When asked how much it meant for the team to come back dominant this year, TOI’s chief guard and team captain Craig Amarando replied, “It was very important. We had a lot to live up to so we trained really hard and we’re doing the best we can.” Though the team finished fourth overall, they had a number of highlight performances even without three of their regular teammates. Andrew Cremer finished third in the distance swim and fourth in the runswim-run. The landline rescue relay team of Amarando, Billy Swezey, Kyle Wilson and Mike Cohen finished third, and the 4x100 relay team of Wilson, Scichilone, Andrew Valente and Matt Goetz was just picked off by third place Jones Beach after the home team’s final competitor dove for the finish – something which is generally illegal in lifeguard tournaments. Despite the less than desired finish at Jones Beach, TOI came back strong in the competitions that followed the next two weeks. They f inished third in both East Hampton’s tournament on the 18th and Smith Point’s tournament on the 29th. What is most apparent is that many of these lifeguards have had a taste for swimming at some point. Town of Islip’s Cremer feels as though his background in competitive swimming has given him an edge these past two years on his beach patrol’s team.
“Being a collegiate swimmer gives me a better feel for the water and a better stroke technique compared to some of the other lifeguards,” he said. “It’s easier for me to do the distance swims and the yoke because I have more endurance and can get out there quicker than most people. It definitely helps out.” Cremer spent his freshman year at Cortland and helped lead his team to a SUNYAC championship through his clutch swims in the 200, 500 and 1650 yard freestyles. As a sophomore, he will be offering up his talents to a new program with his older brother at the University of North Carolina Wilmington. And Cremer is not the only one. Of his eight man team this summer, five have a competitive swimming background. Goetz will be starting his junior year at William and Mary, Wilson is going into his final season at the College of Saint Rose, Al Catano is finishing out his swimming career at Clarkson after competing for two years with Suffolk Community College , Evan Byrnes will be a senior at Florida Southern University, and Travis Leguyader will be starting off his collegiate career at Bryant in the fall. “We definitely have more of an edge in the water events because we have more depth,” he explained. “We kind of struggle a little bit on land, but we give it out best shot.”.
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Land or water, pulling or paddling, these lifeguards are nothing short of superior athletes. With different tournaments such as these sprouting up here and there across the island and the country, we’re sure to see a larger competitive lifeguard community and a bigger turnout at the 2014 Jones Beach Invitational. “We have eight teams this year, and last year we had six,” said Epstein. “Hopefully next year we’ll have 10 or 12. It’s a good thing right now – it’s very controlled because it’s not that big of a tournament. But it’s definitely growing and our goal in the next couple of years is to have this be one of the larger size lifeguarding tournaments on Long Island.”
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