Longport rower Mike McGrath leaned back and dug his oars into the ocean one last time Monday evening, hoping that it would be enough to earn a victory.
It was.
Barely.
McGrath edged Margate’s Chris Spiers by the smallest of margins, beating him to the finish line by a scant second to win the singles row at the 104th South Jersey Lifeguard Championships at Avalon’s 35th Street beach.
The race was so close that both rowers were initially celebrated as winners. Lifeguards from both patrols rushed into the water, hoisted the boats above their heads and carried McGrath and Spiers to the beach.
McGrath won in six minutes, 28 seconds, followed by Spiers in 6:29.
“Chris is a great rower and he had a pretty good lead at the (turnaround) flag,” McGrath said. “Then we battled on the swells. I looked over at him as I was crossing and I thought I won it.”
The win was McGrath’s third South Jersey title, following victories in 2016 and 2019, respectively, and allowed him to join some exclusive company.
The 39-year-old (he turns 40 next month) became just the sixth singles rower to win at least three South Jersey titles since the event was added to the races in 1973, joining four-time champions David Funk of Ventnor and Ashton Funk of Margate, and three-time winners Ted Evans of Ocean City, Tim Fetter of Brigantine and Andrew Funk of Ventnor.
Ironically, McGrath’s first South Jersey title came on the same beach as his first. In 2016, he won the event at Avalon while helping Longport earn the first of its sixth consecutive team titles.
“That one was really special,” McGrath said. “Up until that point, Longport had never won a South Jersey Championship in any event.”
Longport finished third on Monday with seven points. Avalon, led by swimmer Dolan Grisbaum, won its second straight team title with 12 points. Margate placed second with nine behind Spiers and swimmer Zach Vasser.
In addition to winning the singles, McGrath also teamed with longtime rowing partner Sean Duffy to take fourth in the doubles row.
McGrath and Duffy, 42, have been competing for over 20 years.
“I think Sean and I proved that we still belong, even though we’re obviously the old guys out here,” McGrath said. “At our age, it’s all grit at this point.”
A large crowd lined the beach Monday for the event, which was originally scheduled for last Friday, but was postponed to due extremely rough surf and rip currents.
Brothers Joe and Brendan Savell of Brigantine opened the races with an impressive win in the doubles row. They finished in 14:42, three second ahead of Avalon’s Gary Nagle and David Giulian.
It marked Joe Savell’s third straight win in the doubles row. The first two were accomplished with older brother Jack, who did not compete this year. Younger brother Brendan earned his victory.
“I’m so happy to win it with (Brendan),” Joe Savell said. “We’ve been working hard all year and it was great to see all pay off in the end.”
Joe Savell became the 12th rower to win at least three straight doubles titles in 102 years. Atlantic City’s Harry Yates was the first to accomplish the feat, winning four straight from 1923-26. Margate’s Chuck Gowdy and Chris Graves were the last to do it, earning three in a row in 2018, 2019 and 2021. There was no race in 2020.
Avalon’s Grisbaum drew roars from the hometown crowd with his victory in the swim.
The 21-year-old former standout at Ocean City High School and Boston University emerged from the surf and touched the rope at the finish line ahead of a talented field that included second-place Zach Vasser of Margate and two-time defending champion Charles Schreiner of Atlantic City.
Grisbaum finished in 15:34. Vasser, a Mainland Regional High School grad and rising junior at Columbia was second in 15:40. Schreiner, an Egg Harbor Township grad and rising sophomore at Boston University, took third in 15:41.
Grisbaum won for the second time in four years, but did not compete for Avalon last summer while doing an internship.
“To be honest, I’m shocked that I won,” he said. “If you had told me I was going to win this, I would have said, ‘No way.’ I was just hoping to get third. I had no expectations for this. I was just going to try my best and hope for the best.”
Local boxer earns win
Atlantic City heavyweight boxer Rodney Brooks ended a four-year layoff by earning a quick victory last Saturday at Hard Rock Hotel and Casino.
Brooks (4-0, 3 KOs), a 37-year-old former basketball player at Oakcrest High School, scored a first-round knockout over late replacement Lisandro Perez (0-2), of Putnam, Connecticut.
Pleasantville super-lightweight Jamil Simmons (0-2) didn’t fare as well in his comeback. Simmons, who last fought eight years ago, lost a disputed, four-round, split decision to Benji Gomez (1-5), of Oxnard, California.
Both Brooks and Simmons, 33, train at the Pleasantville Recreation Center with trainer Julio Sanchez.
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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