Lifeguard Teams Hit Midseason in High Gear
Avalon’s (10) Dave Giulian and Gary Nagle and Stone Harbor’s (17) Kurt Kircher and Tom Lake battle the pack about 1,000 yards into the Upper Township 7.3-mile bay race in July. Giulian and Nagle finished second.
One beach patrol seeks a sequel. The other is an anchor to the South Jersey Lifeguard Circuit.
By different means, the Avalon and Stone Harbor Beach Patrols hit midseason form in top stride.
Avalon looked every bit as strong as last year, capping its season-opening surge by seizing the fifth straight Kerr Memorials, which it hosts. That followed victory in the Beschen-Callahan races and a close second in the Cape May County championships. On Aug. 8, the patrol tries to match an historic 2024, in which it won both the male and female South Jersey Championships under Chief Matt Wolf. That’s among the rarest feats on the circuit stretching from Cape May to Brigantine.
Stone Harbor is led by Captain Sandy Bosacco, who is also the president of the South Jersey Chiefs Association. That group made a breakthrough 2025 decision, designating a first-ever women’s South Jersey championship.
The women’s South Jerseys will be held Aug. 6 and Ventnor will be their permanent home. The men’s final on Aug. 8 will be in Avalon, which earned hosting rights by winning the South Jerseys last year for the first time since 2015.
Here is an overview of both patrols.
Avalon
Wolf’s team stormed from the gate, winning a slew of team and individual events.
Veterans Dave Giulian and Gary Nagle delivered early-season triumphs in the doubles row while Becca Cubler, one of the names to watch on the female circuit, won women’s swim and can run competitions.
As July draws to a close, the patrol is sizzling.
Wolf has a multilayered perspective on Avalon’s defending champion status. Last August, Avalon bested 14 competing patrols in the time-honored Super Bowl of lifeguard racing, dating back to 1924.
Avalon also annexed the women’s title for a rare patrol double. That was nice in the off-season, but …
“On the one hand, nobody cares that we won last year, as we don’t get a head start this year because of it,” Wolf notes. “It’s the same in lifeguarding as it is with competition. I tell our guards, ‘Nobody cares that we haven’t had a drowning in several decades if we have one today.’ Whether its protecting the public or competing for the patrol, success is never owned, it is rented. And it is due every day.
“At the same time, we do expect to win our races, as we have won a ton of them over the last few years. You have to guard that. Winning is a habit and so is losing. You have to go out and succeed again.”
Wolf has enjoyed a glorious period. Besides earning the South Jersey titles, he led Middle Township High School to its first-ever South Jersey Group II sectional wrestling title, the most successful season in school history. He transformed a team that had a 5-20 record some 17 years ago into a championship unit.
The success has spilled over to the lifeguard group.
Nagle, who teams with Giulian in a formidable doubles combo, was an assistant coach for Wolf this year. The 2018 Middle Township graduate, a two-time District 32 champion and third-place finisher in the regionals, credits Wolf with establishing a winning culture on the mats and in the ocean. Nagle was the first 100-win wrestler in school history and went on to became a three-time wrestling captain at Ursinus, Wolf’s alma mater in Pennsylvania.
Wolf believes the racing circuit and the athleticism of the guards boosts morale and efficiency. Many team members are decorated high school and college athletes.
“They can make a lot more money bartending, waiting tables or teaching summer school than they can being a lifeguard on the beach, in my opinion,” Wolf asserts. “But the racing competition helps bring them here and allows us to attract the type of individual we would not normally be able to entice.”
Giulian is one of them. He made a mark as a multisport athlete at Middle Township High School, slowly worked up the beach patrol ladder and became a stalwart.
Early in the season, he joined Nagle on a successful blitz. The partners captured two victories at the Cape May County Championships and took second at the Beschen-Callahan races. Giulian also has been promoted to the rank of lieutenant.
Away from the circuit, he is a rising senior at the College of New Jersey. Giulian, a linebacker, led his team with 99 tackles last season. The College of New Jersey posted a 6-4 mark, its first winning record since 2011.
“Lifeguard racing was new to my football teammates, but after I explained what we do here, they began to follow us in the summer,” Giulian indicates. “We get a lot of congratulations. They think it’s amazing what we do.”
Giulian and Nagle set a goal to row 100 miles together before the season started. They produced a combination of sprints and distance workouts, often hitting the water between 6 and 7am.
The tandem has won the last four Cape May County doubles events and seized the Beschen-Callahans three of the last four.
“We are used to that and now we train through to the South Jerseys,” Nagle says, meaning that for other races, the partners often train on the morning in which they will compete at night. “We want to keep everything the same.”
Nagle believes he’s enjoying bonus time. If he lands a full-time teaching position, the summer racing circuit will be unknown. That’s why he’s making the most of this chance.
Cubbler, meanwhile, has been a machine. She buoyed Avalon with swimming victories in the Cape May County, Beschen-Callahan, and Kerr competitions. She also provided a critical first-place finish in the South Jerseys last year to help pave Avalon’s team title.
Cubbler has sterling credentials. She was a six-time All-American, winning the honor two straight years in three events: the 500-yard, 1,000-yard, and 1-mile swimming events for Bloomsburg (Pa.) University in 2019 and 2020.
She expanded after college by winning the U.S. Masters Swimming Spring Nationals in Indianapolis in June 2024. Her accomplishments in the pool are impeccable.
Over time, Cubbler has learned nuances in ocean racing.
“It’s important to read the current very strongly,” she says. “Then you can tell how far you will be pulled, possibly away from shore. You want to read the swells coming toward the shore because they are going to give you a boost.
“You can feel a swell behind you and if you peek back, you can get an idea about making the most of it.
“I am really enjoying this season,” she adds. “I think it’s awesome that women have their own competition and that we get a lot of support from everyone.”
Stone Harbor
Bosacco has been integral to the administrative advancement of the lifeguard circuit as the president of the lifeguard chiefs association.
Some innovations:
In adding the women’s South Jerseys two days before the men’s classic, it ensured a big championship week. Area patrols will be buzzing for the week of Aug. 5-9 with two season-long titles being awarded.
“We take a lot of pride in what we do,” he says of the chiefs’ association. “We are state recognized and we set the standards fort state ocean lifeguard certification.”
Bosacco broke new ground a few years ago in getting Stone Harbor’s pay hiked to $20 an hour for the guards. That turned a shortage of candidates into a surplus of talent to fit the jobs. It also resulted in boosting the pay of neighboring patrols.
As for his own team, Bosacco cites several stalwarts.
Andrew Neuman, a fourth-year guard, has performed well at one of Stone Harbor’s busiest beaches and he took third in the SuperAthlon, which features a run-row-swim program. Neuman is in flight school.
Reese Hetzer plowed through the grueling running, rowing and swimming training session required of rookies. She later took third in the Beschen-Callahan swim and began representing the patrol in out-of-town races.
Jonah Alvarez took third in the men’s swim at the Beschen-Callahans and has blossomed throughout the summer. He is a rising junior at St. Augustine Prep.
“We have a very good group this year,” he says. “We have a lot of newer, younger guards who are enthusiastic. They want to be involved in the races. They all take their job very seriously.”