Bruce, McCarthy Conquer Stop No. 2 of Subway Surf Series

The wave-rich Margaret River region of Western Australia provided the perfect setting for the second event of the Subway® Surf Series, with Quinn Bruce (AUS) and Mia McCarthy (AUS) (Margaret River, WA) claiming victory at the World Surf League (WSL)-sanctioned Pro Junior event for competitors age 18 and under.

With a total prize pool of $7,000 and valuable WSL ratings points on offer, a stellar field of surfers came from far and wide, representing four different nations including Indonesia, New Zealand, Japan and Australia.

An action-packed, one-day format saw competitors battle true "wild west" conditions, as a building swell and strong afternoon winds made for close finishes and exciting performances across the board.

The blue ribbon 18-and-under boys final was reserved for the best four surfers of the day. Quinn Bruce, Jed Mattinson (WA), Reef Heazlewood, and Zac Wightman provided a real arm wrestle for the win.

Drawing deep from his energy reserves, Bruce surfed with power and polish to posted an excellent 8.50 (from a possible 10). Using his powerful repertoire of forehand maneuvers, Bruce cut through the lump and bump with ease and obliterated any section that came his way!

Scoring a back up 7.90, Bruce finished with a combined two-wave total of 16.40 (from a possible 20).

"It's been a massive day, but to come away with the win makes it all worthwhile," said Bruce. "I love it here in WA and all the boys have been ripping today, so I'm stoked."

Despite the best efforts of Wightman (13.25), Heazlewood (11.45) and Mattinson (8.75), they were all left chasing big scores to catch the in-form Bruce.

Mia McCarthy (Margaret River, WA), used her local knowledge to perfection, taking the biggest win of her young career thus far.

McCarthy posted scored a heat high 7.75 (from a possible 10) and backed it up with a 6.25 to finish on a combined total of 14.00 (from a possible 20).

"I'm feeling on top of the world right now," said McCarthy. "I was getting smashed at the start of the heat, I got that one good wave and that was it."

Vittoria Farmer (Sunshine Coast, QLD), surfed great all day to post her consecutive, second-place finish at the Subway® Surf Series. Farmer finished ahead of Lucy Callister (Sunshine Coast, QLD), and Bailee Hastie (Gracetwon, WA).

Surfing WA Events Manager Justin Majeks was complimentary of everyone who attended today's competition at one of the Margaret River's best high performance locations.

"It was great to see such a high standard from surfers from right across the Australasian region," said Majeks. "Congratulations to all our winners, especially our local talent who really stepped it up on home turf."

The WSL sanctioned Subway® Pro Junior events, next heads in NSW with Avoca set to play host to the third event of the 2016 series. The Subway® Surf Series form part of the 2016 WSL Australasian Junior Qualifying Series (JQS), providing the winning athletes with an opportunity to win a coveted world title, at the WSL World Junior Championships in early 2017.

The Subway® Surf Series is proudly supported by WSL, Surfing Australia and Billabong.

SUBWAY® SURF SERIES EVENT CALENDAR - 2015/16:

SUBWAY® PRO JUNIORS Gold Coast, QLD - January 19-20, 2016
Margaret River, WA - February 6, 2016
Avoca, NSW - February 13-14, 2016
Philip Island, VIC - March 5-6, 2016
Fleurieu Peninsula, SA - March 19-20, 2016
Kiama, NSW - April 9-10, 2016
Cronulla, NSW - April 30 - 1st May, 2016