SEBASTIAN INLET, Florida (Saturday, January 5, 2008) – The O’Neill SI Pro presented by Ron Jon recommenced this morning with the second half of Round 1 hitting the water in clean two-to-three foot (1 metre) surf at Sebastian Inlet, Florida.

The second day of the Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) World Qualifying Series (WQS) 5-Star event saw local standouts revel in the improved conditions, posting the highest scores of the event thus far.

David Speir (Melbourne Beach, FL), a veteran competitor on the ASP WQS and a standout East Coast performer, put on a barrel-riding display this morning, netting the highest heat total for the day, a 15.17 out of a possible 20.

“I’m pretty stoked the conditions cleaned up for today’s competition and there are definitely a few wedges out there,” Speir said. “I was able to slip into a few barrels out there this morning and I’m looking forward to the rest of the event.”

Aaron Cormican (New Smyrna Beach, FL), two-time finalist at the O’Neill SI Pro, was another Floridian who excelled in today’s conditions, garnering a 14.34 out of a possible 20 for a series of barrels and crowd-pleasing aerials.

“The surf is really rippable today and I just went out there and had fun,” Cormican said. “Hopefully the surf stays the same over the next few days and I’m able to start the year out with a good result. The event is now an ASP WQS 5-Star and offers a lot of points.”

Following the completion of the Round of 192 in the O’Neill SI Pro presented by Ron Jon, event organizers opted to run the Red Bull Tow-At exhibition this afternoon which saw an elite group of invitees compete for a brand new Sea-Doo.

Shea Lopez (Indian Rocks Beach, FL), former competitor on the elite ASP World Tour, took down the Red Bull Tow-At with a buzzer-beating forehand aerial, and takes home the Sea Doo for the second time in his career.

“I won the Tow-At a few years back and it feels really good to win it again,” Lopez said. “I had a pretty bad run all the way through so when Matt (Kechele) pulled me into that last one, I just went for broke and managed to come out on top.”

Event organizers for the O’Neill SI Pro will meet tomorrow at 7:30am for a possible 7:8am start.

When O’Neill SI Pro competition recommences, Heat 1 of Round 2 will be first in the water.

The O’Neill SI Pro presented by Ron Jon will be webcast LIVE via www.go211.com

For more information, log onto www.aspworldtour.com, www.aspnorthamerica.org or www.oneillsipro.com

RESULTS: O’Neill SI Pro presented by Ron Jon (ASP WQS 5-Star)

Round 1: 192 surfers remaining (1st and 2nd advance to Round 2)
Heat 13: Kiron Jabour (HAW) 8.00, Kyle Kennelly (USA) 5.83, Tab Textor (USA) 2.84, N/S
Heat 14: Ben Graeff (USA) 10.33, Riley Metcalf (USA) 8.13, Ron Keindl (USA) 5.80, Devon Ayers (USA) 2.90
Heat 15: David Speir (USA) 15.17, Sebastian Zietz (HAW) 9.33, Cheyne Willis (USA) 2.16, N/S
Heat 16: David Awbrey (USA) 9.14, Scott Posner (USA) 7.04, Shawn Riley (USA) 4.33, N/S
Heat 17: Jeremy Johnston (USA) 12.74, Sean Poynter (USA) 8.00, Matt Pagan (USA) 7.24, N/S
Heat 18: Zach Keenan (USA) 8.66, Morgan Faulkner (USA) 2.73, N/S, N/S
Heat 19: Travis Mellem (USA) 10.33, Marshall Alberga (USA) 7.90, Randy Townsend (USA) 5.23, Kyle Busey (USA) 4.17
Heat 20: Brent Reilly (USA) 8.67, Kelsey Strickland (USA) 5.63, Matt Johnson (USA) 5.27, Casey Landvogt (USA) 4.37
Heat 21: Ted Navarro (USA) 9.07, Jody Davis (PRI) 8.93, Tom Rezvan (USA) 5.73, Cody Sammons (USA) 1.17
Heat 22: Richie Collins (USA) 9.66, Gary Wheeler (USA) 6.20, Sean Taylor (USA) 6.00, Corban Campbell (USA) 5.96
Heat 23: Bryan Hewitson (USA) 10.73, Andrew Gessler (USA) 8.30, Jason Harris (USA) 6.43, Mike Antonelli (USA) N/S/
Heat 24: Aaron Cormican (USA) 14.34, Jensen Callaway (USA) 7.73, Thomas Petricken (USA) 5.00, N/S