Competing to Become Better Lifeguards
Gary Nagle and David Guilian down to the wire in the South Jersey Championships doubles race. Although they say the photo doesn’t lie, the official results say that Avalon finished third behind Longport in second.
Invest in youth.
The Avalon Beach Patrol reaped the rewards from some of its college-age performers, while Stone Harbor gained a glimpse of its beach-safety efficiency during the summer of 2023.
Here’s a look at each patrol.
Avalon
Although Brigantine captured the South Jerseys, Avalon sported a star-studded campaign, winning the Cape May County, Kerr, and Dutch Hoffman competitions.
“We feel like we are the Yankees every year in that it’s World Series or bust – or in this case, South Jerseys or bust,” Avalon Beach Patrol chief Matt Wolf says. “Only one team is happy at the end of the South Jerseys and in this case, that was Brigantine.
“But we had a very competitive season and most importantly, we do our job day in and day out,” he adds. “The races are designed to sharpen your skills to take care of the beach, and we are doing that.”
Wolf touts several individual efforts throughout the campaign.
In the Dutch Hoffmans, for example, Dolan Grisbaum won the swim, Brandon Honz the male run, and Maggie Murphy the female run.
Avalon jealously guards its reputation in the Kerrs, which it hosts. It triumphed for the 11th time in 12 years.
In the Kerrs, Frank Lawson and Ray Derman prevailed in the doubles.
Grisbaum won the swim and teamed with Honz to capture the Iron Man team competition.
Avalon also had big performances in the surf dash.
Onetime Middle Township district wrestling champion Alick Killian, Justin Rhyne, Harry Rohlfing, John McConnell, and Sean Geary won two of the three major surf-dash events for the summer.
They prevailed in the Kerrs and in the Beschen-Callahans.
Killian ran the leadoff leg in both competitions, putting Avalon in an early position to win. Competitors sprint across the sand, dash into the water to turn a buoy and come back. They tap the next person and the process repeats.
The race takes a few minutes and is often the last event on the schedule when it appears.
“It is one of the most exciting competitions for people to watch,” Killian says. “The races are quick and you can see the whole thing. We are only going out chest-high in the water.”
He notes that there are varied approaches to success in this race. His philosophy is that “you are faster in the air than in the water. That’s why I like to get my knees up high and run through to the target.”
Killian says others prefer swimming to the target, presenting a pleasing contrast of styles. He also likes this race because it emulates the real lifesaving exercises he practices nearly every day.
“The most common thing we run across is the little kids floating on the boogie boards,” he says. “When there is a west wind, we may see them floating away, and I can’t say exactly how we spot it, but we just do. We know exactly what to do in that situation.”
Killian is a sophomore at the University of South Carolina.
David Guilian and Gary Nagle notched a solid third in the South Jerseys, capping a strong campaign and lending optimism toward next year.
Honz, meanwhile, notched an extraordinary achievement in the Cape May Superathlon.
The Penn State miler became the first Avalon competitor since Shane McGrath in 2011 to win this stern test. The event begins with a 2.3-mile run down Beach Avenue in Cape May, a 1.5-mile row back in the ocean, and then a half-mile swim.
Honz, a force all season in the running events, showed the improvement he’d made as a rower and swimmer over the past couple of years.
“We love seeing these types of competitions because it shows the depth of our patrol,” Wolf says. “We have a lot of great athletes coming through here in the summertime. Brandon is a sub-4-minute miler at Penn State, but these other events were new to him. We worked with him to develop in these other areas and he worked very hard himself. This is a tremendous achievement for him. I am proud of Brandon.”
The event is also noteworthy for the navigational skills employed by the athletes and their respective patrols. For the swim, teammates who know the water current line up and direct swimmers to the best entry areas.
As for post-Labor Day plans, Wolf says that availability for beach coverage will be determined by staff size.
“If you don’t see a lifeguard on a stand, don’t swim there,” he advises.
Stone Harbor
Sandy Bosacco cites the efforts of two rookie guards – Simon Hardin and Kiera Liesinger – for embracing the safety-first attributes of the patrol.
Both cleared a grueling training program and went on to be exceptional guards, Bosacco notes.
“The training is very demanding for these new guards,” he says. “There are two weeks of all-day physical training. They run and swim, literally, several miles on most days. They also have CPR and lifeboat training instruction.
“Every guard on the patrol also must be able to do a 5-mile row. Simon and Kiera really enjoyed this and they were determined to meet the challenge and contribute significantly to our patrol.”
Bosacco has seen scores of young guards who enter the ranks as teenagers, compile about five years of service, and then go off into the professional world. He likes seeing guards who will likely stay with this patrol for a few years, gaining seasoning every summer.
Hardin was proficient for Stone Harbor in running events. Liesinger, who attends the University of Connecticut, is a strong swimmer.
Dennis Bakey, Tom Lake, and the group of Stone Harbor lieutenants worked closely with the young guards.
Like Wolf, Bosacco says post Labor-Day beach coverage will be subject to availability. He encourages visitors to contact the patrol to find out which beaches are covered and to swim in front of a covered lifeguard stand.
