Manu leaves others in his wake - again

Manu Scott-Arrieta continued his unstoppable form in the Under-12 Division by winning his third consecutive victory in national competition.
He won the Maz Quinn Quiksilver King of the Groms event held at Gisborne over the weekend at Makarori Beach.
Scott-Arrieta scored a 14.65-point heat total in the final, as he toyed with his opponents going for the biggest turns.
His opponents, however, are slowly but surely catching up to him, with Waihi's Taine Craig surfing some great waves to tie down second place with 12.0 points, just ahead of Mount Maunganui's Kehu Butler, a stand-out  at the age of just 9. Placing fourth in the final was Taranaki surfer Isaac Kettle.
Manu's brother, Patxi,  was the stand-out  on Saturday, completing big power turns with  flair and plenty of skill to see him progress through to the semifinals with ease.
He was  the favourite to win the title but, perhaps with the prize of a trip to France to represent New Zealand at the International King of the Groms contest on his mind, he overcooked his next heat, took a big fall in the semifinals and could  finish only third.
Piha surfers claimed a clean sweep in the final with Elliot Paerata-Reid winning the Under-16 Boys final, Tane Wallis second and Waretini Wano third.
Gisborne's Jules Craft was fourth.
Korbin Hutchings notched up his first win in the Under-14 Boys' Division, going one better than at the last event.
Hutchings gets the chance to represent New Zealand at the Australian Quiksilver King of the Groms  this year.
Gisborne's Jayda Martin-Fitzharris claimed the U16 Girls Division. She scored a 7.75 and then an 8.25 on her last two rides of the final before applying the pressure on early finals leader Ella Williams.