The Santa Barbara Lifeguard Association competed in the United States Lifesaving Association’s National Surf Lifesaving Championships last week at Huntington State Beach.
While Santa Barbara had a small team of lifeguards, they held their own against more than 700 competitors from over 100 USLA chapters across the nation. The team placed 20th overall despite fielding just three competitors in the Open/Age Group Divisions.
Roman Higgins led the charge in the Open Division with a stellar all-around performance. He placed first in the Board Relay, second in the Taplin Relay, fourth in the Board Race, fifth in the Surf Ski and 11th in the Board Rescue.
Meanwhile, Tony Sholl shined in the 50-54 Age Group Division by coming in first in the Surf Swim and registering sixth-place finishes in the Board Race and the Beach Flags.
Brittney Gamble placed third in the Board Relay and seventh in the Taplin Relay, while Charlie Black’s 10th-place finish in the Landline rounded out the Open Division competitors.
Santa Barbara also fielded competitors in the Junior Guards Division, led by Skyler Carroll’s strong showing. Carroll placed first in the Surf Teams, second in the Surf Swim and Rescue Race, third in the Run-Swim-Run and fourth in the Ironguard.
Sylvester Bunker was all over the place in the C Division, finishing third in the Paddle Board Relay, fifth in the Board Race, seventh in the Surf Swim, eighth in the Beach Run and ninth in the Ironguard.
Also in the C Division, Sloan Visin placed fourth in the Beach Flags, fifth in the Ironguard, sixth in the Beach Run and 15th in the Surf Race. Aya Cohen also competed in the C Division and came in 18th place in the Surf Race.
In the U19 Division, Noah Warkentin registered fourth place in the Surf Swim, fourth place in the Rescue Race and eighth place in the Run-Swim-Run.
Wyatt Warkentin capped off Santa Barbara’s competitors with an impressive first-place finish in the B Division Surf Swim event.