As a recent graduate of King Kekaulike High, Kai Barger of Maui is ready to try a new stage in life.

For him, that would be professional surfing.

Barger showed yesterday that he is ready by winning the Macy's E-Series Junior Pro contest.

The one-day event was completed in 1- to 2-foot waves at Queens Surf, Waikiki.

"Just the thought of winning a pro junior, for me, was like a dream," said Barger, 18. "I never made a pro junior final before and I watched all my friends win."

Junior pro contests are for surfers age 21 and younger — professional or amateur. Most of the state's top young surfers entered yesterday's contest.

Barger won what turned out to be an anticlimactic final by catching two waves early in the 30-minute heat. The ocean off Waikiki went flat for the final 15 minutes of the heat.

"We had the flurry of waves in the beginning, and we all got one," Barger said. "I think the thing was I might have got an extra one."

Indeed, Barger was the only surfer to catch two decent waves in the final. His best wave received a score of 7.25 (out of 10), after he completed two precise snaps along the open section.

He backed that up with a 5.25, giving him a total of 12.5.

Sebastian Zietz of Kaua'i was a close second with a two-wave total of 11.9, including a 7.5 for his best wave.

The final scores were closer than the surfers thought. Zietz all but conceded the victory to Barger even before the scores were announced.

"I thought he won by a lot, actually," said Zietz, 20. "It just seemed like I only got one good wave and he got two."

Zietz said the final 15 minutes of the heat were frustrating for all four surfers in the final.

"I was just sitting there knowing I needed one more good wave," he said. "But it just went flat. Nothing you can do about that."

Barger received $2,000 for the victory, and said he will spend some of it on "a big barbecue" for the Kemper family. Fellow competitor Billy Kemper is hosting Barger this week.

Keanu Asing of 'Ewa Beach placed third while in the middle of a whirlwind of surfing contests.

He won another junior pro contest in Bali, Indonesia, on Sunday. Thanks in part to the time difference, he made it back to Honolulu on Sunday night.

"That was my first-ever junior pro win, so it was pretty good," Asing said. "I was real tired this morning. I slept on the car ride home. Drank a cup of coffee this morning and felt like a champ."

Asing, who is 15 and a sophomore in a home school program, was the youngest surfer in yesterday's final. He is scheduled to arrive in California today for another contest.

Albee Layer of Maui placed fourth.

The top performers earned points toward qualifying for the Billabong World Junior Championship at Australia in January.

The contest was also part of the Duke's OceanFest — a week-long celebration in Waikiki featuring various ocean sports.

The C4 Waterman/Honolua Surf Stand Up Paddle Surfing competition is scheduled to run today at Kuhio Beach, Waikiki.

FINAL RESULTS

1, Kai Barger, $2,000. 2, Sebastian Zietz, $900. 3, Keanu Asing, $600. 4, Albee Layer, $500. 5 (tie), Casey Brown and Billy Kemper, $300. 7 (tie), Chris Foster and Brennan Boudreau, $200. 9 (tie), Kiron Jabour, Peyton Chidester, Kyle Ramey and Levi Gonzles. 13 (tie), Kekoa Cazimero, Dege O'Connell, Tyler Newton and Kyle Galtes.