Yago Dora & Bettylou Sakura Johnson Clinch Second Event Wins of 2025 at Lexus Trestles Pro

In his Lower Trestles contest debut, Yago Dora made history. In beating regular-footed heavyweights in Ethan Ewing, Griffin Colapinto and Kanoa Igarashi in consecutive heats, Yago became the first male goofyfoot to win at these cobblestones since Luke Egan in 2002. That’s 23 years (!) since a goof won Lowers (excluding Gabriel Medina’s 2021 WSL Finals win). And Yago had to drop the highest heat score of the event in the final: 17.90 (over Kanoa’s 16.07).

How did he do it? By having the air-to-turn-to-air combo on lock. The men’s final between Yago and Kanoa was a fascinating display of contrasting and entertaining styles. Mere seconds after the horn ended the women’s final, Yago took off a huge full rotation on the left, attacking the first section and landing backwards in the steepest, most bowl-shaped part of the wave. Not a huge wave, but the air was ludicrous. A 9.53 from the jump, and a sign of things to come. “It should be a disaster,” Jesse Mendes said. “But he somehow pulls it off.” 

Yago followed that up with a smaller left while Kanoa Igarashi criss-crossed the right. Throughout the event, Kanoa’s slashing hacks were among the best he’s done in his career. But in the final, he couldn’t keep pace with Yago, who made the left his personal playground. Multiple snaps followed by multiple airs on a single wave could not be denied. He had two 8s as throwaways, and even a Kerrupt flip by Kanoa didn’t smear the veneer. Catch the full replay below.

“It’s unbelievable, I waited a long time to have the opportunity to surf this event, and to do it my first time competing is incredible,” Yago said. “I want to thank God. Especially in the Quarterfinals, he sent me that last wave and that was like the booster for me to win this event, and I just can’t believe it. I’m over the moon right now after winning this event. Now I’m going to Brazil, which is like my best event on Tour, and I’m so happy. I want to thank my team, my dad right there, everyone, all my sponsors, and the people of San Clemente too, you guys always receive me with open arms, and you give me my little spot in the lineup, so it’s pretty amazing that we got to come here and and get these amazing waves and today was my day.”

The women’s final was a wholesome display of rail surfing. With waves aplenty coming in from the south, Bettylou Sakura Johnson and Molly Picklum did not disappoint. Both looked powerful and committed to the forehand attack. But the main difference was that Bettylou consistently jammed her board into steeper pockets, whereas Molly’s surfing was more lateral. It’s nitpicking, but that’s the difference between first and second on the CT. 

Molly and Bettylou were the two best women in the event, and the numbers back it up: Molly posted the contest’s highest single-wave score (9.6) and Bettylou had the next three (9, 9, and 8.83). In the end, Bettylou’s more critical approach earned her the second CT win of her career, and her second in three events. Bettylou (who dropped eight rides that scored at least an 8 this event) stopped a six-heat skid against Molly and now moves into the No. 5 in the world. Meanwhile, Molly takes the yellow jersey from Gabriela Bryan. 

Lowers was blessed with consistent south swell on finals day. It wasn’t always clean, but the wind light and peaks readily came through the lineup every heat. Solid waves and big matchups made Saturday interesting from start to finish. It started with two women’s quarters and four men’s quarters, and all six were electric. Dynamic high-level surfing punctuated by clutch moments. Every heat had at least one excellent score (8 or above), and more heats had a plethora of them. 

Both women’s heats were blowouts. Local wildcard Sawyer Lindblad, still stinging from not making the mid-year cut, hammered world No. 1 Gabriela Bryan, 15.50 to 5.17. Then Bettylou dropped the highest heat total of the women’s tour this year (17.83) on Caroline Marks’ head. In the battle of the Mayhem team riders, Bettylou picked the cleanest walls and cranked a six-hack combo. 

Meanwhile, the men’s quarters were tighter than a new wettie. With the exception of Griffin Colapinto and Joel Vaughan, all three heats were within two points. Both Griffin and Joel had beaten Brazilian world champions in their previous heat, but Griffin had the power and poise here.

Yago versus Ethan Ewing was a classic duel of contrasting yet appealing styles. I highly encourage you to rewatch the heat here. Ethan’s turns nearly sealed it, but Yago came up clutch. The goofyfooter caught a left with less than a minute left and flung a massive tail-high air, landing on top of a tricky closeout section. He claimed it hard and advanced to the semis. 

