Senior Michael Lawlor placed first in the Virginia PTA Reflections district competition, first place in the state competition, and finally placed third nationally in the film category this past weekend in Las Vegas, NV.

His entry Virginia Beach: Big Wave Surf was filmed over the course of several months with the sole purpose of proving anyone wrong who believes that Virginia does not have waves big enough to surf.

According to Lawlor, the barrel in the film footage was taken after a hurricane, but his goal was to promote surfing in Virginia Beach and to dispel the myth that their are no waves around here.

Lawlor has been interested in film production for years, thus creating his own brand MCL Productions.

“Honestly, I just entered the PTA Reflections film contest just to see what would happen, if I could get anywhere,” Lawlor said. “But the film clip kept winning; it’s actually pretty cool.”