It's an East Coast Sweep at Virginia Beach Pro

There were no shortage of firsts on Sunday afternoon at the Virginia Beach Pro as local boy Blayr Barton became the first hometown surfer to win the event in a decade, and Florida’s Alana Lopez earned her first-ever World Surf League victory. Making the most of the contestable, summertime conditions, both surfers had to battle through talent-rich fields of surfers from around the country to top the podium.

“I’m still taking in,” said Barton afterwards. “This has been a dream ever since I watched Michael Dunphy win this event (in 2014). The moment I heard the clock go down, it was just a dream come true to win at home. Now I’m just going to have fun.”

In the final, Barton managed to edge out North Carolina’s own Owen Moss, followed by the West Coast pairing of Lucas Owston and Cannon Carr, who finished third and fourth respectively.

“It’s been a great run from Barbados to an equal fifth at Jack’s Surfboards Pro and I just love being in the jersey, this is what I want to do,” he continued. “To go through all the things I did and to come back and win is unreal. It’s a blessing.”

Showcasing just how talented the next generation of young women are, Lopez came strong against Hawaii’s Zoey Kaina, Florida's Lanea Mons and Canada’s Sanoa Dempfle-Olin to achieve one of her early career goals.

“I’m super stoked and I can’t believe that just happened,” said Lopez. “I was out there waiting for two good waves to come and they came so I’m stoked. I’ve been surfing with all these for forever so I’m stoked to share a Final with them and stoked to take the win. My mom and my sister came in last night so I’m super happy to be able to share this with them. I couldn’t ask for a better day.”

With the Virginia Beach Pro in the rearview mirror, the plot thickens on the WSL North American Qualifying Series. For the men, Peru’s Lucca Melina’s sits in first, followed by Moss in second and Barton in third. And on the women’s side, San Clemente’s Kirra Pinkerton sits atop the leaderboard, while Dempfle-Olin is in second, followed by Zoe Benedetto in third. The next North American Qualifying Series event to hit the water will be the WRV Outer Banks Pro at Nag Head, North Carolina, on August 28.

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