Waves: Chest-to-head-high.

Weather: Overcast.

Action: Lowers looked outrageously fun this morning. After a trio of marginal days, nice, consistent sets were on tap for Day 4 of the Body Glove Surfbout.

Heat 9 of the Round of 64 was the morning opener, and despite getting off to a slow start, CJ Hobgood owned it.

“I haven’t seen any good waves all week,” said Hobgood, “so when I got out there I got all excited. I was sort of just paddling for everything and then I realized that the guys were dropping some good scores. So I had to calm myself down.”

After composing himself, Hobgood let loose with a series of huge floats and vicious slams on his backhand for a 9.27 and then posted a 6.0 as well.

“Everybody was ripping out there,” he said. “It feels nice to make it through that first heat.”

WCT surfer Luke Steadman powered his way through Heat 10 in the top slot, while Puerto Rico’s Dylan Graves made his push late. Splitting a peak with Pat O’Connell, Graves wracked up an 8.0 to claim the transfer position.

“I was waiting for a good one,” said Graves, “and when that one came through, Pat was like, ‘which way do you want to go?’ I ended up going right and the thing was just the sickest wall ever.”

Heath Walker and Nathaniel Curran pushed through a wave-filled Heat 12, while Heat 13 was relatively slow.

“I always seem to get heats like that out here,” said Taylor Knox of his wave-starved water-time. “I guess I should just get used to it.”

Despite the lull, Knox still managed to open with a 7.83, and his back-up, a high 3, was enough to hand him 1st. Advancing behind him was Maui’s Ian Walsh.

Heat 14 was next up and the lull came to an end. Rob Machado and Shane Beschen kicked things off with another split-peak, and the pair actually posted identical 8.83s during the exchange. Machado then smoothly tore through a second ride for a 7.33 and secured the win.

“I caught so many waves out there,” said Machado, “I’m just trying to catch my breath.”

By the beginning of the Round of 32, the scores piling in not only reflected the additional time the competitors were granted – beginning in the Round of 32 heat times go from 20 to 25-minutes – but they also were representative of the building intensity as the contest rolled ever closer to the finals.

In Heat 1, WCT rookie Jarrad Howse and Californian Nate Yeomans went head to head, with Yeomans emerging in 1st while House advanced closely behind him.

Dustin Cuizon and Austin Ware both came on strong in Heat 2 and they advanced into the Semis in 1st and 2nd respectively.

Heat 3 was a slow one, until the last 2-minutes, when a series of good sets came through. Leading prior to the final flurry, Alex Gray was briefly bumped from 1st to 3rd by the efforts of ex-CTer Shea Lopez and current world tour surfer Yuri Sodre. But on his last ride, as the horn sounded, Gray posted an 8.5 to reclaim the lead and take the win. Advancing behind him, by less than a point, was Sodre.

Heat 4 also ramped up late. With roughly three-minutes left, Greg Long, needing a 7.17, dropped into a lined up set wave and proceeded to reel off a series of big backhand cracks followed by a critical floater on the inside. His score was just enough, and after getting back into the lineup and posting-up outside, he looked likely to advance. But then, with under a minute remaining, Damien Hobgood found a reeling set wave and tore through it for a monster 9.63. That score would give him the win, and, unfortunately for Long, Mitchell Coleburn also dropped a big score in the final flurry to claim the transfer slot.

“Greg and I were both out the back and he took the first wave in that last set,” said Damien Hobgood. “He knew I needed a score, so he had to take it to keep me off of it, but luckily there was another wave behind it. And it turned out to be even better than the first one. Whoever would have waited for that last wave was going to win. It was so close out there; it all came down to that last exchange.”

Heat 5 saw rising Aussie star Leigh Sedley post two mid-range 8s. Surfing fast and powerfully, Sedley looked unstoppable and left his competition needing massive scores to steal the top slot. He claimed 1st while Luke Steadman advanced behind him.

Che Stang’s frontside gaff was all he needed in Heat 7. Taking down Rob Machado, Taylor Knox and Asher Nolan, Stang wracked up an 8.0 and a 9.5 with a series of big wraps. His pair of scores left the field comboed, but advancing behind him was Asher Nolan, who took the transfer slot from Knox with a 6 at the horn.

2005 World Junior Champ Kekoa Bacalso won his heat, Heat 8, and fittingly, the contest shifted gears immediately afterwards as the Oakley Pro Junior’s opening round hit the water.

Comprised of a draw of 32 of the world’s best surfers under the age of 20, the Oakley Pro is a chance for domestic and international juniors to compete for qualification into the World Junior Championships held in Australia.

Standouts in today’s initial heats were William Cardoso, Killian Garland, Dylan Graves, Alex Gray, Sterling Spencer and Tommy Bursian.

Gray in particular was blazing hot. Late in his heat, Heat 5, he nabbed a long, running right and absolutely demolished it for a perfect 10.0. Seamlessly connecting a big tail blow, a full-rail wrap and an air reverse on the inside; he looked confident and comfortable in his junior heat and easily took the win. Gray is currently slated to surf in the Quarter-Finals of the main event and Round 2 of the Oakley Pro Junior. Check in tomorrow for the Finals of both, as the Body Glove Surfbout presented by Adio in conjunction with the Oakley Pro Junior comes to a close. With the swell scheduled to remain solid, Saturday should be a scorcher.