.

'I knew it was doable (winning three straight) and it has actually happened now,” she added in an almost shocked manner of her three straight wins.
Ella is another surfer gunning to represent New Zealand for the first time and with the naming of the team less than 10 days away she is feeling 'happy” with where she is at.
'I am not speaking too soon though, I have to wait until the team is named and see what happens.

'It would be cool to be named in the team – I have never been to Peru before, it would be neat to go over and see all the other surfers and compete against them and stuff.”

Placing second in the final was Gisborne surfer Jayda Martin-Fitzharris, who scored 10.63 in the final, falling just short of Williams. Another local surfer Ella Spiers placed third in the final with Bianca Sansom from Auckland in fourth.

Results
Under 16 Boys Quarterfinals
Heat 1
Josh Taylor (Mnt), 11.25, 1, Peri Matenga (Mnt), 7.85, 2, Kahu Craig-Ranga (Waihi Bch), 7.35, 3, McKenzie Bowden (Whmata), 6.45, 4
Heat 2
Dune Kennings (Whmata), 10.8, 1, Sean Kettle (Tara), 8.3, 2, Matt McGreggor, 6.45, 3, Mahorahora McLeod (Waitara), 5.25, 4
Heat 3
Paul Moreiti (Mimiwhangata), 14.5, 1, Waretini Wano (Piha), 7.85, 2, Adam Grimson (Gis), 6.95, 3, Manu Scott-Arrieta (Sandy Bay), 2.95, 4
Heat 4
Korbin Hutchings (Gis), 10.8, 1, Elliot Paerata - Reid (Piha), 8.75, 2, Levi Stewart (Waihi Beach), 8, 3, Mackenzie Christie (Tau), 7.1, 4

Under 16 Boys Semifinals
Heat 1
Dune Kennings (Whmata), 14.65, 1, Josh Taylor (Mnt), 12.3, 2, Sean Kettle (Tara), 11.95, 3, Peri Matenga (Mnt), 10.5, 4
Heat 2
Elliot Paerata - Reid (Piha), 12.25, 1, Paul Moretti (Mimiwhangata), 11.75, 2, Waretini Wano (Piha), 10.95, 3, Korbin Hutchings (Gis), 8.5, 4

Under 16 Boys Final
Dune Kennings (Whmata), 13.93, 1, Josh Taylor (Mnt), 12.77, 2, Paul Moretti (Mimiwhangata), 11.9, Elliot Paerata - Reid (Piha), 8.17, 4

Under 14 Boys Semifinals
Heat 1
Korbin Hutchings (Gis), 14, 1, Callum Chuter (Tau), 7.35, 2, Quinn Matenga (Mnt), 7.25, 3, Harrison Whiteside (ChCh), 6.8, 4
Heat 2
Manu Scott-Arrieta (Sandy Bay), 13.05, 1, Isaac Kettle (Tara), 9.8, 2, Te Rapai Barbarich Love (Waitara), 7.7, 3, Ben McCulloh (Gis), 3.95, 4

Under 14 Boys Final
Korbin Hutchings (Gis), 15.33, 1, Manu Scott-Arrieta (Sandy Bay), 10.47, 2, Isaac Kettle (Tara), 9.43, 3, Callum Chuter (Tau), 6.83, 4

Under 12 Boys Semifinals
Heat 1
Kehu Butler (Arataki), 14, 1, Luke Griffin (Mt), 8, 2, Thomas Carter (Waihi Bch), 2.1, 3
Heat 2
Taine Craig Ranga (Waihi Bch), 11.8, 1, Tane Bowden (Whmata), 9.75, 2, Matt Newdick (Mnt), 4.7, 3

Under 12 Boys Final
Taine Craig Ranga (Waihi Bch), 13.25, 1, Kehu Butler (Arataki), 12.2, 2, Tane Bowden (Whmata), 9.6, 3, Luke Griffin (Mt), 5.0, 4

Under 16 Girls Final
Ella Williams (Whmata), 11.0, 1, Jayda Martin-Fitzharris (Gis), 10.63, 2, Ella Spiers (Whmata), 5.23, 3, Bianca Sansom (Auck), 5.0, 4

Under 14 Girls Final
Dayna Story (Gis), 11.4, 1, Jasmine Smith (Gis), 9.6, 2, Abby Falwasser-Logan (Gis), 9.0, 3, Claudia Fraser (Auck), 4.95, 4

Under 12 Girls Semifinals
Heat 1
Gabrielle Paul (Auck), 11.9, 1, Maia Bennett (Mnt), 8.5, 2, Kea Smith (Tau), 5.05, 3, Georgia Walker (Auck), 4.35, 4
Heat 2
Ella Jungwirth (Mnt), 9.25, 1, Emma Crewe (Auck), 9, 2, Kristen Fraser (Auck), 5.65, 3, Liv Redman (Auck), 5.4, 4

Under 12 Girls Final
Gabrielle Paul (Auck), 17.0, 1, Ella Jungwirth (Mnt), 9.7, 2, Maia Bennett (Mnt), 8.1, 3, Emma Crewe (Auck), 5.9, 4