Monday, August 9, 2010

LACOLA Wins USLA Nationals!

UPDATE!

Monday, August 9, 2010

Just in from County Recurrent's freelance volunteer reporter, Adam Sandler.

Dateline: Huntington Beach, Calif., Saturday, August 7, 2010

"LACOLA won the overall (all age groups) again, and reclaimed the Open point score championship which Monmouth County, NJ won last year. LACOLA earned 812.5 total points, with Sussex, Delaware in second with 223.75 points and Monmouth County, New Jersey in third with 201.3 points.

Now the All American Team - comprised of the best of the best from agencies across the country with a hefty contingent of LACOLA guards - sets its sights on the Lifesaving World Championships - Rescue 2010 in Alexandria, Egypt. Ocean events will take place on Momoura Beach from October 2-17."

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And from the LACOLA Surf Racing Team:

"LACOLA had 6 out of the top 10 in BOTH the men's and women's Open events: special congrats to Allison Riddle, high point female with 68 points and to Brian Murphy, high point male with 53.5 points. Go to www.uslanationals.org to see the results for top 10 men and women, which included Taylor Spivey, Tracey Crothers, Renee Locarnini, Tandis Morgan, Diane Graner-Gallas, Anthony Vela, Tyler Morgan, Patrick Jacobson, Mike Murphy, and Micah Carlson. And we must also congratulate our many Masters competitors for their role in this win!" www.lacolasurfracing.org


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(Photo above of Brian Murphy finishing First in Men's Board Race by Adam Sandler. Used here with permission.)

One of Day 2's highlights was LACo's Brian Murphy's Victory in the Men's Open Paddleboard Race. Check out Adam Sandler's account of Brian's successful race:

"Brian Murphy really schooled the other guards Friday in the Open Mens Board Race final.
As a paddler, I'm always in awe at how easy Brian makes it look. His cyborg-like paddling tempo belies a smooth, efficient style. And when he hits the beach, he looks like he still has lots of gas left in the tank. The 12 man race was comprised of eight LACOLA (including the formidable paddler AV), two Destin and two Aloha guards. Perhaps sensing the combined paddling prowess that was about to hit the water, King Neptune decided to lay the surf down right before the guys paddled out. Just moments before, a 4' set wave rocked the outside which everyone on the beach noticed. The gun was fired, the group got a good clean start, and the tight pack quickly knee paddled to the first buoy. Brian nailed the first right shoulder turn and began to pull away from the pack. It was a paddling conga-line for guards 3-12, with Brian three-four-plus board lengths ahead of the second paddler, Tom Trembath of Destin, as the pair approached the final turn. Brian right shouldered the turn and while on his knees quickly increased his lead to 25-30 yards, and growing. But just as it looked like Brian was going to hit the sand while the center of the pack was just rounding the final buoy, Neptune made his move: A set wave much like the one earlier grew on the outside, and that most of the paddlers caught. Some in the crowd on the beach opined that Brian was going to get passed by the wave riding contingent, and that there was a huge upset in the making. But Brian dug deep, kept his inhuman pace and without the aid of any surf -- it was as if he was paddling in a no man's land -- he hit the beach with the nearest competitor, Trembath just starting to negotiate the in-shore trough. (see pic). He crossed the finish line while the other guys' feet were still wet. I didn't set my watch, but I'm fairly sure Brian did the race well under 4 minutes."

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Additional Photos from Day #2:



















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Many Thanks to Adam Sandler for his commentary and photo of Brian Murphy's victory! All other photos by Will Maguire.

Until next time.....



"County Recurrent" News

http://CountyRecurrent.blogspot.com

Service • Training • Commitment

*** Keeping the County Recurrent "in the loop"..... whether he/she likes it or NOT ! ***

DISCLAIMER: County Recurrent is not affiliated with nor sponsored by LACOLA or LACoFD or the USLA or CSLSA.

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