Swimmer Zach Vasser enjoyed a unique homefield advantage at Monday’s 79th Margate World War II Memorial Lifeguard Races.
Vasser not only works for the host patrol, he guards the exact stretch of beach where the swimming portion of the race was held.
And he designed the course.
“This is my stand right here,” he said, patting the booth with ‘Washington Ave.’ stenciled on the side. “We set the (swim) course last week and I swam it a lot. I’m a distance guy, so we made it as long as possible.”
That familiarity bred a convincing victory for Vasser, a Mainland Regional High School graduate who swims for Columbia University.
He thus became just the fourth swimmer to earn at least three straight wins since the event was added to the Margate’s in 1972, joining Ocean City’s Sid Cassidy (1976-79) and Margate’s Tom Swift (1992-96) and Longport’s Joey Tepper (2018-21).
With Lucy the Elephant looming in the background, a large crowd gathered on the sand to watch Margate beat 15 other patrols and win the team title for the first time since 2022.
The race, considered one of lifeguard racing’s “Big Three” with the Dutch Hoffman Memorial race in Wildwood and this Friday’s South Jersey Championships in Avalon, was originally scheduled for last Friday, but was moved to Monday due to weather concerns.
“This one is always kind of a favorite for me to win,” Vasser said. “It’s my hometown and everyone was here cheering for me.”
Big swells made for wild and exciting races in the doubles and singles rows.
Boats took on water as crews climbed waves on the way to the turnaround flags. Both races were partly determined by the rowers’ ability to turn their Van Duyne boats into surfboards en route to shore.
Atlantic City’s Vince Granese and Nick Guidara rode a wave to victory in the doubles row.
As the crews charged toward the beach, Granese and Guidara rowed onto a wave and maintained a straight course while other boats breached and spun in the foam.
That carried them to a win ahead of three-time doubles winners Sean Duffey and Mike McGrath of Longport and Margate’s Chris Spiers and Bob Bechtel.
“We were first to the swells and one lined up perfectly for us,” said Granese, who previously won the doubles row with Jim Smith in 2014. “I knew that was the one we had to catch because there was going to be another one behind for everyone else.”
The singles row followed a similar script. Waves served as the ocean’s first line of defense, even smacking one boat back toward the beach at the start.
Avalon’s Ryan Finnegan powered over them without a problem, then cruised on them for an impressive victory.
Margate’s Spiers took second, followed by Longport’s McGrath, who had won it the previous three years.
The field also included one of the most successful rowers in the event’s history. Ashton Funk, who won the singles row five times (2008-11, 2015) for Margate, competed Monday for Diamond Beach, which is a small beach patrol located in Lower Township next to Wildwood Crest.
“Half of this race is the work you put in and half is luck,” said Finnegan, who won the race for the first time. “That’s especially true up here, with the surf and everything.
“In Cape May County, we’re not used to this. This (surf) would be a very big day for us in Avalon, but to these (Atlantic County) guys, this is normal.”
Friday’s South Jersey Championship will mark a return to normal for Finnegan, who is the defending champion.
Avalon won the team title last year and as such earned the right to host Friday’s event at 35th Street beach.
“That’s the one everyone’s waiting for,” Finnegan said. “We’ve been talking about it all year.”
Brooks, Simmons fighting at Hard Rock Saturday
Boxing returns to Atlantic City on Saturday at Hard Rock Hotel and Casino with a card by promoter Alex Barbosa of R&B Promotions.
Locals Rodney Brooks and Jamil Simmons are scheduled to be on the card.
Brooks (3-0, 2 KOs), a former basketball standout at Oakcrest High School, will be ending a four-year hiatus with a four-round heavyweight bout against Anthony Woodson III (1-3, 1 KO), of Crown Point, Indiana.
Simmons (0-1), a junior-welterweight from Pleasantville, has been inactive for twice as long.
His four-round fight against Benji Gomez (0-5), of Oxnard, California, will mark his first ring appearance since January 28, 2017, when he dropped a four-round, unanimous decision in his pro debut at the Claridge in Atlantic City.
David is a nationally recognized sports columnist who has covered Philadelphia and local sports for over 40 years. After 35 years with The Press, he has served as a columnist for 973ESPN.com and created his own Facebook page, Dave Weinberg Extra Points.
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