In friendly rivalry among swimmers, EHT grad Tepper tops OCHS grad Grisbaum
By DAVID NAHAN/Sentinel staff
WILDWOOD – Although some of the races were close at Friday night’s 2021 Dutch Hoffman Memorial Lifeguard Championship, the outcome was not.
The Longport Beach Patrol won four of the five events to take the title with 20 points.
One of those close races was between a pair of young swimmers, friendly competitors who have known each other more than half of their lives.
Joey Tepper, a 2020 Egg Harbor Township graduate, faced Dolan Grisbaum a 2021 Ocean City High School graduate, in the third race of the evening, the swim. Tepper is the defending South Jersey lifeguard champion and Grisbaum had been on a winning streak in lifeguard races this season.
Friday was the first time the two faced off at a lifeguard race.
Coming into the race, Longport was already leading, courtesy of Tepper and the doubles crew of Mike McGrath and Sean Duffy.
McGrath and Duffy won the opening doubles row by 4 seconds, finishing in 9:09, just ahead of Avalon’s Erich Wolf and Jack Gloms. The Longport duo had a solid lead, but got turned on a wave near the finish and had to correct their course as the Avalon boat was bearing down on them. Atlantic City’s Kyle Deroo and Vince Granese were third in 9:16, followed by Sea Isle City’s Danny Roger and Pat Scannapieco (9:19) and Margate’s Chris Spiers and Bob Bechtel in fifth (9:25).
Before Tepper won the swim, he entered the paddleboard race and won that with a 26-second margin. His winning time in the box course was 7:20. Brigantine’s Sven Peltonen was second in 7:46, Wildwood Crest’s Brett Pederson was third in 7:47, Ventnor’s Michael Keough fourth in 7:51 and Ocean City’s Andrew Shaw fifth in 7:55.
Tepper turned right around after the paddle and although feeling the lactic acid buildup in his body following the paddleboard race, he jumped right into the swim.’
Tepper, Grisbaum and Margate’s Zach Vasser, a swimmer and rising junior at Mainland Regional High School, were in a close pack far ahead of the rest of the field. As they headed to shore Tepper was able to maintain his lead and finished in 14:29 with Grisbaum 7 seconds behind and Vasser in third in 14:44. The next finisher was almost a minute and half behind that pack.
Stone Harbor’s Jack Levari was fourth in 16:10 and Atlantic City’s Jack Fenton fifth in 16:33.
“It was definitely hard,” Tepper said about doubling up in back-to-back events. “I tried a new thing, I paddled beforehand. I was really happy about winning that, but that added another layer to it. I felt the lactic acid from that in the swim. It was very hard tonight and I’m glad I made it through.”
For his part, Dolan said, “I loved it. The fact I wasn’t by myself the entire time was awesome. I’ve been by myself for like the past five races and I didn’t have anyone swimming in front of me. … Having someone near me made me happy to swim.
Tepper said it’s fun racing a swimmer he’s known for more than a decade.
“We’ve known each other for a long time going to club swimming meets together,” he said. “It’s always nice to see a familiar face coming to the ocean race.”
Dolan said not only did they face each other in high school, but also in swimming.
“I’ve been on GPAC/ECC (Greater Philadelphia Aquatic Club/East Coast C-Cerpents),” Dolan said. “The last time we raced was Senior Championships 2019. He’s always come out on top but I always do my best to stay close.”
Tepper chalked that up to the age difference.
“He said, ‘Joey always comes out on top,’ but I do have an extra year (on him) so that’s a little reductive to say,” Tepper said.
Tepper, a rising sophomore at the University of Tennessee, and Grisbaum, who is headed to swim at Boston University in the fall, should face each other again in the last two premier lifeguard races this season, the Margate World War II Memorial Friday and the South Jersey Lifeguard Championship Friday, Aug. 13, in Longport.
“Unless something terrible happens,” Tepper laughed, causing Dolan to smile along with him. “You never know.”
At the Wildwood championship, the only event Longport didn’t place in was the two-mile beach run.
Wildwood Crest’s Colin Hess put on a surge in the last 100 meters to pass Stone Harbor’s James Gusmer and win by 6 seconds in 9:45. Gusmer was second in 9:51.
Avalon’s Mason Brewster was third in 9:53, Cape May’s Zeb Hinker, a Lower Cape May Regional High School distance runner, was fourth in 9:44 and Margate’s Trent Manera was fifth in 10:15.
McGrath capped his team’s dominance Friday night by winning the singles row with a time of 6:24.
Atlantic City’s Vincent Granese was second in 6:30 followed by Ventnor City’s David Funk in 6:32, Brigantine’s Ron DeFelice fourth in 6:46 and Margate’s Hayden Smallwood fifth in 6:50.
In team standings, Longport was first with 20 points, Avalon second with 11, Atlantic City third with 8, Wildwood Crest fourth with 8, followed by Margate, Brigantine and Stone Harbor with 6 each. (Rankings include tie-breakers to determine overall finish.)
2021 Dutch Hoffman Memorial
Lifeguard Championship Results
Team scoring: 1. Longport 20; 2. Avalon 11; 3. Atlantic City 8; 4. Wildwood Crest 8; 5. Margate 6; 6. Brigantine 6; 7. Stone Harbor 6.
Doubles row: 1. Mike McGrath and Sean Duffy, Longport 9:09; 2. Erich Wolf and Jack Glomb, Avalon 9:13; 3. Kyle Deroo and Vince Granese, Atlantic City 9:16.
Rescue board: 1. Joey Tepper, Longport, 7:20; 2. Sven Peltonen, Brigantine, 7:46; 3. Brett Pederson, Wildwood Crest, 7:47.
Swim: 1. Joey Tepper, Longport, 14:29; 2. Dolan Grisbaum, Avalon, 14:36; 3. Zach Vasser, Margate, 14:44
2-mile beach run: 1. Colin Hess, Wildwood Crest, 9:45; 2. James Gusmer, Stone Harbor, 9:51; 3. Mason Brewster, Avalon, 9:53.
Singles row: 1. Mike McGrath, Longport, 6:24; 2. Vincent Granese, Atlantic City, 6:30; 3. David Funk, Ventnor, 6:32