Owen claimed the under-18 men’s title at the New Zealand championships off the coast of Gisborne.
The 17-year-old completed the national age group set, having previously won the under-16 and under-14 titles.
Owen was the fairytale story of the event last year when he became the first Dunedin surfer to win the New Zealand open men’s title.
He came extremely close to defending his title against a stacked field at Makorori Beach, finishing second behind Raglan surfing great Billy Stairmand under moody skies and in unruly 1.5m waves.
Stairmand, 36, had won the last of his eight national titles in 2021.
The two-time Olympian, who heads to Hawaii tomorrow for a WSL Challenger Series event, did not always feel at his best during the week in Gisborne.
"I had a couple of scrappy heats ... and I just couldn’t find my rhythm," Stairmand told Surfing New Zealand.
"I actually changed up my boards and I saved my best performance until last."
Stairmand started the final heat with an 8.67 score on a left-hander and followed with a sizzling 9.17.
Owen was the only rival to stay within reach of the leader, posting an 8.33-point ride to open the final.
That left the Dunedin tyro needing a near-perfect 9.51 to claim victory; though he went looking for an opportunity, he was beaten by the clock to second.
Taranaki surfer Daniel Farr finished third and Mt Maunganui surfer Cooper Roberts was fourth.
Maya Mateja made it a Raglan double when she won the open women’s title.
It was a second title for the 17-year-old after a women’s final in which just 0.67 points separated first from fourth, the lead changing several times over the 25-minute heat.
Mateja, who won her first title in 2024, clinched victory with her last scoring ride of 5.73 to post a 12.80 heat total.
"I feel so happy and blessed, super grateful to be here with my family and enjoy the event and get the win this week," she said.
"Really hard conditions today. I didn’t know what was going on out there because I couldn’t hear the scores coming out.
"The other girls were surfing well, so I knew I had to concentrate on getting more good waves for the win and when I came into the beach, I found out that I did enough."
Ariana Walker (Mt Maunganui) and Leia Millar (Piha) tied on points, Walker claiming second as she had the highest-scoring wave.
