A FIT and healthy Mitch Crews strengthened his grip on the Australasian Pro Junior title when he knocked off fierce rival Davey Cathels in the under-20 boys' Surfest final yesterday.
It was the third pro junior final the pair have contested this year, and the honours were locked at one apiece going into the Newcastle battle.
Competition was moved to Newcastle Beach yesterday and on Saturday due to a north-easterly breeze causing flat conditions at Merewether.
The lead changed several times in the nail-biting final, but North Narrabeen's Cathels could not find a 7.81-point wave in the dying minutes to overcome Crews's two-wave score of 15.80.
For Crews it has been a battle just to return to surfing, let alone become Australia's leading under-20 competitor.
The Currumbin natural-footer suffers from ankylosing spondylitis, a chronic inflammatory arthritis which mainly affects the spine.
The ailment ruined his 2009 campaign, when he finished 14th. But treatment has reinvigorated the youngster and he is in great form.
"I have a bunch of doctors in Brisbane's Princess Alexandra Hospital really looking after me, so I'm super stoked to have them behind me and be back surfing and I feel better than ever now," Crews said.
"I have medication I take every two weeks and a lot of physio and just trying to keep healthy and fit."
Crews cracked his first pro junior victory on February 9 when he won the North Stradbroke Island event ahead of Cathels.
In January, he lost the Bells Beach Pro Junior final to Cathels.
"We were out there calling it round three, so it's frothing to get two out of three," Crews said.
"We were worried about how the conditions were going to be, but we ended up having really fun waves and Davey and me got to fight it out again."
Surfest has not been a happy hunting ground for Crews. His previous best was ninth in last year's pro junior.
North Narrabeen's Laura Enever had her dream of winning three straight girls' pro juniors at Surfest cruelled when an interference call in the opening minutes of the final led to Kiwi Arini Mason taking the crown.
Enever produced scores of 4.75 and 3.25 but had her opening wave cancelled due to the interference, leaving Mason with a two-wave winning total of 9.25.
Merewether's Jackson Baker (10.35) was the best of the locals, finishing third in the under-14 Cadet Cup final behind Josh Szele (11.35) and Teague Robinson (11.15).
Jake Sylvester, 16, recorded his best performance in a pro junior event by reaching the quarter-finals, where he was eliminated by Cathels, and 18-year-old Philippa Anderson completed solid preparation for her women's pro title defence by reaching the pro junior girls quarter-finals.
The Longboard Classic will he held today, and the men's pro starts tomorrow.
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