By Jake Howard

The vibes are still up after such a successful event at the NSSA National Championships a couple weeks back at Jennette’s Pier in North Carolina. Sawyer Lindblad, one of our favorite rising stars, took out the Open Girls division in dominant style, and we couldn’t be more stoked for her.

Lindblad was on a roll earlier this year before her competitive goals were unfortunately slightly derailed. Earning her first WSL Qualifying Series victory this past February, she won the SLO CAL Open at Pismo Beach, then followed that up with a second-place finish at the SLO CAL Open at Morro Bay. It was a brilliant start to the year that got everyone’s attention.

Since then, Sawyer’s had her head down, training and working on her surfing. She signed on with her new sponsor, SisstrEvolution, and recently took a team trip down to Mexico for some waves and water time with world title contender Lakey Peterson.

So, when it came time to pull the jersey back on for the NSSA National Championships, Sawyer was more than ready.

In the final, she posted two excellent scoring rides—an 8.0 and 8.83—to earn her first Open Nationals victory. With winter on the way and new opportunities opening, we can’t wait to see what she gets up to next.