The World Surf League SLO CAL Open at Morro Bay is over and the results are in. Ella McCaffray and Levi Slawson emerged victorious in the North America Qualifying Series (QS) 1,000 event. This was McCaffray’s first-ever WSL QS win and Slawson’s second-career win.
In the women’s final, Ella McCaffray faced off against Tofino’s Sanoa Dempfle-Olin. McCaffray garnered a commanding lead immediately, with a 6.83 score. She then went on to bolster that performance with an excellent 8.63 wave. Olin, who recently qualified to represent Canada at the Paris 2024 Olympic games, scored a 6.50 and a 7.43, but was unable to surpass McCaffray’s early lead.
“I’m over the moon, I’m so stoked for my first QS win,” McCaffray told the WSL. “I’ve been working toward this for a really long time and I’m so happy. I’m definitely trying to re-qualify for the Challenger Series. We have some big events coming up so I’ll get back to training and getting ready for those. Thank you to my family, my coach John (Daniels), for everything.”
Meanwhile, on the men’s side, Encinitas’ Levi Slawson faced off against Oceanside surfer Lucas Owston. The two put on a high-performance show, with Slawson’s 17.40 heat total eventually garnering him the win. The score was the event’s third-best, coming behind Slawson’s earlier 17.90 and 17.85 performances. The win has propelled him to No. 1 on the North America rankings.
“It feels so good, I work so hard every day of my life for surfing so for all the winning, the highs and lows, surfing is amazing” said Slawson. “I didn’t qualify for the Challenger Series last year after I got on the year before when I was 18. Now I’m coming back and I want to get back on the Challenger Series and want to get on the Championship Tour soon so I feel like I’m getting one step closer when I win one of these events. I have so many people to thank, my parents, my girlfriend for being by my side, my sponsors, all my friends back home, this one’s for everybody at home.”
