Kai Barger of Maui won the Nike 6.0 Pro Junior surfing contest yesterday at Huntington Beach, Calif.

The final day of the contest was run in 2- to 4-foot waves. Thousands of spectators lined the beach to watch the the Nike 6.0 contest and the Hurley U.S. Open men's final, which were held in conjunction.

"This is hands down the best contest ever," said Barger, 19. "Biggest crowd, great waves, lots of sun, big money."

Barger edged Tonino Benson of the Big Island to win the pro junior final and the $2,500 first-place check.

Barger trailed for the first 16 minutes of the heat, but then took the lead when he received a score of 8.5 (out of 10) with about nine minutes remaining.

His final two-wave score of 15.5 (out of 20) topped Benson's score of 14.3.

California surfers Dillon Perillo and Nat Young placed third and fourth, respectively.

The contest featured the nation's top surfers age 20 and younger.

"I don't really go out into heats thinking about what I need or what I want to accomplish," Barger said. "I go out to win. That's what I did out there today and I'm having a great year."

Barger is the 2008 ASP world junior champion.

The Nike 6.0 contest was a qualifier for the 2009 world junior championships.

Brett Simpson of California won the U.S. Open men's final. He defeated former world champion Mick Fanning of Australia in the final.

Simpson received $100,000 — a record amount for a surfing contest.