The Kiwi trio in the Under 16 Boys Division all advanced to their third round match ups today with Sol Fritchley (BOP), Zeke Pragert (Piha) and Jesse Frazerhurst (Auck) putting on some great performances to win their heats on Day 5 of the ISA World Junior Surfing Championship being held in El Salvador.
As the event makes it over the halfway mark, the youngest of the New Zealand Junior Surfing Team were joined by Alexis Owen (Dun) in the Under 18 Boys Division who put on a dominant performance to advance today.
Day 5 also marked the elimination of our first surfers with Van Camenzind (Rag) and Poppy Entwisle (Tara) bowing out in the second round.
New Zealand currently sit in fourth position overall, half of the large field of surfers having been eliminated from the event. Australia, Peru and Brazil lead the way with all of their surfers remaining in the event.
Sol Fritchley led the groms with a strong performance to finish with a 10.27 point heat total, surfing with confidence and allowing his smooth style to impress the judges.
All three Kiwi surfers in the Under 16 Boys Division are first time participants at the event, taking in the enormity of the competition that comprises 56 nations and over 400 participants.
“I think every time one of us makes it the others want to match that and make it too, it definitely pushes us to want to make more heats,” commented Fritchley about performances of the three of them.
“I’ve been trying to surf the podium I’m competing on before my heat each morning so I’m in tune with the line-up out there, also learning from what I have done and improving that for my next heat so that I can build throughout the comp,” added Fritchley who finished with a 5.67 and a 4.60 point rides.
Piha’s Zeke Pragert took his usual gusto to his heat opening with a big forehand turn to net him a 5.17 point ride early in the heat, surprising himself with how it unfolded.
“I was just trying to kinda get a score on the board, possibly just with a simple snap. My board thought otherwise and then ended up in a layback, but it actually had a benefit and led to that mid-range score,” said Pragert who backed it up with a 4.43.
Jesse Frazerhurst (Auck) looked comfortable in his performance surfing to a 9.9 point heat total, opting to mainly surf the rights at the La Bocana podium.
All three surfers will be up again on Day 6 (Friday NZT) at the El Sunzal podium where they will aim to advance into the final 24 surfers in the event.
Team captain Alexis Owen (Dun) surfed to an impressive 13.0 point heat total in the Under 18 Boys Division, his scoreline including an excellent 8.0 point ride.
Owen caught an inside wave at the El Sunzal break which allowed him several powerful forehand turns, linked with precision. He was justly rewarded and controlled the heat from there to close it out.
“The waves at Sunzal are a lot fatter and slower so I aimed to take my time and really draw out my rail turns. With the waves not really having much of an end section I really was looking for the big outside combos,” said Owen.
“Coming off of my amazing result in 2024 here I feel a lot of comfort in the line ups and a lot of trust in myself that I can find the spot for the good waves,” he added.
Teammate Van Camenzind (Rag) was not so lucky left stranded needing a 4.67 to advance out of the round. Camenzind was beaten by surfers from Mexico and Chile, finishing in third place.
Poppy Entwisle (Tara) suffered a similar fate in her Under 18 Girls match up finding it a challenge to hunt down the long running righthanders at El Sunzal. Entwisle was left requiring a 5.31 point ride for progression with her American and Hawaiian counterparts getting the nod on this occasion.
All five other girls on the team had a lay day with Piha’s Kyra Wallis and Poppy Arkle set for early match ups on Day 6. Lola Groube, Zara Owen and Alani Morse have another lay day.
The 2026 edition of the event comprises 474 surfers from 56 countries across the four divisions.
El Salvador is no stranger to the event having hosted the World Junior Championships on several occasions before it skipped down to Peru for the 2025 edition at which the team placed tenth overall. El Salvador will also be the venue for the first major Olympic qualification opportunity for our top surfers in May next year.
Full results can be viewed on the ISA website here.
Day 6 Schedule (Friday 11th September NZT)
Tower 1 (La Bocana) – Full broadcast
Under 18 Boys Round 3
1:00am – Sev Tolhurst
5:20am – Alexis Owen
**More heats to be added subject to progression through Under 18 Girls Round 2.
Tower 2 (El Sunzal) – Single camera broadcast
Under 18 Girls Round 2
1:20am – Kyra Wallis
1:40am – Poppy Arkle
Under 16 Boys Round 3
5:40am – Jesse Frazerhurst
7:00am – Sol Fritchley
8:40am – Zeke Pragert
About International Surfing Association (ISA)
The International Surfing Association (ISA) is recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) as the World Governing Authority for surfing, bodyboarding, SUP and surfing. It was originally founded as the International Surfing Federation in 1964 and has been running world championships since 1964, and the Junior World Championships since 1980.
Further Information
For further information on the New Zealand Junior Surfing Team please contact Surfing New Zealand’s Ben Kennings on 021 2278732 or email benkennings@surfingnz.co.nz.
Imagery
High resolution action images of team members will be available to media free of charge upon request.
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