Hawai'i surfers had a successful day in the Billabong ASP World Junior Championships yesterday at Sydney, Australia.

All seven Hawai'i surfers in the men's division advanced to the third round of the prestigious contest.

The first and second rounds were run in 3- to 4-foot waves at North Narrabeen. The contest is considered the world championship for surfers age 20 and younger.

Hawai'i surfers Kai Barger, Tonino Benson, Casey Brown, Kiron Jabour, Granger Larsen, Dusty Payne and Sebastian Zietz all won heats yesterday.

Benson, who is from the Big Island, placed second at last year's World Junior Championships. He advanced through the second round yesterday with a convincing win over Peru's Andres Wurst.

"I feel good, my boards feel really good," Benson said. "Hopefully the waves keep coming. I'm happy. As long as there are waves I'm happy."

Maui's Payne is one of the top seeds for the contest, but he said he struggled to win his second-round heat yesterday.

"The conditions are really tough, and I just can't seem to get in sync with the ocean at the moment," he said. "The best juniors in the world are here so I need to lift my game."

Barger, who is also from Maui, lost his first-round heat, but rebounded with a victory in the second round.

"Today wasn't too good for me, but I was just glad to get to the third round," he said. "I made a point to get a good start in my round two heat because that's what did not happen in my first heat."

Brown, Larsen and Zietz won their respective first round heats to advance directly to the third round.

Zietz, who is from Kaua'i, won his heat with a 6.8 (out of 10) on a last-second wave.

"I had been watching prior to the heat and saw that the second wave in most sets were better," he said. "I was nervous, but somehow I got a couple of turns and got the score."

There are 32 surfers remaining in the competition, and Hawai'i has the most representatives still in contention.

The women's division did not run heats yesterday. Kaua'i surfers Bethany Hamilton and Leila Hurst advanced to the quarterfinals on Saturday.