LONGPORT — Two first-place finishes helped put the Brigantine City Beach Patrol over the top with 11 team points July 11 at the 53rd Capt. Michael D. McGrath Longport Memorial Lifeguard Races.
Joe Savell won the singles row and younger brother Brendan Savell joined him in winning the doubles row, collecting 10 points. The BCBP picked up 1 point in the swim to take the team title.
The Margate City Beach Patrol, on the strength of three second-place finishes, was just a point behind with 10 and the Atlantic City Beach Patrol trailed Margate by the same margin.
The Savell brothers won the opening doubles row in 15:20, followed by Bob Bechtel and Hayden Smallwood of Margate in 15:25 and the Longport Beach Patrol’s Mike McGrath and Sean Duffey in 15:42.
“It feels good; me and him, it was our first big race rowing together really,” Joe Savell said.
He had been paired with Jack Savell in the past, winning the South Jersey Championship last season, but his older brother has begun working in Boston and could not be on the patrol this year.
“It was pretty nice to be out there in a doubles race and I’m pretty happy to come out with a win on my first race. It’s pretty exciting,” Brendan Savell added.
Jack Savell joked that he lets his brothers do all the work and just sits in the back and steers.
“I’m glad I have two competitive brothers that help me work hard every day,” he said.
The swim featured three participants from each of the Atlantic County patrols.
“It’s like the unofficial Atlantic County championship,” retired LPBP member Dan Adams said.
Charlie Schreiner of the ACBP was first out of the water, reaching the rope in 9:28. Margate’s Zach Vasser was second in 9:50 and the Ventnor City Beach Patrol’s Brian Falk was third in 9:58.
“It all comes down to training, comes down to practice,” Schreiner said. “Practicing being tired when you’re all the way out at sea and you’ve still got to get 200, 300 meters left and you’ve got to power through it.”
Schreiner, who swims for Boston University, said it’s great to compete against opponents whom he has known for years.
“What I love about this is that almost every single guard you see racing here today is either a teammate or a rival that I know almost like brothers and sisters,” he said. “As competitive as we all are, just going out and racing each other, having fun and then hopping in the pool Saturday morning and trash talking each other based on how you did. It’s that level of camaraderie, regardless of which patrol, which team you’re on, that makes these races so much more fun than any other races.”
Atlantic City won the swim with 34 team points to collect the 5 event points. Ventnor was second with 31 team points and Longport third with 26.
The BCBP was missing its top swimmers and sent a B team out consisting of champion paddleboarder Grace Emig, who finished 11th, Cooper Alderson and Lt. Andrew Doorley.
Emig said the patrol’s top three swimmers were competing elsewhere, noting that Doorley returned to the race for the first time since 1997, the last time Brigantine had won the event.
Competing for Ventnor, Ryan Lowry of Linwood took fourth in 10:58.
“I’m a rookie, so this is actually my second race ever,” she said. “I think it’s super fun, it’s a challenge. It’s fun to challenge yourself.”
Lowry, a rising senior at Mainland Regional High School, was fifth in her first race July 8 during the Longport Women’s Invitational, in 11:27.
In the final contest Friday, Joe Savell got off to the best start and, despite turning on a wave near the finish line, was able to lead the entire way. He won in 4:50, followed by Margate’s Chris Spiers (4:52) and Ventnor’s David Funk (5:02).
“Hopefully that should get us the top three,” Savell said.
– STORY by CRAIG D. SCHENCK/Sentinel staff
– PHOTOS by DAVID NAHAN/Sentinel staff
