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Young earns first QS title with win at Sunset Pro

Cody Young is carried off the beach after winning the Sunset Pro on Thursday at Sunset Beach on Oahu. WSL / Mike Chlala photo

The Maui News

Maui’s Cody Young won the Sunset Pro on Thursday for the first World Surf League Qualifying Series title of his career.

The 19-year-old went up against three former event winners in the final at Sunset Beach on Oahu’s North Shore, including last year’s winner and fellow Maui native Billy Kemper. It was Young’s first-ever QS final, but he showed no signs of intimidation, charging the 12-to-15-foot swell to post a 9.10 and 8.67 to beat out Australia’s Jack Robinson (16.83), Kemper (14.13) and Oahu’s Kiron Jabour (13.77).

“I’ve been surfing Sunset since I was 10 years old, so to make my first final and take it out here means the world,” Young was quoted as saying in a WSL press release. “I’ve had a lot of big finals where I trip myself out going into it thinking I’m stoked to make the final, and that was it. This time I treated it like any other heat and I couldn’t be happier that it worked out like that.”

Young earned 1,000 qualifying points for his win.

In the semifinals, he had a two-wave score of 12.84 to defeat Jabour (11.76) and fellow Mauians Ian Gentil (10.60) and Imaikalani deVault (10.17).

“It’s definitely a good start to the year and I’ll carry a lot of confidence into the rest of this season,” Young said.

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