South African wonderkid Andre Botha got some serious tube time and launched several big airs over the shallows at Pipeline on Thursday during day three of the IBA Pipeline Challenge.

Wave faces rose from 2- to 4-footers in the morning to 6 to 8 in the afternoon. Tradewinds of 15 to 25 mph made conditions challenging.

Botha made the most of it. He had the second-highest two-wave total of the day at 16.75 out of 20, winning his heat.

“It felt good to win as I was pretty nervous because I haven’t been in a contest in a while,” Botha said.

“Once I got my first wave I could relax a little bit more and enjoy the waves.”

Fellow South African Sacha Specker also won his heat, with 13.00 score.

“I am just super stoked,” he said. “It was a bit of a waiting game, but it all worked out in the end.

Having the opportunity to compete with the best is a goal on its own.”

Specker will compete in Round 6 of the men’s division and in the drop knee final. He is the defending drop knee champ.

Australian Jake Stone won his heat with some impressive barrel riding and one huge back flip. Stone hadn’t won a heat in his previous three contests so the win put a smile on his face.

“I’ve been having shockers so it feels good to finally put something on the board,” Stone said. “I don’t want to get too ahead of myself, so I’m just cruising. On a scale of 1 to 10, I would rate it an 8 because it’s pretty good Pipe.”

The highest combined heat total of the day went to Charlie Chapelet, who put up an 18.01.

Hawaii competitors still in the event are Mike Stewart, Spencer Skipper, Dave Hubbard and defending champion Jeff Hubbard. Dave Hubbard has also reached the drop knee final.

Champions will be crowned today in men’s, women’s and drop knee divisions. There also will be a King of Pipe expression session featuring six of Pipeline’s best wave riders from different disciplines.

Mike Stewart and Jeff Hubbard will represent bodyboarders; Jamie O’Brien and Bruce Irons will represent surfers; Kainoa McGee is the stand up paddle boarder and Mark Cunningham will represent bodysurfers. The expression session starts at 11:20 a.m.

Surf is expected to be in the 10- to 12-foot range with occasional 15-footers rolling through.