Atlantic City lifeguards win Bill Howarth title; Ventnor second, Upper Township third
VENTNOR — The women of the Atlantic City Beach Patrol have positioned themselves as the team to beat heading into the South Jersey Women’s Lifeguard Championship on Aug. 12 in Ventnor.
The crew of veterans and young guards combined to win the 30th Bill Howarth Women’s Lifeguard Invitational on Aug. 5 at the Suffolk Avenue beach with 13 points. The ACBP also won the 28th Longport Women’s Lifeguard Invitational on July 7.
On Aug. 5, the Ventnor City Beach Patrol was second with 10 points, the Upper Township Beach Patrol and Longport Beach Patrol tied with 8 apiece but Upper took third place on the strength of its second-place finish in the tie-breaking doubles row, and the Margate City Beach Patrol was fifth.
The ACBP’s young guards led the way toward victory, with Madison Lisitsin winning the singles row and Addy Elko the swim. The veteran doubles crew of Michelle Burwell and Julianna Granese picked up a third-place finish to help put Atlantic City over the top.
It was a beautiful night to watch ocean racing, but perhaps a bit rough for the competitors as the surf was up.
“I was having a hard time getting through the break (on the way out) but got right through it (on the way in) — tried not to cheer too much,” Lisitsin said, noting it was her first win in inter-squad competition.
Lisitsin was charging toward victory when her boat turned on a wave. Maddie Fox of the LPBP made up some distance but got turned as well, ultimately finishing second.
“There’s a few rips out here which are a little bit concerning because, you know, going out will take you out, but if you come in that lane, you’re fighting against it,” Lisitsin said.
She said it was terrific to uphold the ACBP’s legacy of success, noting her grandfather, Dennis Fitzgerald, served on the ACBP in the 1960s and ’70s.
Lorna Connell of the UTBP was third, Molly McDonnell of the Avalon Beach Patrol was fourth and Molly Hoffman of the Brigantine Beach Patrol was fifth.
Lisitsin said the event was a great primer for next week’s championship.
“I feel like it will definitely put a target on my back. I don’t think anybody knew our lineups today, and I was kind of a wild card coming out of nowhere. It’s fun to be a mystery, but now people, I think, will definitely know A.C.’s on the hunt. I think with Jules and Michelle in doubles and Addy as our swimmer, we have a real shot at taking the title. If I can row anything like that next week, then it’s anyone’s game.”
Elko, who also won the swim at the Longport competition, said it feels great to have another win.
“I haven’t done too many other lifeguard races, so getting another win under my belt is very comforting before South Jerseys next week,” she said, noting the conditions were “very choppy.”
“Going out, I was definitely getting smashed in the face by a lot of waves, couldn’t see the flag halfway out because the waves were so big. It was a little easier to come in because they were pushing me in,” the Egg Harbor Township resident said.
Longport’s Jordyn Ricciotti finished second in the swim.
“Coming into it, I was just looking to have fun. It’s been a very long racing season,” the Northfield resident said.
With the tide low, she opted to stay on her feet longer than any of the others. But the course was short, which isn’t a great fit for her swimming style.
“I thought I could run in a little bit, but it was a little too deep. It wasn’t, like, deep enough for me to swim out there, but I knew I could at least dolphin dive out there a little bit faster than some people,” Ricciotti said.
Madelyn Cassidy of the Cape May Beach Patrol was third, the VCBP’s Ryann Lowry, a Linwood resident who graduated in June from Mainland Regional High School, finished fourth and Rhylee Cornell of the Ocean City Beach Patrol was fifth.
“I was definitely a little bit nervous going into it just with the current being pretty strong tonight, but I felt like I had a pretty good course, especially on the way in, so I felt pretty good about it,” Lowry said.
The VCBP’s Charlotte Thomas and Kailey Nirenberg scored a quick five points in the opening doubles race, just beating the UTBP’s Connell and Kailey Grimley.
“We were pretty much with them the whole way out. I think we were ahead pretty much all the way to the finish,” Thomas said.
She said they focused on getting a good start.
“Our goal when we got out there was just get past the little chop, the break, and then we’ll worry about the course once we get past the singles flag,” Thomas said, noting they were first to make the turn back to shore. “Once we turned the flag, we were just like, ‘Let’s crank it on the way in.’”
Grimley said it was a great competition.
“It was a pretty gritty race. I think going out there, you’re kind of just picking along against the chop and you’re both just getting slammed. I think we just kind of had to trust each other because we knew once we got to the flag that it would just be riding swells in. So it was a fight out there to the flag, and then coming in, we just tried to get on anything we could,” she said.
Granese and Burwell were third, Alexis Smallwood and Kamryn Smallwood of the MCBP were fourth and Haley Crispell and McDonnell of Avalon were fifth.
The MCBP’s crew of Isabella Iordanov, Ava McDole, Kamryn Smallwood and Callie Duff won the final event, the surf dash.
“My team got me in a great spot. Everyone went out pretty hard, and we like when it’s shallow water because we can just run through it,” Duff said.
McDole took the lead in the second leg and Margate was able to hang on for the win.
“It’s a great way to end this season since it’s the last surf dash of the year, so it’s good to pull it off,” Duff added.
Caroline Gallagher, Molly Bryan, Addy Worton and Grace Repici of the ABP were second, Taylor Funk, Kendall Murphy, Madison Siglin and Giavanna Mancy of the VCBP were third, Grace Emig Schall, Hoffman, Kaci Velardi and Olivia Spoerl of Brigantine were fourth and Grace Steele, Grace Malcarney, Emily Culmone and Gemma Kohles of the UTBP were fifth.
Last season, the South Jersey Lifeguard Chiefs Association decided to hold a women’s South Jersey championship after the schedule was set, so the VCBP held the Bill Howarth event as the finale. Because it was a SJLCA-sanctioned event, it had just the singles, doubles and swim.
“The plan was that we were going to combine the races for last year because there just wasn’t enough space in the calendar. So this was the way we were able to fit that race in, create the first South Jerseys last summer, and then allowed us to then take our race back this summer,” Capt. Megan Holland said.
The VCBP won the first championship — which was fitting because it held the first all-women’s event back in the 1990s — getting the opportunity to hold it this year.
However, because the race is hosted by the previous year’s winner, the patrol would have lost its signature event had it stayed as the championship, according to Holland.
This year, they decided to split them and hold them on concurrent weeks.
“We wanted to bring our race back because there’s so many talented women rowers in South Jersey. We want to give them as much of an opportunity to row as we can,” she said. “We were really excited that the Chiefs Association allowed us to continue with the South Jerseys but host our own race, bring our race back.”
The Women’s South Jersey Championship is set for 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 12, hosted by defending champion Ventnor.
– STORY by CRAIG D. SCHENCK/Sentinel and Cape May Star and Wave staff
– PHOTOS by DAVID NAHAN/Sentinel and Cape May Star and Wave staff
