Palm Beach County Ocean Rescue Wins First Place at USLA Regionals
 
The Palm Beach County Ocean Rescue Team (PBCOR) placed first place at the 2018 United States Lifesaving Association Southeast Regional Championships. The competition was held at Flagler Beach and was attended by 22 beach patrol teams with some of the best ocean athletes in the United States.
Palm Beach County Ocean Rescue was supported by 16 competitors who volunteered their time and resources to represent the County and included: Lieutenant Chase Robertson, Kim Robertson, Jessica Ventura, Lead Guard Tiffany Lacasse-Johnson, Lieutenant Phil Harris, Chase Harris, Matt Lynskey, Tracey Matuszko, Lieutenant Dan Barnickel, Russ Gehweiler, Jessie Stevens, Training Officer Steve Kaes, Kira Shoemaker, Mitchell Irwin, Hanna Forrest and Lex May.
PBCOR strives to recruit the most talented full-time lifeguards in the southeast region of the nation, and placing first in this competition will help further this prestige by attracting more top tier athletes.
The USLA Championship consists of 10 individual events including surf swim, paddleboard, surf ski, singles surf boat, beach flags, iron guard, ironman/woman, American ironman/woman, run swim run, and 2k beach. The six team events consist of doubles surf boat and paddleboard rescue, 4X100 run relay, line pull rescue, surf rescue, and Taplin relay.
The highest overall scorer for Palm Beach County was Lieutenant Chase Robertson with 89.5 points, who also placed in 12/12 events he competed in and won first place in 9/12 events.  Jessica Ventura was the highest overall female point scorer for Palm Beach County with a total of 64 points and competed in a total of 18 events placing first in age group surf swim, board race, surf ski, international iron woman, run swim paddle and run swim run. Tiffany Lacasse-Johnson was the second highest overall female point scorer for Palm Beach County with a total point score of 60.7 from a total of 20 events. Senior Guard Lieutenant Phil Harris returned this year to compete in seven events. Highlights were winning first place in the age group run-swim-run, and 2nd place in surf swim, board race, 2k beach run, and beach flags. His daughter, Chase Harris, who swam for FIU and recently graduated proudly competed alongside her dad finishing 6th in the highly competitive open women’s swim.
Senior Guard and Training Officer Steve Kaes was there to compete and his guidance and help were invaluable to all the competitors before, during and after the event. For years he captained the Competition Team and our success this year was accomplished on the foundation Steve Kaes and other senior guards have built over the years.
Remember to swim near a lifeguard when you visit one of the many beautiful beaches in Palm Beach County. Congratulations to PBCOR, and thank you for keeping our kids safe!
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