The swell was big. The crowd was bigger. But Courtney Conlogue’s mentality was the biggest.

The 16-year-old Santa Ana surfer carried a wave of momentum into the U.S. Open of Surfing women’s championship Saturday afternoon. She landed on the shoulders of jubilant spectators, who carried her from the ocean to the winner’s podium to accept her title.

Conlogue, wearing an American flag around her shoulders, embraced the victory in front of her family, friends and hometown supporters.

With a $10,000 check — increased from the original $4,500 women’s first-place purse — Conlogue captured a title four years in the making.

“I said, ‘You know what, I’m just going to put it all on the table and just go as big as I can,’” said Conlogue, who has competed in this event for the past four years.

“You never know what you’re going to get in the ocean. You can’t rely on it to just give you a wave, you have to find it. Every wave is different and every wave has its own personality so it’s your job to read it.”

Conlogue ended her weekend in one of the most dominant fashions overall.

She recorded a tournament-high 19.63 overall heat score in the quarterfinals, higher than even men’s nine-time world champion Kelly Slater has been able to produce here. She followed with two more commanding heats to conclude the weekend.

Conlogue beat defending champion Malia Manuel in the finals with a 17.17, matching her wave for wave until she nailed a 9.0 and pulled away for the victory.

Along the shoreline, a mob of supporters greeted Conlogue as she took a short victory lap on a water craft.

“This swell just gave these girls the venue to showcase their abilities,” said Courtney’s mother, Tracey Conlogue. “She had the whole attitude of just go for it. Go big or go home. She knew she could.

“Local girl, it’s kind of cool being here with all her fans. It just solidifies everything.”

Beginning the 30-minute heat with similar wave selections, Conlogue and Manuel nailed their second waves with an 8.17 to 7.17, respectively. Later, when they picked the same wave, Conlogue again earned the higher score — 6.00 to 5.50.

But as she had all weekend, Conlogue pulled away with a signature crowd-pleaser: a 9.0 that Manuel couldn’t dent.

“In that final, I just put the whole kitchen sink in there,” Conlogue said. “I just gave it everything I had.”

Manuel, 15, remains in the less-prominent Nike 6.0 junior pro competition. But overall, the Hawaiian found it satisfying to see youth so prominent in such a high-profile event.

“The new generation is really taking off,” an emotional Manuel said.

“We push each other so much. It’s great to see all the girls stepping it up.”

Conlogue began Saturday morning by defeating Carissa Moore in the semifinals with an 11.33. She fearlessly shot the pier Saturday when the waves were reaching 15 feet in height.

Conlogue on Thursday was awarded the 2009 OC Surfer of the Year Rising Star Female award after generating 100,000 votes cast by her fans in an online contest put on by The Orange County Register.

She will only take one day off to rest before traveling to Costa Rica to represent the Unites States at the ISA Games on Monday.

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