April McPherson
Camera IconApril McPherson Credit: Supplied/Supplied

Mandurah surfers impress at WA Surf Masters Titles

Vanessa SchmittMandurah Coastal Times

FALCON surfer April McPherson won the Women’s Open in the Volte Wetsuits WA Surf Masters Titles in Margaret River on Sunday.

Josh Harrington, of Golden Bay, took out the Over 35 Masters Men section with a final score of 10.50.

Nick Black, of Falcon, came third in the Over 40 Senior Masters and Brian Williams came third in the Over 50 Legends category.

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The event was windy and featured two to three foot swells.

Some of WA’s best young talent and surfing stalwarts battled it out for the chance to represent WA at the National Titles in NSW in August.

The Open Women’s division was arguably one of the most impressive finals of the event, with reigning Open Women’s State Champion McPherson and reigning Under 18 Girls State Champion Emma Cattlin (Yallingup) going head-to-head in an epic match-up.

When the siren sounded, less than one point separated the two girls, with McPherson taking the win by the narrowest of margins.

April McPherson in action.
Camera IconApril McPherson in action. Credit: Supplied/Supplied

“It’s been a really fun weekend,” McPherson said.

“Although it was far from pumping out there, all the girls have been ripping and pushing each other, which is the most encouraging part.”

Harrington smashed through some big sections on his backhand to get the win in the Over 35 Men’s final. A 6.50 (from a possible 10) and a backup 4.00 (from a possible 10) was enough to result in Harrington, the defending state champion, taking the victory.

“It was really challenging out there; all these guys rip so I’m just stoked I found a couple that held up for me and gave me a few sections,” he said.

Surfing WA events manager Justin Majeks said it was great to see multiple generations of WA surfers supporting each other.