I just saw this video of some serious ripping by Surfing America groms in Santa Cruz over the weekend. Apparently, while most eyes were glued to the Maverick’s break up near Half Moon Bay, some junior surfers were taking advantage of this local spot.

The sole grom with Santa Cruz ties to win a division in the fourth Surfing America Prime event of the season was John Mel, a Santa Cruz native who now lives in Newport Beach. He took the boys under-14 division ahead of runner-up Noah Hill of Marina Del Ray and third-place finisher Ryland Rubens of Pacific Beach at Steamer Lane, where the contest ran from Jan. 20-21, according to a Surfing America Facebook post. The event was the only Surfing America stop scheduled for the Santa Cruz area.

And in case you missed it, Mel’s father Peter won the Mavericks Invitational big wave surf contest Sunday.

Enjoy!

Surfing America Prime Steamer Lane 2013 from Surfing America on Vimeo.