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Inside: Photo gallery from the Women's Invitaional lifeguard race

OCEAN CITY - The crowd on the beach was at its loudest during the surf dash Wednesday.

The quick, exciting relay race often has become a deciding factor in team championships at lifeguard events. And it was just that at the sixth annual Ocean City Beach Patrol Women's Invitational.

Ocean City led two-time defending champion Ventnor by one point heading into the surf dash, the event's last race and a new addition this year.

"It's definitely the most fun event," Longport's Colleen McClintock said, "because we all get to do it together."

With the crowd cheering them on, Ocean City's Renee Tomlin, Kaitlyn Minehan, Alli Hagan and Stephanie Hauck won the race in 1 minute, 33 seconds. Ventnor did not place, giving the home squad the team championship.

Ocean City also won the team title in 2004 and 2006. On Wednesday, it won three events and placed second in another.

The surf dash is a fan-favorite because of how quick it is. It's also a favorite among competitors.

McClintock and her Longport teammates Paige Funk, Brittany Bruder and Katy Bergen finished third in the surf dash. Longport finished third in the team rankings.

McClintock, a Mainland Regional High School graduate, also placed second in the run-swim race, behind Ocean City's Tomlin, after trailing during the running portion.

"Truthfully, I'm not much of a runner. I do it for exercise and that's it," McClintock said. "I was definitely hurting when I finished the run. But I'm a really strong swimmer, so I knew I had a strong shot of catching up to the other girls."

Tomlin won in 7:48, and McClintock finished in 7:55, 34 seconds ahead of the Wildwood Crest's Kenna Moran.

"When I caught a big wave, I knew I was safely in second place," McClintock said. "I caught a second one and that was when I realized how close I actually was to Renee."

The sprint swim was the closest event of the races. Kacey McCaffrey of Ocean City edged Sea Isle City's Chelsea Martin by two seconds.

"It's open water," Martin said. "Anyone can win or anyone can lose, depending on your course, your strategy, everything."

What motivated Martin, a Mainland junior, to close the gap between her and McCaffrey was not necessarily just the chance to win.

"(I really looked forward to) coming in and being able to have water," Martin joked. "I swallowed so much salt water out there."

The Ocean City Beach Patrol Women's Invitational was the third all-female lifeguard racing event of the season.

Though Atlantic City did not place in the top five, its sprint- doubles team of Michelle Elberson and Kara Beres won for the third consecutive year.

Despite consistently winning this event at Ocean City and in other races, the two still experience pre-race jitters.

"We were really nervous," Beres said. "It's a short race, and we're little, so we really have to put our everything into it."

Elberson said the two rarely enter a race thinking that they will win it.

"My mentality is that we're gonna lose," she said. "But it's an honor to do it, and we have fun."

Elberson and Beres left their comfort zone to try the paddleboard pick-up but with less success. The two were positioned to finish in the top three when their board flipped over and they were unable to finish.

Wildwood Crest's Moran and Rose Brenner won the paddleboard race, and their team finished fourth overall.

E-mail Brittany Grugan:

BGrugan@pressofac.com

Results

Team results

1. Ocean City, 22; 2. Ventnor, 15, 3. Longport, 14; 4. Wildwood Crest, 11; 5. Sea Isle City, 9.

Sprint doubles row

1. Atlantic City (Michelle Elberson-Kara Beres), 4:09.5; 2. Ventnor (Debbie Bateman-Meg Holland), 4:18; 3. Margate (Danielle Fornier-Taylor Levin), 4:22.5; 4. Sea Isle City (Amy Schrader-Becky Lederer), 4:24.5; 5. Longport (Paige Funk-Beth Mooney), 4:28.

Run-swim

1. Renee Tomlin, Ocean City, 7:48; 2. Colleen McClintock, Longport, 7:55; 3. Kenna Moran, Wildwood Crest, 8:29; 4. Rebecca Hannings, Avalon, 8:52; 5. Kim Kravzek, North Wildwood, 8:53.

Sprint swim

1. Kacey McCaffrey, Ocean City, 9:51; 2. Chelsea Martin, Sea Isle City, 9:53; 3. Mackenzie Howarth, Ventnor, 10:04; 4. Kenna Voso, Longport, 10:11; 5. Kaley Swider, Brigantine, 10:14.

Paddleboard pickup

1. Wildwood Crest (Rose Brenner-Moran), 5:39; 2. Ocean City (Wendy Wallace-Leah Varvaro), 5:50; 3. Stone Harbor (Kellene McCall-Lyndsay Harper), 6:20; 4. Ventnor (M. Howarth-Paige Howarth), 6:21; 5. Margate (Bernedette Casey-Fournier), 6:22.

Singles row

1. Debbie Bateman, Ventnor, 5:00.5; 2. Brittany Bruder, Longport, 5:02.5; 3. Colleen Smith, Sea Isle City, 5:15; 4. Anna Remy, Cape May Point, 5:25; 5. Kelly Bainbridge, Stone Harbor, 5:31.

Surf dash (some times unavailable)

1. Ocean City (Tomlin, Alli Hagan, Kaitlyn Minehan, Stephanie Hauck), 1:33; 2. Upper Township (Carly Cox, Cara Thomas, Mary Ellen Curran, Kelly McHale); 3. Longport (Funk, Bruder, McClintock, Katy Bergen); 4. Wildwood Crest (Amy Wuko, Gabby Suhocapn-McGinn, Christina Caroulis, Rose Brenner); 5. Cape May (Patrice Back, Meghan O'Leary, Mary Grace Maggiano, Angela Monaghan).

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