Seven Mile Beach Patrols Find Early Success
2024 Ocean City Women’s Invitational champions: Standing, from left: Maggie Murphy, Molly McDonnell, Becca Cubbler, Kate Scanlon, Maddie Hippensteal, Sara Powell. Sitting, from left: Regan McDonnell, Alyssa Sittineri, McKenna Finnegan
Avalon embraces the changing of its guards, while Stone Harbor sports the savvy of its old guard.
They are two significant themes for the Seven Mile Beach Patrols peeking out of the limited early-season schedule.
Avalon rides a wave of new talent with athletes like Ryan Finnegan and Regan McDonnell, while Stone Harbor follows the lead of 46-year-old Tom Lake, who enjoys a second tour of lifeguard duty.
Here’s a look at both patrols:
Avalon
After bad weather pushed back the Cape May County races to mid-July, Avalon notched its first-ever team triumph in the Longport Women’s Invitational and a second-place finish in the Beschen-Callahan races in North Wildwood.
The patrol is doing this without competitors named Erich Wolf, Matt Wolf, Jake Enright, and Dolan Grisbaum, solid names that carried them in recent years.
Now administrators, they have passed the baton to a host of strong new athletes.
Matt Wolf, now the Avalon chief, extended the effective row-offs procedure for male guards onto the female ranks this season. It has produced their strongest start in many years.
“In the past, we have always had a talented woman here or there, but now we are seeing a strong performance from the entire patrol,” Wolf says. “It’s like most things in that the more time you put in, the more success you are going to have.
“The women get here at 7:30 in the morning, which is unpaid time for them. They want to work on things like rowing to the flag and back, which simulates the races.”
Wolf’s father Murray conducted row-offs for the male guards, which sharpened their competitive edge.
“The women have been great about doing it and we are seeing the results,” Matt Wolf says. “This is like a mini-season for them.
“They are also getting competitive,” he laughs. “Some of them have started to ask about the appeals process for our races within the patrol. They want to do well.”
McDonnell just completed a star-studded collegiate rowing career. She performed on the second varsity eight for the Stanford University team that won a national championship earlier this year. Four members of that team qualified for the Paris Olympics in August. It was a shot in the arm for the Avalon Beach Patrol that McDonnell headed here.
McDonnell anchored the Avalon team that captured the historic Longport Invitational. She triumphed handily in the singles row and teamed with her sister Molly to take third place in the doubles row.
Avalon placed in all five events. The Longport Invitational is considered the biggest event on the female circuit prior to the Howarth Invitational in Ventnor – often dubbed the women’s South Jerseys – on Aug. 7.
McDonnell, a third-year guard, represents Avalon for the first time in out-of-town races.
“The training helps me work out the kinks,” she says. “Two of the biggest differences between rowing at the college level and here are the start of the race and the conditions.
“In college, everything is on a lake or a river, nice and calm. What we consider bad conditions for college racing are good conditions in the ocean,” she laughs. “I am also learning about how to get over an early wave and to steer. That’s been one of the toughest things to pick up on.”
McDonnell romped in the Longport race after gaining her bearings. She took the lead before the flag and would not be headed.
In the doubles, the McDonnell sisters overcame a rocky start to notch a solid third.
“This has been a tremendous amount of fun,”’ Regan says. “I never rode with my sister before; we are four years apart and were not able to do this before now. It’s really great because you can’t beat the chemistry of sisters.”
The McDonnell sisters are in good company. They are joined by fifth-year guard John McDonnell in the house the family rents for the summer.
Avalon was also well represented by its female competitors at the Beschen-Callahans.
Becca Cubbler captured the female swim, while the foursome of Caroline Gallagher, Maddy Hippensteal, Sarah Powell, and Mackenna Finnegan won the female surf dash.
Ryan Finnegan has also reached another level this season. He triumphed handily in the Beschen-Callahan singles row, launching a campaign that followed significant extra work.
Seven Mile Times readers discovered his work-balance commitment last year in a feature story detailing his juggling of a landscape business in the Haddon Heights area with lifeguard racing.
Finnegan continues to excel and pays his dues in the morning with preshift workouts.
“Last year was the first time I competed in every race for the season,” he notes. “I also participated in the South Jerseys and didn’t place, but that was a great learning experience. That’s the Super Bowl.
“Some of the things you like to work on are the starts, the turns and riding the waves,” he says.
Finnegan places great emphasis on hopping into the boat quickly and hitting the flag as tightly as possible. Clipping the flag after a relatively straight run, for example, saves valuable time. It resembles a horse making a sharp inside turn rather than being forced wide, a dilemma that often costs that horse the race.
“This year I got started much earlier than last season,” he says. “I am hoping that makes a big difference.”
Finnegan notes how tough the inner patrol competition is. Little separates the row-off winner from the runner-up. Competition for the job literally exists every day.
“It’s good for us overall,” he says.
Stone Harbor
Tom Lake flourishes in his encore role.
The veteran guard, who returned to Stone Harbor five years ago after 20 years away, brought Stone Harbor its first individual victory of the season at the Beschen-Callahans. Lake teamed with Kurt Kircher to prevail in the doubles row. It was a repeat victory for Lake, who captured this race with Dennis Bakey last year.
There is additional satisfaction for Lake, who maintains a role teaching the younger guards.
“We’re waiting for them to come knock us off,” he laughs. “In the meantime, I am so happy to help them. For Kurt and I, it was just a matter of getting down here and getting in that boat back in May. We got our work in and got aligned with each other. That’s the only way to get good in the boat.”
Lake and Kircher hit the flag in third place, caught a swell and let the ocean do the work.
Lake was featured in a Seven Mile Times article two years ago for his renaissance tour throughout the best job he ever had. He is one of the rare individuals afforded a second act on the lifeguard circuit. Lake retains his eligibility to guard by working in the school system in Pennsylvania. When school ends, he is free to come here.
“I am Mr. Mom, I do homework and teach track at a grammar school,” he says. “And then in the summer our family rents a home in Sea Isle City.”
How sweet it is for him on the second lap.
