GREAT FINISH: Ella Shafman and Devin Sutch receive a rousing welcome to the finish line after completing the final leg of the Rescue Medley during the Harvey Cedars Iron Maidens women’s tournament on July 15. (Photos by David Biggy)
Allie Fenska has enjoyed lifeguarding on Long Beach Island so much during the past two years, she implored former Ohio State swimming teammate Annie Krusinski to join her in Long Beach Township this summer.
“Allie told me this was the coolest experience she’d ever had and it changed the trajectory of her life,” said Krusinski, who helped the LBTBP women snag second place in the Harvey Cedars Iron Maidens Tournament on July 15. “I always wanted to do something by the ocean, and the opportunity presented itself, so here I am. I was debating whether I should do it, and I thank God every day that I did because it really is the coolest experience.”
Of course, for a girl from Cleveland who had never been out of the Buckeye State except to compete in swim meets, swimming in the Atlantic Ocean took a little bit of an adjustment, as it did for Fenska three summers ago when she first arrived.
“Allie and my captain, Mike Savetierre, helped me a lot with making the adjustment to the ocean. It’s definitely a lot different than swimming in a pool,” Krusinski said, laughing. “But I love it. I’ve met so many great people, and the lifeguard community is so awesome. I’m so hooked on this now.”
Fenska and Krusinski, along with LBTBP teammates Ella Shafman, Bella Tapkas, Ella Lyons, Devin Sutch and Abby Lyons, were hooked on competing for one of the top spots among the Maidens, and it took a mammoth effort during the final three events to do it.
ALL AIR: Harvey Cedars’ Julia Gilbert takes flight as she exits the boat while Jenna Parker tries to maintain control during the Doubles Row.
After the Doubles Row duo of Jenna Parker and Julia Gilbert cruised to a first-place finish in the opening event – during which Shafman and Tapkas scored a point for grabbing fifth behind Lavallette, Ship Bottom’s tandem of Kayla DiToro and Laura Finelli, and Island Beach State Park – HCBP managed two points for grabbing fourth in the Swim Relay and sat in the top position, two points ahead of Sea Girt and IBSP.
But the standings began to shift significantly during the third event, as the Paddle Relay team from Surf City, Hannah Todd and Haley Kearns, snatched first and Township’s two-woman crew of Fenska and Abby Lyons scored their first of three straight second-place finishes.
In the fourth event, while Sea Girt had established itself as the clear frontrunner, the battle for second overall was on. The Township trio of Tapkas, Fenska and Abby Lyons combined for another second-place effort and five points, sending LBTBP into a second-place tie with Lavallette.
After Lyons ran Township to a position near the middle of the field, Fenska trailed only the Sea Girt swimmer, who had started with a sizable lead, out of the water and yielded the course to Tapkas, who held off a fierce effort from Todd on the paddle leg of the race to secure the No. 2 position at the finish line.
With Sea Girt firmly holding the top spot, the final event, the Rescue Relay – comprised of multiple swim legs and culminating with a tandem sprint paddle to the finish – came down to a final surge from the Township quartet of Shafman, Ella Lyons, Krusinski and Sutch.
After Krusinski first swam out to the marker, Lyons swam out to get her, and the two swam in together for the first two legs, the Township squad was in the fourth position behind Sea Girt, Island Beach and Harvey Cedars. From there, Shafman dashed into the ocean not far behind Parker. By the time Shafman reached the mark, Sutch entered the water on the paddleboard, still with her team in fourth.
ENOUGH DISTANCE: Harvey Cedars Beach Patrol’s Clara Davis cruises toward the beach to win her heat during the Battle of the Braids.
Sutch didn’t just close the gap, she overtook the two women who had been in front of her and picked up Shafman in second place. While Sea Girt cruised to victory, Shafman and Sutch powered through the final leg to outrace the Island Beach duo to the beach.
“We knew we were in second, so that gave us the extra push to stay up there,” said Sutch, competing for the first time after just a few weeks on the beach patrol. “On that paddle out, I just had to go for it, and it was fun going tandem with Ella. I just kept telling her to go, don’t look around and just paddle straight. This was a lot of fun, and I’m now ready to do more.”
Sea Girt finished with 24 points, eight ahead of Long Beach Township (16), and 12 ahead of Lavallette. Harvey Cedars managed to score a point in the final event and finished fourth with 10 points, while Surf City and Island Beach tied for fifth with nine points. Beach Haven and Ship Bottom each finished with three points, tied for seventh.
“I’m stoked. We have a great group of girls this year, and we work really well together,” said Fenska, who spent the past year lifeguarding in Australia as well. “We have a lot of athletic women on our patrol, and this group has been building for the past few years. We have women who want to step up and take on bigger roles, and a lot of them practice in the mornings when we’re guarding or go in early to train together. It’s an awesome thing to be a part of.”
Just as awesome was the effort of Harvey Cedars’ Clara Davis among the women who represented their patrols in the Battle of the Braids, a non-scoring event open to women who were not part of teams for the tournament but still wanted to have a little competitive fun.
GET MOVING: Surf City Beach Patrol’a Allie Vile slaps the hand of teammate Olivia Turner as they transition to the final leg of the Swim Relay on July 15.
After winning the first heat of the sprint event – each of the two legs is about 100 feet from beach to buoy – Davis paddled her way to victory and was rewarded with the Iron Maidens crown.
“It was amazing having my teammates supporting me and yelling my name the whole team, believing in me,” said Davis, also in her first competition after participating in the Barnegat Light Young Gunz tourney last year. “It was thrilling as I was coming back in. They were going crazy. I’m very competitive and really wanted to win, and it was fast. It was a full-out sprint, but the strategy for winning was all about getting to the turn first.”
The question for Davis now becomes whether Cedars Chief Randy Townsend will insert her into the lineup for the Island Championship tourney at the end of next week.
“I would like to keep paddling and do it in a major tournament now,” she said. “I believe I proved something tonight.”
— David Biggy