Gallery: The Box is Back and it Was Beautiful

Like a late-night encounter with an exotic beauty, it was over far too soon. Six heats ran yesterday at The Box, the square slab north of the Margaret River, before the onshore winds and a dip in the swell forced a move back to Main Break. But for those glorious 210 minutes, it was a delightful display of adrenaline-charged slab surfing, one that showed who was in sync with the ocean and who was not. 

In the first heat of the morning, Griffin Colapinto caught a wave that will play on the WSL’s highlight reels for years to come. As a large rectangular body of water threw over him, the foamball slammed into his board, lifting him sideways, engulfing him completely. Gone, out of sight and mind. And yet he emerged on the shoulder after the spit, finger to the sky. Glorious and incredulous.

“I feel like that’s one of the best heats of my life,” Griffin said. “Getting barreled in a jersey is the dream, and I feel like I’ve kind of missed out on that a lot in my career, where like I lose and then the next day is just all-time barreling, you know Teahupo’o or Pipe, and I’m just on the sidelines, just so bummed. And today I woke up and went, wow, I’m in this, like I get to surf in this, you know, and I was just so grateful for that opportunity.”

After Griffin, Barron Mamiya took the in-form mantle. The Hawaiian looked all too happy to drop into the steep sections and stall as hard as possible. Jake Marshall couldn’t keep up.

In the later heats, Leonardo Fioravanti got past Miguel Pupo and Connor O’Leary outmaneuvered Kanoa Igarashi. Local wildcard Jacob Willcox continued his rampage by demonstrating textbook pigdog technique and eliminated João Chianca, who consistently failed to punch through the good ones.  

“I’ve dreamt of that moment for a long time,” Jacob said. “When I heard they were pretty keen to go to The Box I was so fired up to get through that day competing yesterday. It’s probably not the best Box ever, but just being able to compete out there was so special. That’s something I’ve dreamt of for so long, getting to watch the comp out there a few times and not being involved in it, I was just wishing to have a go. That was a pretty fun heat.”

It was ironic that the heat with the most at stake was the closest and slowest affair: Crosby Colapinto versus Jackson Bunch. The winner stays on the 2025 CT, the loser gets booted to the Challenger Series. 

Yet it was as if the ocean wanted this to be tense. The two surfers had lots to win and lose, yet neither could make a consequential wave. Both got mid-sized tubes for 3s and 4s and both fell on the bigger sets. This was Jackson’s second time ever at the Box (his first was earlier that morning). 

With five minutes left, Crosby, who has scored the Box hard in freesurfs, had a shot on a real bomb. He air-dropped into it, set his rail and looked poised to get spat out into the back half of the season. But it got so square at the end that he poked his nose and went down. Back on land, Griffin and the rest of San Clemente cringed.  

“That was his ticket on tour,” Jake Paterson said. Yet despite needing only a 4, Jackson couldn’t find a decent wave. His head sank low as the horn sounded. Crosby took the heat and the second-to-last spot above the mid-year cut, by a mere 6.53 to 3.34. 

 “Out in the water, I had so much emotion coming out of me, I was kind of crying and stuff,” Crosby said. “It’s just wild. I started the year, broke my elbow and then went to Portugal, didn’t really get a result and then El Salvador got a third. I’m like, alright, I’m right back in this, I can do it. And then came over (to Australia) and lost in the Round of 32 in the first two events over here. So there was a lot of doubt coming into this one. But then, just trying to lean into belief and like all the hard work I’ve done and all the preparation. I was really inspired by Seth [Moniz]’s story last year of coming in here and kind of doing what I just did. So I’m just kind of coming in here with the belief of doing it and then also having this opportunity to create a special moment like this right here.”

With the swell slowing at the Box, the last two Round of 16 heats were held at Main Break. They were completely lopsided. Jordy Smith stomped Marco Mignot and Imaikalani deVault cruised past Al Cleland Jr. But that latter matchup ended with a scare. Al looked lost out in the lineup and was comboed most of the heat. He had ridden just one wave up until the final two minutes. Though he had no hope of winning the heat, he demonstrated that devil-may-care attitude that has endeared him to surf fans worldwide. 

As he slammed the lip on a 10-footer, the section reared underneath him and he free-fell straight into the depths. It was the kind of slam that made everyone gasp. The man from Pascuales came up, clearly dazed. He creased his board and nearly snapped himself. As Vaughan Blakey put it, it was a wipeout every bit as heavy as the Box had shown earlier. “He’s lucky his board broke and not his legs,” added Ronnie Blakey. 

Cut-wach: Imai must win the event if he wants to clinch a spot on tour. He’d be knocking off Alejo Muninz, who is out and currently No. 22 on the rankings. Imai has taken out giants here before, and he’ll have to deal with a red-hot Jordy Smith (now No. 2 in the world) in the quarterfinals.

The comp will be off for a few days as some inclement weather moves in. The women’s round of 16 will sort out their mid-year cut scenarios. Sally Fitzgibbons has to beat world No. 1 and reigning event winner Gabriela Bryan to have chance of staying on the CT.

Western Australia Margaret River Pro Men’s Round of 16 Results:

HEAT 1: Griffin Colapinto (USA) 16.00 DEF. Mikey McDonagh (AUS) 2.43

HEAT 2: Leonardo Fioravanti (ITA) 12.16 DEF. Miguel Pupo (BRA) 7.04

HEAT 3: Connor O’Leary (JPN) 8.50 DEF. Kanoa Igarashi (JPN) 2.50

HEAT 4: Barron Mamiya (HAW) 15.17 DEF. Jake Marshall (USA) 5.73

HEAT 5: Jacob Willcox (AUS) 12.50 DEF. Joao Chianca (BRA) 5.87

HEAT 6: Crosby Colapinto (USA) 6.53 DEF. Jackson Bunch (HAW) 3.34

HEAT 7: Jordy Smith (RSA) 17.33 DEF. Marco Mignot (FRA) 7.17

HEAT 8: Imaikalani deVault (HAW) 15.33 DEF. Alan Cleland (MEX) 8.26

Western Australia Margaret River Pro Men’s Quarterfinal Matchups: 

HEAT 1: Griffin Colapinto (USA) vs. Leonardo Fioravanti (ITA)

HEAT 2: Connor O’Leary (JPN) vs. Barron Mamiya (HAW)

HEAT 3: Jacob Willcox (AUS) vs. Crosby Colapinto (USA)

HEAT 4: Jordy Smith (RSA) vs. Imaikalani deVault (HAW)

Western Australia Margaret River Pro Women’s Round of 16 Matchups: 

HEAT 1: Molly Picklum (AUS) vs. Bella Kenworthy (USA)

HEAT 2: Caroline Marks (USA) vs. Bronte Macaulay (AUS)

HEAT 3: Caitlin Simmers (USA) vs. Brisa Hennessy (CRC)

HEAT 4: Luana Silva (BRA) vs. Erin Brooks (CAN)

HEAT 5: Gabriela Bryan (HAW) vs. Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS)

HEAT 6: Sawyer Lindblad (USA) vs. Bettylou Sakura Johnson (HAW)

HEAT 7: Isabella Nichols (AUS) vs. Vahine Fierro (FRA)

HEAT 8: Tyler Wright (AUS) vs. Lakey Peterson (USA)

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