Toyota Prime Series Season Finale Draws Elite Surfers from New York to Florida

(Buxton, N.C.) – May 6, 2021 – The season finale of the East Coast Toyota Prime Series presented by Got Milk was a marathon at the scenic Lighthouse in North Carolina’s Outer Banks. To take advantage of optimum OBX conditions, the event – which usually runs in two days, was compressed into one. 
 
As the final stop of the East Coast Toyota USA Surfing Prime Series, the rankings and qualifiers were set for coveted invites to the USA Surfing Championship at Lower Trestles, Calif. in June. Congratulations to our East Coast season champions: Boys U18 and Boys U16 Season Champion Carl Burger. Girls U16 and Girls U18 Season Champion Zoe Benedetto. Boys U14 Season Champion Vance Weyandt. 
 
Highlights of the Lighthouse event included Jacksonville’s Lanea Mons winning her first Prime Series event – the Girls U16 division - at 12 years old. Ava Lavender made double podiums in the Girls U16 and U18 divisions with back-to-back marathon heats, including the "sisters final" with her sister Maddie and Ocean City, New Jersey's Brynn and Mia Gallagher. Hometown surfer Will Deane made triple podiums, and won the Boys U14 division. Will was putting up excellent scores all day, surfing nine heats. Tequesta Florida’s Vance Weyandt won Boys U16 with the highest score of the finals – the biggest hack of the day, an 8.67. 
 
RESULTS 
Boys U14
1st   Will Deane, Nags Head, N.C. 
2nd  Ethan Harbinson, New Smyrna Beach, Fla. 
3rd   Vance Weyandt, Tequesta, Fla. 
4th   Finn Viorel, Wilmington, N.C.
 
Girls U16
1st  Lanea Mons, Jacksonville, Fla.    
2nd Mya Sniadach, New Smyrna Beach, Fla. 
3rd  Ava Lavender, Sorrento, Fla.
4th  Grace Knoechel, Neptune Beach, Fla. 
 
Boys U16
1st  Vance Weyandt, Tequesta, Fla. 
2nd Will Deane, Nags Head, N.C.
3rd  Benji Lange, St. Augustine, Fla.
4th  Charles Oblinger, Wrightsville Beach, N.C. 
 
Boys U18
1st  Carl Burger, Flagler Beach, Fla.  
2nd Will Deane, Nags Head, N.C..
3rd  Logan Radd, Satellite Beach, Fla.
4th  Charles Oblinger, Wrightsville Beach, N.C. 
 
Girls U18
1st  Brynn Gallagher, Ocean City, N.J. 
2nd Mia Gallagher, Ocean City, N.J.
3rd  Madison Lavender, Sorrento, Fla 
4th  Ava Lavender, Sorrento, Fla.
 
The Toyota USA Surfing Prime Series is the highest level of junior surfing in the nation, and is now an official part of the Olympic Development Program as recognized by the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee. 
 
Surfers competing in the Prime Series experience an event with judging, announcing and organization consistent with WSL pro events, including four-person heats with priority, live computer scoring on the STACT App, and professional WSL/ISA judges and announcers. 
 
The East Coast generates impressive surfing talent, including surfing’s first Olympian Caroline Marks and American world champions Kelly Slater, Frieda Zamba, CJ Hobgood and Lisa Andersen – all from Florida.
 
Caroline qualified for the WSL Championship Tour while still competing in the Prime Series at age 15. She holds the most USA Surfing Championship titles for junior girls. Her experience in East Coast conditions will serve her well competing in surfing’s first Olympic Games, which will take place in conditions that are very similar to East Coast waves. 
 
In addition to Caroline Marks, several current WSL pro surfers honed their competitive skills through USA Surfing’s Prime Series, including 3rd-ranked Lakey Peterson, 5th-ranked Kolohe Andino, 2018 US Open champions Courtney Conlogue and Kanoa Igarashi, fan favorites Conner Coffin and Griffin Colapinto. New Jersey’s Ben Gravy (Graeff) was on USA Surfing’s national team that competed in ISA World Championships in Australia in 2005. Wildwood Crest’s Maddie Peterson was on USA Surfing’s 2014 ISA World Junior Championship team. The Prime Series champion and podium roster is a who’s who in American surfing.
 
Learn more in Your Guide to Watching Olympic Surfing’s Debut. 
 
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 and Paralympic Committee (USOPC). 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.