Six Will Rogers Junior Lifeguards were part of a team of 88 guards chosen to represent L.A. County at the state competition in Santa Barbara last Friday. Twenty-two chapters of guards and over a 1,000 competitors from Santa Cruz to San Diego were represented at the competition. Regional tryouts were held July 14 at Dockweiler to determine the all-star team. The L.A. County team, which included six guards from Will Rogers was selected from the top qualifiers from: Zuma, Venice, Santa Monica, Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach, El Segundo, Redondo, Torrance, Cabrillo and Avalon. At the state competition, there are individual events segregated by sex which include distance swim, distance run, the run-swim-run and beach flags. The paddle board and swim relays contain six members and consist of both sexes. No team may have more than four members of one sex. In the 9- to 11-year-old girls group, Lilliana Casso placed first in the distance swim, she took second in the run-swim-run and the swim relay took third. In the B category, which is 12- and 13-year-olds, Stephen Anthony took 18th in the distance run and earned a spot at the National Junior Lifeguards competition August 10 in Huntington Beach. Isabel Casso was part of the swim relay team that took first. She also placed third in two individual events, the run-swim-run and the distance swim. A first-place finish in the paddle board relay was made a reality because of the strong leg from Benjamin Lewenstein, who also took 12th in the run-swim-run and 18th in the distance swim. Teammate Trevor McGaughey took 11th in the distance swim and his swim relay took fifth. Will Rogers guard Alex Pekelis sprinted to take sixth overall in the beach flags competition. The United States Lifesaving Association Junior Lifeguard Nationals will be held on Thursday, August 10th in Huntington Beach. According to a Junior Lifeguard handout, a national team tryout will most likely be held on Friday, July 28 at Dockweiler Beach. Those interested should contact their JG instructor for more information.
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