By David Weinberg
Brigantine doubles rowers Jack and Joe Savell, Margate swimmer Zach Vasser and Longport singles rower Mike McGrath will be carrying some momentum into the 84th South Jersey Lifeguard Championships at Brigantine.
Weather permitting, the races will take place Friday at 6:30 p.m. on 14th Street in Brigantine.
The Savell brothers, Vasser and McGrath all won their respective events in dominant fashion last week at the 74th Margate World War II Memorial Lifeguard Championships.
“It feels great to win this race,” Joe Savell said. “But everyone knows it’s all about what happens (Friday).”
A large crowd lined the Decatur Street beach in the shadow of Lucy the Elephant, its roars and cheers nearly as loud as the crashing waves.
Although not quite as turbulent as last year, the ocean proved to be quite the challenge again, with chest-high swells and a strong current testing the mettle of the rowers and swimmers, not to mention the eight Margate lifeguards perched precariously on a stand in the water that served as a boundary for the races.
The Savell brothers, who both attend Cornell University, jumped out to an early lead in the doubles race, along with Longport’s Sean Duffey and McGrath. Sea Isle City’s Pat Scannapieco and Danny Rogers, Atlantic City’s Nick Guidera and Vince Granese, and Avalon’s Gary Nagle and David Giulian made charges on the way back to the beach, but the Savell’s were never seriously threatened.
They won the event for the second straight year, followed by Guidera and Granese. Atlantic City’s second-place finish turned out to be crucial for it enabled the patrol to win the team title for the second straight year. It edged Longport on a tiebreaker, which is the higher finish in the doubles row.
“We had been preparing for rough conditions all week, so that really didn’t matter to us,” Jack Savell said. “We were ready for it.”
So was Vasser, a 2023 Mainland Regional High School graduate who is in his fourth season as a Margate lifeguard.
He also won for the second straight year and did so with ease. The Columbia University rising sophomore emerged from the surf alone and enjoyed a 30-second margin of victory over Sea Isle City’s Andrew Taylor and Ventnor’s Brian Falk.
“I’ve been swimming on these beaches since I was a young kid and I think that helped me out there,” Vasser said. “There was a lot of chop and swimming in conditions like that is a lot different than swimming in a pool. Having that experience gave me an advantage over a lot of these guys who haven’t been in too many open-water races.”
McGrath also relied on experience in winning the singles row at Margate for the third straight year and fourth time overall.
The 38 year old powered over the waves on the way out, then deftly maneuvered the boat through them during the return trip en route to a comfortable win. Jack Savell finished second, followed by Margate’s Chris Spiers and Cape May Point’s Ben Swan.
“Winning this race is big because all 15 patrols are represented,” McGrath said. “Having been here a lot definitely helps when the conditions are like this.”
No one knows for sure what the conditions will be like Friday at Brigantine’s 14th Street beach, since it’s been 45 years since the patrol last hosted the South Jersey’s as defending champion.
Brigantine, Longport and Atlantic City are among the favorites to win the team title. Avalon won the Cape May County Championships earlier this summer but won’t get to display the depth that carried them to the title.
Unlike the Cape May race and Wildwood’s Dutch Hoffman Championships, both the Margate’s and South Jersey’s feature only three events: doubles row, open swim, singles row.
In the case of the South Jersey race, there has been no change to the format in over 50 years. But the lifeguard scene in the area has evolved in the last two decades, particularly with regard to women competitors.
My suggestion would be to add a men’s and women’s paddleboard race, plus a women’s swim to the South Jersey’s.
If time is a factor, why not start at 6 p.m. instead of 6:30 p.m.? Better yet, make it a two-day event with three events on Friday and three on Saturday.
Female lifeguards deserve to have the opportunity to compete for their respective patrols in the area’s biggest race.
Eagles preseason opener set for Friday
The Philadelphia Eagles are scheduled to open the preseason on Friday at Baltimore.
Don’t expect to see many of the starters. Coach Nick Sirianni will likely sit quarterback Jalen Hurts, running back Saquon Barkley, wide receivers A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith and others in an effort to have them fully healthy for the regular season.
As a result, get ready for a healthy dose of quarterback Kenny Pickett, running back Kenneth Gainwell, etc.
One player on the Ravens worth watching would be Egg Harbor Township High School graduate Yvondy Rigby.
Rigby, who signed with Baltimore as a rookie free agent, is trying to make the team as a linebacker following an impressive career at Temple University.
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.
Send comments to weinbergd419@comcast.net.
