South Jerseys on Friday, last Big Three race of the season, is wide open
MARGATE — On the strength of three second-place finishes, Margate took the team title with 12 points during the 76th Margate Beach Patrol World War II Memorial Lifeguard Races on Aug. 5 at Decatur Avenue.
Longport was second with 10 points, winning both rowing events but not placing in the swim. Atlantic City Beach Patrol took third, using a tiebreaker to top Avalon, which also had 6 points.
Under the watchful eyes of Lucy the Elephant, peeking out from beneath the renovation scaffolding, the races took place on a beautiful evening with a southerly breeze and flat ocean.
Sean Duffey and Mike McGrath of the Longport Beach Patrol won the opening event, the doubles row, in 15 minutes and 47 seconds. The Margate duo of Hayden Smallwood and Bob Bechtel finished second at 15:56, threatening at one point before Longport pulled ahead.
Atlantic City’s Sean Blair and Rick Blair were third at 16:02, Sea Isle City’s Danny Rogers and Pat Scannapieco were fourth at 16:03 and Brigantine’s Joe Savell and Jack Savell were fifth at 16:11.
Duffey said they had a decent start.
“We got into a good groove on the way out and tried to keep it smooth in the moderate chop that’s out there,” he said. “We turned first and tried to keep it calm on the way in and picked it up at the singles flag.”
The pair have been rowing together for 18 years and prefer a sloppy ocean, Duffey said, but pulled off the win nonetheless.
“The tougher conditions favor the guys that have been in the boat longer because we’ve been through it before,” Duffey said.
Ocean City High School graduate Dolan Grisbaum won the half-mile swim for the Avalon Beach Patrol in 13:33. He was followed by Zac Vassar of Margate in second at 13:55, Dylan DeWitt of Ocean City in third at 14:14, Brendan Lewis of Wildwood in fourth at 14:22 and James Haney of Brigantine in 14:57.
“I knew the current wasn’t as bad going out as coming in. I tried to get out fast, that was the race that needed to be won,” Grisbaum said. “It was a little long and I started to feel fatigued but I held on for the win, so I am happy about that.”
The state of the tide forced racers to decide whether to swim or run the final yards, with the Ocean City Beach Patrol’s DeWitt taking a tumble on the way in.
“I fell on the way in, and that definitely halted me a bit, but overall I think it was a good race,” DeWitt said.
“I didn’t want to high-knee it coming in, so I dolphin dived, which is safer,” Grisbaum said.
Longport rower Mike McGrath showed his mettle in the final event, taking first in the 1,000-foot singles row in 4:26. Margate’s Chris Spiers finished just 2 seconds behind at 4:28, followed by Atlantic City’s Vince Granese at 4:32, Wildwood Crest’s Jake Klecko at 4:35 and Avalon’s Erich Wolf at 4:37.
“I had a really good start, shot out a little bit on the start and tried to keep it going. Sean was holding my course the entire way,” McGrath said. “Had a so-so turn, definitely room for improvement, and just tried to yank as hard as I could on the way in.”
The event was the second leg in the South Jersey Lifeguard Chiefs Association’s trio of major competitions that feature all 15 patrols.
Avalon won the first, the Dutch Hoffman Memorial Lifeguard Championships, on Aug. 1. The final event is the 82nd South Jersey Lifeguard Championships scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Aug. 12 at 34th Avenue in Longport.
McGrath said the South Jerseys are anyone’s to win.
“It’s going to be a close one next week. Avalon’s got a good crew, Sea Isle’s got a good crew, Brigantine, obviously Margate,” he said. “After the first two races, there are a lot of teams that could have six or seven points.”
Sea Isle City’s Rogers and Scannapieco took the doubles title at the Dutch Hoffmans, followed by Longport’s Duffey and McGrath in second and Margate’s Smallwood and Bechtel in third.
Bechtel took the single row, followed by Avalon’s Wolf, ACBP’s Kenny in third, Sea Isle’s Rogers in fourth and McGrath in fifth.
Avalon’s Grisbaum won the swim, followed by Ocean City’s DeWitt and Margate’s Vassar.
Final women’s event
tonight in Ventnor
At 6:30 p.m. Wednesday (Aug. 10) is the Bill Howarth Women’s Lifeguard Championship in Ventnor. It is the final women’s event of the season. Ventnor City Beach Patrol won the Longport Women’s Lifeguard Invitational and Avalon Beach Patrol won the Ocean City Beach Patrol Women’s Lifeguard Invitational. The OCBP women finished second in both events.
STORY by CRAIG D. SCHENCK, PHOTOS by DAVID NAHAN/Sentinel staff