Local Surfer Nat Young Battles into the Quarterfinals at the Cold Water Classic

Day four of the competition saw another day of small inconsistent surf, but competition has never been so close.

The morning started at Steamer Lane and the conclusion of round three. The only local left in the contest, Nat Young, 20, won his heat pushing him forward to Round Four of the competition. The final heats at the Lane would also see a close battle between Australia’s Adam Melling and Hawaii’s John John Florence.

Melling had a lot to prove against the Number 22 world-ranked Florence, as he was not just fighting for another spot in the higher rounds, but also the $50,000 series bonus. It seemed as though Florence had the heat in the bag, until with 11 minutes left, Melling put together solid scores and defeat Florence. As soon as the Florence V.S. Melling heat concluded, promoters moved the contest back to Waddell Creek for more consistent surf.

The non-elimination heats of Round Four would be some of the most exciting for local Santa Cruz fans as Young, who shares his name with a famous older surfer from Australia, battled down to the last wave against Hawaii’s Dusty Payne and Brazil’s Raoni Monteiro.

Monteiro would have the most luck with waves through the beginning of the heat, as Young and Payne could not put together a solid score. Waves started firing at the end of the heat and all three surfers would put together close scores. Young would take the heat win and a ticket straight to the quarterfinals and a step closer to winning his second Cold Water Classic.

Also advancing straight to the quarterfinals was San Clemente’s Nathan Yeomans as he beat out Brazilian shredder Miguel Pupo and Willian Cardoso. Both Australian surfers Nic Muscroft and Josh Kerr would advance to the quarters after winning their heats.

With expected poor surf for Sunday's competition, promoters will decide if the contest will be held at either the Lane or Waddell at sunrise.