The Hampton Lifeguard Association, which took over 60 junior and professional guards to the United States Life Saving Association's national tournament in Huntington Beach, Calif., last week, finished an impressive fifth in the competition, but the biggest news coming out of the tourney was that H.L.A.'s U-19 competitors were winners vis-a-vis their 16-to-19-year-old peers.
As a result of their performances in Huntington Beach and in regional competitions this year, four of H.L.A.'s U-19s -- Daisy Pitches, Liam Knight, Dylan Zucker, and Gemma Garbuio -- qualified to compete for the United States lifesaving team in the International Surf Rescue Challenge in New Zealand "over the Thanksgiving break." Knight was part of the U.S. team that vied in the quadrennial World championships last year and is the only male guard who will again be part of the 2025 U-19 U.S. team.
The conditions at Huntington Beach, John Ryan Jr., who heads the H.L.A., said on his way back from California Sunday afternoon, were extremely challenging, with big, strong waves and a killer sweep -- "they call it a lateral current out there" -- that required long beach runs just to stay within, and to reach, the buoys that demarked the competition areas.
"This was probably the most difficult tournament I have ever been at since the early '90s," Ryan said. "To get fifth in a competition like this is not an easy feat."
"The West Coast thought they had a big advantage in the tournament because of the conditions of the surf," Ryan said, describing four-to-seven-foot waves with "a good eight-to-14-foot face. "The sweep was so difficult they figured they were going to control the tournament, but that didn't happen for them." Instead, the East Coast dominated a lot of the swimming events, and Sussex County, from New Jersey, won the tournament, followed by the California State Lifeguard Association, the Los Angeles County Surf Life Saving Association, Monmouth County (N.J.), and H.L.A.
The H.L.A. U-19s topped their peers points-wise, with 39.50 vis-a-vis Sussex's 27 and Monmouth's 19.
The H.L.A. juniors, who competed on Aug. 6, were equally impressive as they faced down the challenges of an unfamiliar ocean. "It was amazing what our juniors did -- the parents were in awe," he said. "And, as far as I know, nobody backed down."
Ryan has said in the past that he's not so much out to win these tournaments as he is to improve his guards' skills. The four who made the U.S. team will be expected to continue training on their return. "Their jobs are not done, they must continue to perfect their skills. Gemma's a sprinter, so she'll be working on that. Daisy's all-around . . . Liam too is all-around -- he was in 22-plus events at nationals. It took him three heats sometimes to get to the finals. They all need to spend more time on the rescue board and surf skis. . . ."
The H.L.A.'s four competitors were among eight boys and eight girls chosen to compete for the U.S. team in New Zealand, and each will have a specific job on the team. Zucker will be a swimmer; Garbuio, who was first in the 90-meter run and second in beach flags will be a runner, and Pitches and Knight were each chosen because of the versatility they showed by placing in the top across a range of events on the beach, in the water, and in paddleboard and surf ski events. "So their role will be every day they can do every event," Knight's mother, Melissa Knight, said Monday.
As for other results in last week's U-19 events in California, Zucker won the run-swim-run; Lily Nye was fourth in female beach flags; Hailey Rigby and Gigi Michaels were second in the female rescue race; Knight, Miles Menu, Zucker, and Dylan Knapik were third in the male rescue race. Knight was also third in Ironguard, fourth in the board race, fourth in the beach sprint, eighth in beach flags, and eighth, with Zucker, in the board rescue race. Nye finished third in the beach sprint. Ronan Walters was fifth in male beach flags. Pitches was fifth in the distance swim, fifth in the run-swim-run, and fourth in the beach sprint. She and Michaels were fifth in the board rescue race.
Pitches competed in five open events (for guards of all ages 16 and up), her highest finish being eighth in the women's run-swim-run. The H.L.A. team of Bryan Schoerlin, Knight, and Miles Menu was second in the open board relay race. Knapik, Luke Ferraro, Miles Menu, and Vincent Mullen placed seventh in the open men's 4-by-100 beach relay. In age-group events for men, Daniel Garvey won the 40-to-44 2K beach run; Mike Bahel won the 55-59 2K beach run, and Barry Moore won the 60-64 beach flags.
In events for 14-to-15-year-olds, second-place finishers were Jasper Samuelson in the distance run; Vanessa Rizzo in the run-swim-run; Cybelle Curry and Ginger Griffin in the rescue race; Curry in the board race; Lucy Knight, Curry, and Griffin in the paddle board relay; Griffin in the surf team, and Samuelson, Aidan Menu, and Elijah Hinchen in the swim relay. Third-place finishers were Lucy Knight in the board race; Samuelson and Aidan Menu in the rescue race; Vanessa Rizzo, in the distance swim, junior Ironguard, and girls surf team; Samuelson in beach flags, and Samuelson, Aidan Menu, and Elijah Hinchen, in the paddleboard relay.
Heidi Rizzo won the 12-13s' junior Ironguard competition. And in events for 9-through-11-year-olds, Raegin Poitras and Evelyn Rizzo won the paddleboard relay; Heidi Rizzo won junior Ironguard, was second in the board race, and third in the run-swim-run, and Poitras was third in the distance swim and fourth in the run-swim-run.
With Reporting by Carissa Katz
