Racing Season is Going Swimmingly
Jack Christian pops out of the water at the Kerr Races in Avalon for a second-place finish.
Third time is the charm – Pat Scannapieco (left) and Danny Rogers (right) capture first place in a crowded field in the doubles at the David Kerr Lifeguard Championships after second place finishes in the Cape May County and Beschen-Callahan Championships.
Sea Isle City got off to a strong start to the lifeguard racing season, while Upper Township has filled out its employment ranks and prepares for a popular charity event.
These vantage points marked the local patrols in mid-July.
Here’s a look at each one.
Sea Isle City
The Sea Isle season started with a bang, two excellent second-place team titles in two nights. One came in the Cape May County Invitational. The second emerged from the Longport Women’s Invitational. Both showed considerable depth for the patrol.
In the County Invitational, Sea Isle actually tied Avalon for first place with 22 points but lost on a tiebreaker. It was one of the patrol’s top efforts in recent years.
Mary Kate Leonard won the box swim, and Pat Scannapieco teamed up with Danny Rogers to finish second in the doubles row. Rogers added a second in the singles row. Newcomer Jack Christian produced a second-place finish in the box swim.
“The team we sent to the County’s did an outstanding job for us,” Sea Isle City chief Renny Steele says. “I was very happy with their performance. We did not know what to expect from Jack Christian, for example, but he did extremely well.”
Sea Isle’s Iron Women – Mary Kate Leonard; Emily Kulak; Abbie Ryan and Callie Reed finished first in the Iron Woman Relay at the David Kerr Lifeguard Championships.
Pat Scannapieco (left) and Danny Rogers made up Sea Isle’s #1 doubles team in the early portion of the 2023 lifeguard competition season.
Steele touts the seasoning of Rogers and Scannapieco, who have found an excellent rhythm after a few years as doubles rowing partners.
They also have South Jerseys pedigree. Rogers won the singles for Sea Isle City in 2021 and the pair looms as a contender in the South Jerseys, which unfold Aug. 11 in Margate.
“Danny is only 21, but he is always looking to improve,” Steele notes. “He comes out of the water and says, ‘I can get better at this, I can get better at that.’ Pat has been with him the whole way, too. It’s a pleasure to watch them evolve.”
Leonard, who swims for Boston College, won the box swim for the second straight year. The event is an interesting challenge because a running sprint to the finish follows the swim. This is a difficult wild card for many swimmers, as they rarely have to run, especially after a grueling effort in the water.
Sea Isle City made a strong showing one night later, finishing second to perennial power Longport in the Longport Women’s Invitational.
Seventeen-year-old Maura Quinn unleashed a solid end-to-end effort to capture the singles row. She gave Sea Isle a four-boat length victory, a definitive margin.
“I don’t think she could have rowed any better than she did that night,” Steele says. “Everybody was excited for her. She is out rowing every morning. She is dedicated, really puts the time in. When someone works that hard and then gets rewarded with a first-place finish, that makes everybody feel good.”
The doubles crew of Callie Reed and Abby Ryan got third.
Upper Township
This is summer of milestones for Upper Township captain Bill Handley.
He retired from a 28-year teaching career in June and will see its first implications in the fall. Until then, he enjoys a 39th year with Upper Township and looks forward to a couple of summer perks.
One is the full employment level reached by the patrol, enabling it to guard its desired complement of beaches.
“I give a lot of credit to the support we have received both from administration and from the residents of Strathmere,” Handley says. “Our compensation package is competitive with neighboring towns and the people of Strathmere really embraced us. They reached out, asked what they could do, how to support us.
“They appreciate what we do for them in keeping their beaches safe. These are the types of things that help draw quality guards to us.”
Some of the quality guards try to take an additional step forward via competition.
A pair of three-year rowers, Jim Nilsen and James Garoh, led the team into the season as the top doubles combo. Handley has his theory about why the third season together has become a blossoming point for so many tandems throughout the racing circuit.
“It takes three years’ experience on the beach and in the water just to know what’s going on,” Handley says. “With the racing end of it, you only have so many opportunities in a given year. With those opportunities, you can understand a situation in which you would have enjoyed a great race except for one small mistake you made at the start of it, and you can’t have that race back.
“Going through a number of situations makes you better. I like how these guys have been working hard together and I’m excited for them.”
Handley says veteran Joe O’Neill and his partner Ryan Manning also might make some noise in the 2023 campaign. Will Schlucter had the early inside track on the singles slot.
Lorna Connell and Kailey Grimley were the top women vying for several spots on the out-of-town team at the start of the campaign.
Handley also touts the start of decade No. 4 for the Bay Race. It unfolds July 31 this year and will be the 31st edition of an event that raises funds for MS research.
The Bay Race features rowers, paddleboarders, a band, a festive evening, and a sunset at the Deauville Inn. It has become widely supported by residents and by competitors from neighboring beach patrols.
