Win in singles, seconds in doubles, swim give Margate S.J. Championship
LONGPORT — For the first time in six years, the South Jersey Lifeguard Championships will not be held in Longport next year after Margate knocked the winner of the past five off its pedestal Aug. 12.
The Margate City Beach Patrol earned 13 points and the team title Friday night with a win by Chris Spiers in the singles row and second place by Bob Bechtel and Chuck Gowdy in the doubles row and Zac Vassar in the swim.
“We’ve got a well-balanced team finally. Having a young swimmer makes all the difference in the world; you’ve got to place in all three events. You can win it with the rows but it’s hard, so having that swimmer makes it a lot easier,” MCBP Chief Greg Smallwood said.
It was a beautiful summer evening on the beach as patrols from the 15 members of the South Jersey Lifeguard Chiefs Association gathered for the final leg of the “Big Three” competitions — the Dutch Hoffman Memorial Lifeguard Races and the Margate World War II Memorial Lifeguard Races are the other two.
With 23 points, Avalon Beach Patrol won the first of the three, which featured a new format this year with eight events. Margate was third with 14 points, getting a win in the singles row by Bechtel, third place in the doubles row (Bechtel/Hayden Smallwood) and third in the swim (Vassar).
Margate won the second of the “Big Three” on its home course with 12 points, followed by Longport with 10 and Atlantic City with 6. Longport won both rowing races.
The competition was fierce Friday in the opening event — the 1.5-mile doubles row. As with the competitions all summer, the ocean was flat. That meant there would be no sudden swell propelling a crew to victory, just a long pull out and back again.
“There wasn’t really any wind, no swell to help us. It was pretty much a lake,” the Atlantic City Beach Patrol’s Rick Blair said. “I’ve been calling it Lake Atlantic.”
Longport’s Sean Duffey and Michael McGrath were first at the Margate Memorials and second at the Dutch Hoffmans. But the MCBP crew took second place in all three events the prior week in Margate and posed a formidable challenge.
As it turned out, the Atlantic City Beach Patrol’s Sean and Rick Blair won the very close race in 15:55 with Bechtel and Gowdy second in 15:56 and Longport’s duo third in 15:58. Brigantine Beach Patrol’s Jack and Joe Savell were fourth in 16:07 and Avalon’s Gary Nagle and Dave Giulian fifth in 16:12.
“It was hot, not a lot of help from the wind,” Sean Blair said. “We got that little bump to help us win but it was a race, every stroke was a fight.”
His brother agreed.
“All season long, we didn’t have anything to help us into the finish line in these smaller races. We finally got that little bump at the end to put us across the finish line first,” Rick Blair said. “When it counted, we pulled out a win.”
The ACBP had captured the important 5 points from the first event, while Margate had 4 and Longport 3 heading into the ¾-mile ocean swim.
As opposed to the doubles row, the winner of the swim was almost a forgone conclusion as Ocean City High School graduate Dolan Grisbaum had won every competition he entered this summer for the Avalon Beach Patrol — and he did so again with a time of 13:34, giving the ABP 6 points.
Grisbaum was first out of the water but competitors had to scale a small loose-sand hill to reach the finish line. It didn’t matter in the end, though, because he was a full half-minute ahead of the next competitor.
“I wanted to redeem myself from last year. I came really close last year to winning. This year I wanted to go for it and leave everything out in the water today,” Grisbaum said.
He said he felt better the previous week in Margate
“This time there was a little cluster of us, which I wasn’t really a fan of, so I tried to get away from that as soon as possible,” he said. “I knew from the start if I was out in front at the flag first I would have won the race.”
What was in question was who would take more points from those already at the top of the standings.
At the Dutch Hoffmans, the Ocean City Beach Patrol’s Dylan DeWitt was second and the MCBP’s Vassar third, while the latter two switched positions in Margate.
It was close, but Vassar (14:04) topped DeWitt (14:06) for the second straight competition to take second place and 4 points. Sea Isle City’s Andrew Taylor (14:31) was fourth and Wildwood’s Brandon Lewis (14:47) fifth.
“I’m feeling good. Our doubles crew had a great race — I’m proud of those guys — and I’m happy with how I did in the swim,” Vassar said.
Margate had 8 points, Avalon 6, Atlantic City 5 and Longport 3 heading into the final event, the quarter-mile singles row.
While Spiers took the win in 5:35, giving Margate the team title with 13 points, Atlantic City’s Vince Granese was just a second behind, making for a nail-biter at the end.
“You’ve just got to go out there and pull as hard as you can,” Spiers said. “Stay long, stay low and row your race.”
Brigantine’s Jack Savell was third in 5:38, Longport’s McGrath fourth in 5:42 and Avalon’s Erich Wolf fifth in 5:50.
Margate’s Bechtel had won the event at the Dutch Hoffmans, with Avalon’s Wolf second, Atlantic City’s David Kenny third, Sea Isle City’s Danny Rogers fourth and Longport’s McGrath fifth.
Then in Margate, McGrath was first, Spiers second, Granese third, Wildwood Crest’s Jake Klecko fourth and Wolf fifth.
The ACBP finished second in team scoring with 9 points, Avalon was third with 7 and Longport and Brigantine each had 5.
Spiers was pleased to help his team to the title.
“That was the goal coming into tonight, getting the championship back in Margate where it belongs,” Spiers said. “We put a different lineup each week just trying to get the best lineup possible for this race. I think we did that and it shows.”
By CRAIG D. SCHENCK/Sentinel staff
