Milla Coco Brown and Lucas Hickson have taken out the 2026 Kim Burton Pro Junior, the opening event of the World Surf League (WSL) Australia/Oceania Junior Qualifying Series (JQS) season.
Merewether Beach served up fun two-to-three-foot surf for the second event in the 40th anniversary celebrations of Surfest Newcastle, setting the stage for the region’s best junior surfers to battle for crucial ranking points as the race toward qualification for the 2026 WSL World Junior Championships officially kicked off.
Milla Brown continues dominant run
Sydney Northern Beaches surfer Milla Coco Brown continued her stellar form, claiming her fourth Pro Junior victory. The 18-year-old made it back-to-back wins after taking out the Let’s Surf Lake Mac Pro Junior for a second time to close the 2025 Australia/Oceania JQS season.
Between those two events, Brown helped lead Australia to team gold at the ISA World Junior Championship in Peru, where she earned the silver medal in the U/18 division. She now sits atop the rankings as she campaigns to compete in the WSL World Junior Championships for the first time.
“Thanks to Kim Burton for putting on such a good event and the girls for a fun Final,” Brown said. “I’m pretty happy to win. It was pretty fun, but tough conditions, so I was stoked to lock back into comp mode after free surfing for a couple of months. Good way to kick off 2026.”
A strong southerly change ahead of the men’s Semifinals made the women’s Final largely a battle of single turns. Brown took command early with two rides in the four-point range before finding a long open face that allowed her to unleash down the line and post a 6.67. A back-up 6.00 from an aggressive single turn gave her a 12.67 heat total that proved unbeatable.
Kingscliff’s Ava Arghyros placed runner-up in her first Pro Junior Final, with Lennox Head’s Ocea Curtis finishing third and Margaret River’s Ruby Berry rounding out fourth.
First WSL win for Lucas Hickson
Victoria’s Lucas Hickson earned his first-ever WSL win in a Final dominated by Queensland residents. The 19-year-old reigning Victorian State Champion from Mornington Peninsula had previously only won two Pro Junior heats across five appearances, but this year he won all five heats he surfed, defeating several higher seeds along the way.
“I’m just happy to make a heat,” Hickson said. “The shorey was pretty fun, but the waves were pretty tricky for the finals. I’d like to thank all the boys for letting me stay on the couch. I didn’t really have anything sorted out, so thanks to them.”
Gold Coast’s Leo Matchett took an early lead in the men’s Final with a 6.33 for a tail-high air reverse, but Hickson slowly built momentum and took the lead with six minutes remaining. His 5.97 for a two-turn combo on his forehand, combined with an existing 5.50, gave him an 11.47 heat total that secured the win.
Will Martin and Darcy Dwyer placed third and fourth respectively.
The Kim Burton Pro Junior ran at Merewether Beach from January 31 to February 1, 2026.