The next heat was probably the best Jack Robinson has looked at Lowers. Up against the staunch Cole Houshmand, who grew up smashing these cobblestones, Jack held his own with some blistering turns on the right. His first big score was superb, three crisps hacks and a clean air reverse to finish. To round out the quarters, Kanoa picked the better waves and looked sharper on the crumbling coping than Connor O’Leary. 

Molly caught one of the bigger waves of the day in the semis against Caity Simmers. On a solid overhead wall, Molly went vertical under the first and heaviest section. A couple turns down the line netted her a deserved 9.60. The Australian got her first career win against Caity in seven tries.

The first men’s semis started as the Yago Show. He began with a remarkably tweaked reverse on the left for an 8.33, then punted a huge backside Indy on the right, his front foot disconnecting then reconnecting with the nose. But he didn’t ride out clean. As Yago rode out of the whitewater, his inside rail caught and he fell backward. In the booth, Kelly Slater thought it was complete, but Chris Cote and the judges disagreed. Griffin stuck to his guns, surfing with a speed and power that was just a different gear than Yago’s.

Griffin took the lead late and it looked like San Clemente would get the hometown here in the final after all. But then Yago answered. With three minutes left and needing a 6.87, the Brazilian stomped two airs on one left. The landing was a big sloppy on the first, but the second was cleaner. An 8.90 and the win for Yago, the last goofyfooter in the draw. Another high-scoring affair, 17.23 to 15.20. 

Kelly loved Kanoa’s approach in the next semi. Up against an in-form Robbo, Kanoa had better flow and gained a ton of speed through his arcs. On his 8.77, he fully extended his body repeatedly on a great mix of carves and textbook tail slides.

Jack had one last shot at the end. Needing a 9.03, he took off with 30 seconds left (his twelfth wave of the heat), unleashed meaty turns and finished it with a flat air reverse on the end. Kelly thought the wave offered the cleanest cuts of the heat, but it wasn’t in the 9 range. Judges deemed it an 8, so Kanoa advanced to his second final of the year. 

Up next for the CT: A quick turnaround to Saquarema, Brazil, as the waiting period opens next weekend. This is a danger zone for Yago opponents. This is one of his best events on tour (he got second to Italo last year) and he’s moved into No. 2 in the world, 500 points from Jordy Smith. If he surfs anything remotely close to how he did today, a WSL Finals lock seems imminent.

Lexus Trestles Pro Presented by Outerknown Women’s Final Results:

1 – Bettylou Sakura Johnson (HAW) 17.00
2 – Molly Picklum (AUS) 14.23

Lexus Trestles Pro Presented by Outerknown Men’s Final Results:

1 – Yago Dora (BRA) 17.90
2 – Kanoa Igarashi (JPN) 16.07

Lexus Trestles Pro Presented by Outerknown Women’s Semifinal Results:

HEAT 1:HEAT 1: Molly Picklum (AUS) 16.37 DEF. Caitlin Simmers (USA) 10.84
HEAT 2: Bettylou Sakura Johnson (HAW) 16.24 DEF. Sawyer Lindblad (USA) 14.33

Lexus Trestles Pro Presented by Outerknown Men’s Semifinal Results:

HEAT 1: Yago Dora (BRA) 17.23 DEF. Griffin Colapinto (USA) 15.20
HEAT 2: Kanoa Igarashi (JPN) 17.10 DEF. Jack Robinson (AUS) 16.10

Lexus Trestles Pro Presented by Outerknown Women’s Quarterfinal Results:

HEAT 1: Caitlin Simmers (USA) 12.10 DEF. Erin Brooks (CAN) 11.66
HEAT 2: Molly Picklum (AUS) 12.50 DEF. Lakey Peterson (USA) 11.47
HEAT 3: Sawyer Lindblad (USA) 15.50 DEF. Gabriela Bryan (HAW) 5.17
HEAT 4: Bettylou Sakura Johnson (HAW) 17.83 DEF. Caroline Marks (USA) 8.70

Lexus Trestles Pro Presented by Outerknown Men’s Quarterfinal Results:

HEAT 1: Griffin Colapinto (USA) 16.40 DEF. Joel Vaughan (AUS) 12.17
HEAT 2: Yago Dora (BRA) 15.37 DEF. Ethan Ewing (AUS) 14.63
HEAT 3: Jack Robinson (AUS) 16.27 DEF. Cole Houshmand (USA) 15.94
HEAT 4: Kanoa Igarashi (JPN) 15.16 DEF. Connor O’Leary (JPN) 13.37