Beach patrols from Sea Girt in Monmouth County down to Wildwood Crest in Cape May County competed Monday in the fifth annual South Jersey Rescue Board races on the 15th Street beach in Brigantine.
There were six events involving four individual races and two team relay races, all involving the use of paddleboards.
The night was basically a battle between Harvey Cedars in Ocean County and Ocean City, with either beach patrol coming in first or second place in four of the six races.
In the end, the Harvey Cedars team finished first with 25 points, Ocean City was second with 24 points and Wildwood Crest took third with 15 points.
In the first race, the Men’s Long Course, OCBP’s Brian Pasternak finished in second place to Harvey Cedars, while in the fourth race, the Men’s Middle Distance, OCBP member Bryan Theiss came in first place.
In the second race, the Women’s Middle Distance, OCBP’s Sam Brady impressively won first place.
In the most exciting race of the night, the Paddleboard Relay, the OCBP team of Brian Pasternak, Sam Brady, Steph Hauck and Bryan Theiss trailed Harvey Cedars after the first three legs.
For most of the fourth and final leg, Theiss also trailed until about 20 yards from the beach. Then he caught a wave and paddled for all he was worth, catching up to the Harvey Cedars competitor once they reached the beach and then outrunning him to cross the finish line first.
In the last race, the Paddleboard Rescue Relay, Harvey Cedars captured the win, just beating the OCBP team by a few seconds.
Following are the race results:
Men’s Individual Long Course:
1st – Harvey Cedars
2nd – Ocean City (Brian Pasternak)
3rd – Wildwood Crest
Women’s Individual Middle Distance:
1st – Ocean City (Sam Brady)
2nd – Sea Girt
3rd – Harvey Cedars
Woman’s Individual Long Course:
1st – Wildwood Crest
2nd – Harvey Cedars
3rd – Sea Girt
Men’s Individual Middle Distance:
1st – Ocean City (Bryan Theiss)
2nd – Harvey Cedars
3rd – Wildwood
Paddleboard Relay:
1st – Ocean City (Brian Pasternak, Sam Brady, Steph Hauck and Bryan Theiss)
2nd – Harvey Cedars
3rd – Wildwood Crest
Paddleboard Rescue Relay:
1st – Harvey Cedars
2nd – Ocean City (Brian Pasternak, Sam Brady, Steph Hauck and Bryan Theiss)
3rd – Sea Girt
Overall Team Scores:
1st – Harvey Cedars (25 points)
2nd – Ocean City (24 points)
3rd – Wildwood Crest (15 points)
Next up is the Ventnor Women’s Lifeguard races on Wednesday, Aug. 7, at 6:30 p.m. on the Suffork Avenue Beach.
