MRHS grad Stacey Price in three wining events at Bill Howarth Invitational
VENTNOR – Although fog obscured most of the singles and doubles rows, it was crystal clear the Ventnor City Beach Patrol was the dominant force at the annual Bill Howarth Women’s Lifeguard Invitational Wednesday, Aug. 10.
No one was more dominant for the Ventnor City lifeguards than Stacey Price, a 2014 Mainland Regional High School graduate who had both hands in all three of the team’s first-place finishes.
Price teamed with Lt. Meghan Holland to take the opening doubles row, took a break during the swim – won by Longport’s Megan Fox, a new Atlantic City High School grad – took it upon herself to win the singles row and then raced over for the final event, the surf dash relay, which she anchored to victory.
The VCBP walked away with the team title for the second year in a row, earning 15 points. The Sea Isle City Beach Patrol was second with 9 points, Atlantic City third with 8, Margate City fourth with 6 and Longport fifth with 5 points.
Ventnor wins doubles
“I can’t give enough credit to Stacey Price. She is a phenomenal athlete,” Holland said. “I don’t know if it’s ever been done that someone has won three events. She is a tremendous athlete. She has the most positive attitude of anyone you meet. She’s just a phenomenal team member. She’s the first to high-five a team member win, lose or draw, so I’m really proud of this for her.”
“That was my first time (winning three events). It was really incredible,” said Price, a graduate of Jacksonville (Fla.) University, where she rowed crew.
“It’s always so nice to win at home. Stacey is a phenomenal partner,” Holland said. “The fog definitely made things a little interesting, but overall it was fun. It was just a long, hot, flat race, but we’ve been training all summer for this. We’re really excited to be able to showcase what we can do against a tremendous field of female athletes.”
Holland said they couldn’t see the far flags because of the fog.
“I had a couple of points I could keep on land. We have a big building, the Oxford, over there, and I could still make out the water tower three quarters of the way out. Once we got about 20 or 30 strokes from the (first) flag, there was no fog out there. Once we got out of the fog we could see the flags fine, make a couple of adjustments. We had a solid turn, back into the abyss, and I couldn’t see anything until about 10 strokes from the singles flag and then just hoped for the best we were keeping straight.”
“It’s always good when you start on a high note. It was a tough race. It was tight. You saw the girls are elite, top-tier competitors so we were really neck and neck the whole way out,” Price said. “Meghan is my steadfast when it comes to a course because I don’t care where we’re going. I’m just her motor.
“We were good the whole way out. A little bit of fog. We made a great turn, but communication is key between us. It’s a pull-off when there’s no swell and no wind, so it was all about communicating with each other, taking a couple power-fives here and there to get a leg up on everybody else,” she said. “When you don’t talk, you get in your head so we were saying things to each other and it was a really great race overall.”
Atlantic City’s Morgan Simpson and Julianna Granese were second in the doubles row; Upper Township’s Lorna Cornell and Keiley Grimley third; Sea Isle City’s Callie Reed and Abby Ryan fourth; and Margate City’s Alexis Smallwood and Claudia Scherbin fifth.
Fox wins the swim
Fox has been one of the top two female swimmers all season in the lifeguard competitions, but this was the first one this summer where fog obscured the course.
“I was not at all (able to navigate). There were Ventnor City Beach Patrol boats that were following us out to the flags and all I could see were the Ventnor boats going out there,” she said. “I just stayed next to the boat the whole time.
“It was very eerie. Also because I was out front and I knew that people were following me so I felt that if I messed up it would have thrown more people than myself off,” she said.
Winning, she added, was “really awesome. The competition was really tough. The girls went out fast so I was excited to get first.”
Fox also won at the Longport Women’s Lifeguard Invitational. She came in ahead of Avalon’s Becca Cubbler, who also has had an outstanding season, including winning the women’s swim at the Dutch Hoffman races in Wildwood and teaming up to win two events at the Ocean City Beach Patrol Women’s Invitational (among others).
Sea Isle City’s Mary Kate Leonard was third, Margate’s Olivia Scherbin, a former standout for the Ocean City High School swim team, was fourth, and the Ocean City Beach Patrol’s Isabella Rossi was fifth.
Price wins again, this time in singles
Price said conditions were worse by the time the singles race began.
“I feel like the fog definitely thickened up. I’ve never had singles where I couldn’t see the flag or the land. That was really interesting,” she said. “I was trying to take a peek at the point of the water tower. That was my saving grace, having some idea of what direction I was going so I had a little point from the land and from that point it was taking a couple looks back every 10 strokes and hoping to God I would see the flag soon.
