USLA Mid-Atlantic Regional Lifeguarding Championships held at Tower Beach

More than 100 lifeguards who keep the Cape Region beaches safe during the summer squared off against other Delaware rescuers and patrols from Maryland, New York, New Jersey and Virginia at the 43rd Annual U.S. Lifesaving Association Mid-Atlantic Regional Lifeguarding Championships held July 10 at Tower Beach south of Dewey Beach.

Delaware Seashore State Park Patrol hosted the event, but Rehoboth Beach Patrol was in charge of the nearly 300 participants. DSSPP placed first overall, with 37 combatants registering 863.75 points across all events. RBP’s 18 lifeguards registered 248.625 points, good for seventh, while Dewey Beach Patrol made it three patrols from the Cape Region in the top 10, finishing ninth at 216.625. 

Sea Colony’s Elizabeth Fry won the women’s open points competition with 137.25 points; her teammate Grace Hansen finished third with 98.25 points. DSSPP’s Madelynn McTeer nabbed the highest spot for a Cape Region lifeguard in the women’s open, fifth, registering 62.75 points. RBP’s Meredith Lockwood netted 46 points to round out the top 10.

DSSPP’s Bailey Noel, a 2005 graduate of Sussex Tech, grabbed the top spot for the men, while DSSP’s Coleman Woodard (fourth), Josh McIntire (sixth) and Robert Frey (eighth) made it four Cape Region lifeguards in the top 10.

Women’s top-five finishers

DSSPP’s Suzannah Mills finished second in the open women's surf race.

DSSPP’s Madelynn McTeer was runner-up in the open women’s run-swim-run and open women’s board race.

DSSPP’s Elizabeth Perry and Kelsey Fowler grabbed fifth in the open women’s rescue race.

The runner-up for the open women’s Taplin race was the DSSPP team of Hailey Moore, Madelynn McTeer, Olivia Brozefsky and Suzannah Mills.

DSSPP’s Brynn Crandell grabbed the top spot in the open women’s 2K beach run, while RBP’s Meredith Lockwood and DSSPP’s Lexie Planinsek finished third and fourth, respectively.

Cape Region lifeguards dominated the open women’s beach flags, as DSSPP’s Lainey Shockro, Sussex Shores’ Zoe Williams, RBP’s Sophia Gulotti, DSSPP’s Amy Venables and DBP’s Lulu Rishko rounded out the top five. RBP’s Meredith Lockwood (sixth) and DBP’s Grace Wiggins (seventh) showed it clearly was a locals event to win.

The RBP trio of Anna McDermott, Dionn Stevenson and Naddie Tonn welcomed DSSPP’s Elizabeth Perry on their fifth-place open women’s landline rescue race.

DSSPP’s three-woman team of Kinley Woodard, Madelynn McTeer and Olivia Brozefsky took third in the open board relay.

RBP’s Sophia Gulottie cruised to first in the open women’s 90-meter sprint, as DSSPP’s Jessica Tyndall and Amy Venables placed third and fifth, respectively.

Men’s top-five finishers

DSSPP’s Josh McIntire was runner-up in the open men's surf race, while overall top points-getter Bailey Noel placed fourth.

Duncan Proxmire of DSSPP took fourth in the open men’s run-swim-run.

DSSPP finished first in the open men’s rescue race with a team of Josh McIntire, Michael Anderson, Nathan Venables and Travis Stanitis. RBP’s Cole Jennings and North Shores’ Nathan Pittroff linked up with a Middlesex Beach team of Declan Burke and Shane Hall to place second.

DSSPP’s Bailey Noel grabbed fifth in the open men’s board race.

Two DSSPP teams, the first comprising Corbin Mervine, Duncan Proxmire, Josh McIntire and Robert Frey, and the second Bailey Noel, Coleman Woodard, LJ Sengphachanch and Travis Stanitis, took home second and third, respectively, while DSSPP’s Dominic Kazzi linked up with a Sea Colony team for fifth in the open men’s Taplin relay.

Coleman Woodard finished second and Bailey Noel notched fourth to give DSSPP two top-five finishes in the open men’s surf ski race; they replicated those finishes in the open men’s iron man.

RBP’s Chase Sims finished just ahead of DSSPP’s Michael Anderson to claim fourth in the open men’s 2K beach run.

Men’s open beach flags was settled when DBP’s CJ Fritchman just beat out RBP’s Konner Knarr for first, while his teammate, Greg Mathe, took fifth.

Speed protects the shores of Dewey as DBP took second and third in the open men’s 4-by-90-meter relay. Austin Rhue, CJ Fritchman, Hunter Jones and Kolbe Green were second, while John Barbato, Kyle Green, Mack Leonhart and Wilson Ingerski finished third.

The DSSPP team of Coleman Woodard and Josh McIntire won the open men’s board rescue race.

Finishing third in the open men’s landline rescue race was the team of Jack Ellis, Jack Ogden, Joshua Walker and Will Shoemaker.

DSSPP’s Bailey Noel, Coleman Woodard and Robert Frey won the open men’s board relay, as Caleb Vaxmonsky, Corbin Mervine and Nathan Venables finished fourth.

RBP’s Konner Knarr finished third in the open men’s 90-meter sprint, with DSSPP’s LJ Sengphachanch hot on his heels in fourth.

Rick Cawthern gave DSSPP a winner in the 55-59 men’s board race and 2K beach run.

DBP’s Steven Hagen won the 30-34 men’s beach flags.