Junior Series Leaderboard Shake Up as Champions Crowned at Lennox Head Oz Grom Open

Despite conditions fading on finals day, the standard of surfing remained extremely high at Lennox Head for the 2025 Soundboks Oz Grom Open.

Leihani Zoric (Byron Bay, NSW) continued to show why she is a star on the rise, taking out the U14 Girls for the second year running. The explosive natural-footer adapted perfectly to the tiny conditions, nailing a handful punchy little waves to be rewarded with a 15.83 two-wave heat total that left her fellow finalist Zara Owen (NZ) needing a two wave combination to take away the victory. This victory is Leihani’s second Soundboks Oz Grom Open victory in as many years

Morrison Massey (Palm Beach, Qld) approached the U14 Boys final with an energetic approach with him and his fellow competitor Billy Daniel (Fingal Head, NSW) catching a massive 31 waves over the course of the final. When the final hooter sounded, Massey was able to claim the top honours thanks to a pair of 5.73 wave scores.

The U16 Girls final got off to a slow start with 15 minutes counting down before anyone caught a single wave. Both Lucy Darragh (Kiama, NSW) and Eliza Richardson (Coolangatta, Qld) showed that they had the patience of statues and they resisted to the urge to paddle for a single wave and relinquish priority. In the dying moments of the heat, Darragh was able to pull the trigger and gain the upper hand thanks to the strength of a 5.00 wave score.

Locana Cullen (Avalon, NSW) saved his best performance for last taking out the U16 Boys final. Cullen posted the only ten-point ride of the event in the final for a critical forehand snap followed by an accelerated air-reverse. Cullen backed up the perfect score with another excellent 8.67 wave score to take his accumulative two-wave total to 18.67 heat score.

Meika Locke (Gold Coast, Qld) managed to claim the top honours in the U18 Girls division. In a pretty wave starved final, Locke was able to muster up a decent 10.50 heat total to take the victory over Brisa Canina (Peregian, Qld). This victory sees Locke jump from 4th to 1st on the Junior Series rankings.

Sitting in priority in the final minutes of the U18 Boys final, Caden Francis (Coolangatta, Qld) was left chasing a high five-point score to knock Leo Matchett (Gold Coast, QLD) from top spot. When a small peak emerged, Caden capitalised, pulling the trigger and nailing two massive forehand turns in the small waves. Caden emerged from the heat with a decent 6.5 wave score which shot him into the top position and allowed him to claim the coveted division. Francis, who was initially ranked 29th on the Junior Series leaderboard, has propelled himself all the way up to 8th with this victory, and is now a serious contender for the title.

See more results from Oz Grom Open HERE.

After major shakeups in the Junior Series rankings, our future stars are charging ahead, with the next 10,000, the Rip Curl GromSearch taking place in Phillip Island (VIC) from September 30 – October 4.

See the Live National Rankings HERE.