“I got a little nervous at one point but I thought, ‘You know what? All these other girls are going through the same thing right now.’ So we’re all trying to figure out where we’re going,” she said.
Price was close enough to see other boats.
“It was tight on the way out. I’ve got to give it to my girl Morgan Simpson (of the Atlantic City Beach Patrol). Her and I were neck and neck. She was up on me about a boat length. She had to make up (distance) because she was at the wrong flag and had to row down, or approaching the wrong flag and had to adjust at the last second. I’m thankful I had my point so I could get to my flag, I had a good turn and it was just smooth sailing. I had a good row.”
Simpson was second in the singles row; Margate’s Amanda Auble was third; Sea Isle City’s Maura Quinn was fourth; and Ocean City’s Laura Mastrangelo was fifth.
Surf dash clinches win
Ventnor City was leading going into the final event of the night, the surf dash, but the victory wasn’t guaranteed with Sea Isle City and Atlantic City within striking distance and the OCBP having won the event at two prior lifeguard meets.
The VCBP crew also was fielding a relay team that featured new competitors.
“We had a young field in our surf dash,” Holland said. “For two of them it was their first time this summer doing the surf dash with us, so it’s always fun to have some of our younger girls get excited about competing and really just showing what they can do.”
Price credited her team members as well.
“I come over and no matter how tired I am the girls have the best, most positive hype energy so they were all hyping me up… They were all ready to go. Honestly, I didn’t have to do much at that point because they got such a good lead,” Price said. “They were all so fast and so excited to be representing Ventnor so by the time Paige (Ortzman) passed the can to me – she is probably the fastest girl I’ve ever seen – I was like, ‘All right, I looked left and right and saw I didn’t have to make up ground. They were amazing. It was a great race in the surf dash too.”
Ortzman is a 2020 Mainland Regional High School grad who attends UCLA. The former Mustang rower rows crew at the California university.
“I’m in good shape for the surf dash, for sure, with all the cardio,” she said, noting it feels “awesome.” She enjoys the teamwork in the surf dash. “It’s great.”
“It wasn’t very deep so it was kind of like a sprint, going straight out, not really diving, not really swimming, all legs, all heinies, just going for it,” added dasher Madison Lisitsin. “It was incredible, the whole night, especially this.
“I don’t have words. It’s such a good crew,” Lisitsin said. “Such amazing girls. Such a great beach patrol.” The Oakcrest High School grad goes to La Salle University.
Fellow dasher Gracie Bancheri said the race was made all the better with all the competitors and fans cheering. “Everyone goes crazy so it just makes it better. Great teamwork. Great people,” she said. The Atlantic City High School grad is transferring to St. Joseph’s University.
In the surf dash, Wildwood Crest’s Sofia Jurist, Maddie Priest, Regan Kobierowski and Olivia Burke were second; Ocean City’s Morgan Decosta, Kat Soanes, Annie Dollarton and Haley Clayton were third; Sea Isle City’s Meredith Farley, Kaylee Dougherty, Hailey Mills and Kaitlyn Hnatkowsky were fourth; and Upper Township’s Meredith Steele, Emily Culmone, Grace Steele and Mackenzie Blake were fifth.
End of a competitive summer season
“We’re really excited to be able to showcase what we can do against a tremendous field of female athletes,” Holland said. She is a Holy Spirit High School and Drexel University graduate. “We have a tremendous group of female athletes on beach patrol and I love it here.”
“I’m proud to be on the Ventnor Beach Patrol,” Price said. “I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else. I love my entire team here. It’s a family. The officers are like my coaches. Everyone is part of the family.
“Being a part of the entire women’s lifeguard community makes me proud. I’m grateful to be part not only of Ventnor, but also of the entire women’s lifeguard racing community,” she said.
Price has mixed emotions about ending the competitive racing series.
“It’s always a little bit sad to finish the season, but I’m feeling pretty tired,” she said, laughing. “I’m grateful they added more women’s events to different races. That’s what I’ve wanted all along as a young guard. It’s been going all out twice a week for the whole month of July (and into August). It’s been a really fun summer full of racing and I’m ready to hang out and relax on the beach and just be a lifeguard.
“I’m happy to be done. I don’t know if I’ll be back. I’ll have to see. I gotta get a real job,” she said, laughing again. “If I could do it forever, I would.”
By DAVID NAHAN/Sentinel staff