31 Photos
A Southampton Town lifeguard dives into the ocean at Scott Cameron Beach. RON ESPOSITO
Gaurds run into the ocean. RON ESPOSITO
A guard competes in the board rescue. RON ESPOSITO
Ryan and Jack Duryea in the board rescue. RON ESPOSITO
Michael Fiahlo, left, and Casey Crowley in the beach flags. Crowley won his seventh straight title in the event last week. RON ESPOSITO
The men compete in the beach flags. RON ESPOSITO
Casey Crowley, far left, is the first to the beach flag. RON ESPOSITO
The women competing in the beach flags. RON ESPOSITO
Hana Heavey enjoying her time on the beach. RON ESPOSITO
The men compete in the beach flags. RON ESPOSITO
Guards compete in the beach relay. RON ESPOSITO
Steve Sutton, left, and Peter Schaefer get out of the water. RON ESPOSITO
Juliette Archer is one of the first to the beach flags. RON ESPOSITO
From left, Hana Heavey, Kaila Gagne and Elena Mugno. RON ESPOSITO
Mackenzie Mahoney books it down the beach. RON ESPOSITO
Shane McClatchey, assistant chief of Scott Cameron Beach, competing in the board rescue. RON ESPOSITO
Lifeguards compete in the land line rescue. RON ESPOSITO
Southampton Town held its annual Mike Diveris Memorial Battle of Southampton lifeguard tournament on July 13 at Scott Cameron Beach. RON ESPOSITO
Guards compete in the lead line rescue. RON ESPOSITO
Kaila Gagne in the lead line rescue. RON ESPOSITO
A Southampton Town lifeguard dives into the ocean at Scott Cameron Beach. RON ESPOSITO
The Southampton Town Mike Diveris Memorial Battle of Southampton Lifeguard Competition was held on July 13. RON ESPOSITO
The men race toward the beach flags. RON ESPOSITO
Guards compete in the lead line rescue. RON ESPOSITO
Guards compete in the lead line rescue. RON ESPOSITO
Guards race into the ocean in the board rescue race. RON ESPOSITO
Will Zaffuto comes out of the water in the board rescue. RON ESPOSITO
Bryan Schoerlin and Kiley Kaiser compete in the board rescue. RON ESPOSITO
Kiley Kaiser heads out of the water. RON ESPOSITO
The 'West' lifeguards. RON ESPOSITO
Lifeguards, from left, Juliette Archer, Isabelle Palumbo, Charlie Bedard and Brian Shah. RON ESPOSITO
A lifeguard competition broke out at a Pierson High School reunion.
Or maybe it was the other way around.
The Mike Diveris Memorial Battle Of Southampton Lifeguard Competition at Scott Cameron Beach on July 13 featured lifesavers from up and down Southampton Town’s beaches, from Cupsogue east to Scott Cameron. Many of the winners of the eight different events competed last week included those who have graduated from the Sag Harbor school, at least on the men’s side.
Casey Crowley won the ever-popular beach flags event for the seventh straight year and Peter Schaefer (distance run) and Jack Duryea (distance swim) won individual events. Whaler alumni Ryan Duryea, Joey Badilla, Cameron Burton and Casey Crowley won the land line rescue; Jack Duryea, Casey Crowley, Cameron Burton and Peter Schaefer won the 4x100 sand relay; the Duryea Brothers teamed up to win the board rescue race; Badilla and the Duryea Brothers won the run-swim-run; and Ryan Duryea and Schaefer teamed up with Shane McClatchey, assistant chief of Scott Cameron Beach, to win the paddle relay.
Ryan Duryea was in the thick of all of those events and said many of the lifeguards with whom he works, mainly at Sagg Main, but also at Mecox and Scott Cameron from time to time, all have athletic backgrounds from either high school or even college, and that certainly plays a big part in their success in such events. Ryan is a rising senior at Roger Williams University and his younger brother, Jack, is a rising sophomore at Worcester Poly Tech — both are members of the men’s swim teams at their respective schools.
“It’s pretty awesome. The competition is always a lot of fun,” Ryan Duryea said. “The coolest part about it is, our team East Men, it’s pretty much all Sag Harbor/Pierson kids and alumni. Most of us are previous athletes or current collegiate athletes and it bodes well for us going into this competition. We have a heavy background in swimming and running and it’s always a lot of fun just to be able to do these competitions, show our talents to all of the other guards, because for the most part we all just work at our local beaches and never get to see them. This is one of best showings we’ve had.”
The West Women, hailing mostly from West Tiana and Ponquogue beaches, dominated their side of the competition, winning all but one of the events — Bella Mugno and Lizzie Knieriemen won the board rescue race. McKinley Skala won the beach flags and distance run events; Elena Mugno won the distance swim; Skala, Quinn Banks, Kaila Gagne and Elena Mugno won the land line rescue; Banks, Hana Heavey and Mackenzie Mahoney won the paddle relay; Skala, Mahoney, Gagne and Banks won the 4x100 sand relay; and Bella and Elena Mugno and Mahoney won the run-swim-run.
The Southampton Town competition is a lead-up to two events: The East Hampton Town Main Beach competition, which is this Thursday, July 21, and more of a regional event that brings guards in from up the island as well as local; and the United States Lifesaving Association’s National Lifeguard Championships, which are August 10-13 in Hermosa Beach, California.
Ryan Duryea said Southampton Town is putting together both men’s and women’s teams that will each feature a dozen of its top guards to compete in both events. It will be Duryea’s fourth time going to Nationals and he said he and his fellow guards are looking forward it.
“It’s going to be fun at Main Beach this week, but when we combine with the East Hampton guards to form the Hamptons Lifesaving Association, it creates this strong contingency of a lot of athletes who all have the same amount of experience, if not more — many of whom I competed next to in high school, so it’s a lot of fun to be able to compete with them.”
