Two Orange County surfers came out on top with huge results during this week’s World Tour event in Tahiti, an event that brought big barrels and big victories.

Santa Ana’s Courtney Conlogue on Friday, Aug. 19, won the women’s event of the Outerknown Tahiti Pro, her first big World Tour win since 2019. Huntington Beach’s Kanoa Igarashi was knocked out of the event in the quarterfinals, but his performance was enough to clinch a spot at the upcoming World Surf League Finals at Lower Trestles in September.

Igarashi’s fate would ride on just one wave as the clock ticked down into the final minutes of his heat.

Griffin Colapinto, of San Clemente, surfs in Heat 3 of the Round of 16 at the Outerknown Tahiti Pro on August 18, 2022 at Teahupo’o, Tahiti, French Polynesia. He came up just short of earning a spot into the WSL Finals. (Photo by Damien Poullenot/World Surf League)

As the ocean grew and a big bump swelled, Igarashi paddled into the bombing barrel, tucking behind the ocean’s heavy lip and disappearing from sight as the wave covered his body. Then he emerged, still standing.

His 9.70 high score solidified his spot in the WSL Final 5, all of whom head to Lower Trestles. It’ll be Igarashi’s first shot at a surfing world title.

Heading into the event at Teahupo’o – the same surf spot where the 2024 Olympics will be held  – Griffin Colapinto, of San Clemente, was ranked in 5th spot, the last slot to be included in the championship finals just south of his hometown.

The only way Colapinto could keep his spot was to win his Round of 16 heat against Brazil’s Yago Dora, who had the lead as the clock ticked down.

With just seconds left and a high 9.0 score, Colapinto found a medium-size wave and tucked into its barrel to find his second score. He throw his hands up high, hoping he earned enough. But judges gave him just 0.32 shy of the score needed to join the WSL Finals.

Igarashi would need to falter in his Round of 16 heat for Colapinto to stay in the running, but the Huntington Beach surfer’s nail-biting final wave slipped him up the rankings and into the WSL Finals.

The men’s winner was Brazil’s Miguel Pupo.

“I really don’t know what to say – this is super emotional to me –  I’m lost for words right now,” Igarashi said in an interview with WSL.  “First of all, I want to thank Teahupo’o – I’ve been coming here for so long and spending time with some of the locals and preparing myself for a moment like this, and when that wave came I knew if it was meant to be, it was going to happen right there. Now, I’m into the Top 5 and heading home.”

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Igarashi is a well-known surfer in Huntington Beach, where he’s been wave riding since he was a toddler and where he clinched two US Open of Surfing titles. Last year, he earned a silver medal for host country Japan at the sport’s Olympic debut.

Conlogue defeated seven-time world champion Stephanie Gilmore in the quarterfinals at Teahupo’o, earning a high 15.33 to Gilmore’s 4.16.

She then went on to defeat Brazil’s Tatiana Weston-Webb in the semifinals to match up against Costa Rica’s Brisa Hennessy, where she won the event with a 7.17 and a 4.5.

For Conlogue, who has been on tour for 16 years, it was a sweet victory following a challenging year. She’s suffered several head injuries and was in jeopardy of being cut halfway through the year, but earned enough points to stay on for the second half.

“Honestly, I’m just so grateful. It’s been a long time since I’ve had a win,” she said. “I’m just so grateful. I love this wave, this wave is so magical.”

To end the year with the win is very special, Conlogue said.

Courtney Conlogue, of Santa Ana, won the Outerknown Tahiti Pro on August 19, 2022 at Teahupo’o, Tahiti, French Polynesia. (Photo by Beatriz Ryder/World Surf League)

“It’s a great way to end the season,” she said. “I still have a lot to learn, I’ll be putting in a lot of time here.”

But the year isn’t over for the those heading to Lower Trestles, which is a single-day competition to decide the title. The contest’s window is Sept. 8-16.

Jack Robinson and Ethan Ewing, of Australia, also locked in their spots, while Brazil’s Filipe Toledo and Italo Ferreira round out the list of men who will battle it out during the showdown. For the women, Hennessy and Gilmore will battle Hawaii’s Carissa Moore, France’s Johanne Defay and Brazil’s Tatiana Weston-Webb for the championship title.

Last year was the first time the men’s and women’s titles were decided in the one-day surf contest, versus solely by point accumulation throughout the season. Brazilian Gabriel Medina and Hawaii’s Moore won the event and the 2021 WSL World Championship title.