Great Southern surfers Isi Campbell and Lily Shepherd carve up at Think Mental Health WA Trials

A pair of Great Southern surf sensations competed strongly against some of the State’s best rising athletes at the Think Mental Health WA Trials held in Margaret River on Sunday. Denmark star Isi Campbell and former Albany local Lily Shepherd carved their way through the waves at Surfers Point to try to win themselves a wildcard entry into this year’s Margaret River Pro. The tournament drew 24 of WA’s elite surfers with one male and one female awarded entry into the World Surf League Championships Tour alongside international stars. Campbell’s hot run came to an end in the semifinal after she was beaten by hometown hero Willow Hardy. Campbell could manage only four points while Hardy mustered an impressive 8.34 to advance into the decider. Earlier, Campbell started in red-hot form finishing second in her first heat with 7.9 before scoring a whopping 10.47 in the second heat only to be outdone by eventual winner Bronte Macaulay who amassed 14.5. Shepherd, who is now based in Geraldton, struggled to find her groove in the opening heat and scored 0.93. She faced stiff competition in her second heat tasked with going up against Campbell along with Red Bluff’s Coral Durant and Rosie Gillett from Dunsborough and was bundled out after scoring 3.9. Yallingup’s Otis North took won the men’s event with a gripping 1.19-point victory over Margaret River’s Finn Cox.