Kauai’s Mariko Strickland knocked out Candice Appleby to advance to the final of the U.S. Open of Stand Up Paddling on Wednesday at Huntington Beach, Calif.

Strickland scored a 12.8 to best Appleby’s 11.03. She looks to secure her first event win on the SUP World Tour against Izzi Gomez, who earned her second World Title with Appleby’s loss. The final will begin at 4:30 a.m. HST and will be streamed live at www.watermanleague.com.

Eight local surfers compete in Portugal

Dusty Payne led eight surfers from Hawaii in the first day of competition at the Allianz Billabong Pro in Cascais, Portugal on Wednesday.

Payne took the top spot in Heat 9 with a score of 15.84 and advanced to Round 2, alongside fellow local surfer Granger Larsen (14.94).

Sebastian Zietz placed second in his heat with a 15.23, while Kiron Jabour, Mason Ho, Joshua Moniz, Ezekiel Lau and Tanner Hendrickson placed third in their respective heats in Round 1.