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Charlotte Amalie
Thursday, March 28, 2024
HomeNewsArchivesDolphins Ocean Swim Draws More than 100 Participants

Dolphins Ocean Swim Draws More than 100 Participants

Swimmers round the final turn of the race and head for the finish line at Rainbow Beach.With the blow of a conch, 125 swimmers leapt of the Frederiksted pier Saturday morning at the 9th Annual Dolphins Sea Swim, a mile race that attracted swimmers from all ages and skill levels, including St. Croix Chief of Police Christopher Howell, who was competing in his first race since being shot in the line of duty in August.

Race organizer Cinthia Sanes said interest in the race was overwhelming.

“We have a lot of locals that are participating this year. We’re very excited,” she said. “Yesterday at 5 p.m., I still had people calling" to register.

Before the race, she and a small army of volunteers were busy getting Rainbow Beach ready to receive the finishers. A column of bright yellow cones led up from the water, directing racers through an arch of balloons that served as the finish line. From the supports of the refreshment tent, signs were taped up advertising the local businesses that sponsored the race.

“This is one of our biggest fundraisers,” Sanes explained.

On the pier, swimmers began amassing around 10:30 a.m. There were several adults and even a good number of seniors, but the majority of the crowd was made up of teenagers, both from St. Croix and abroad. A large team from Puerto Rico had made the trip and were being hosted in the homes of some of the Dolphins swim team parents.

Jamair Washshah, a member of the Dolphins, said the yearly swim was a great chance to meet swimmers from other places. She said she has become good friends with many of the Puerto Rican swimmers, and had gotten to know the coaches of some of the college swim teams that fly down every year.

Asked if she had started lobbying them for a scholarship, she laughed and said, “I’m thinking about it.”

Washshah said probably the best part of the race was getting out of the pool and seeing more than just tile while swimming.

Sheelagh Fromer, a local swimmer competing in the over-50 category, seconded that opinion. Fromer is an avid open water swimmer and has competed in the event since it started.

“I’ve seen lots of stuff on this swim. Dolphins, turtles,” she said, then after a pause, “Sharks.”

No one seemed overly concerned about getting eaten alive, however. When the warning horn blew, everyone lined up immediately, their toes gripping the edge of the pier. Then came the sound of the conch and they were off to the races.

A flotilla of kayaks kept watch over the racers as they swam north up the shoreline. The pack quickly spread out as the professional swimmers distanced themselves from the amateurs competing in the fins and snorkel category.

The leaders cut a beeline to Rainbow beach. After 22 minutes of stroking through the water, the competition came down to a foot race on the sand. Zak Westerberg and Victor Gaud came out of the water simultaneously and stumbled up the beach for the finish line. Gaud fell, giving Westerberg an open lane to the finish line, which he dove across head first, landing face down in the sand.

Zak Westerberg of New Jersey climbs out of the ocean, lurches across the sand, then throws himself headfirst at the finish line, which he crossed first. (Justin Shatwell photos)

Westerberg, a senior at Montclair State University in New Jersey, said he was surprised the race came down to that final strip of sand.

“I didn’t even know what place I was in. I just knew that I would really be upset if I let someone beat me at the end like that,” he said.

Westerberg competed in the race last year, finishing 19th. He said he worked as a lifeguard over the summer in New Jersey, so he’d been able to log a lot of hours swimming in open water. He’d also learned how to keep his footing in the sand.

“Sometimes the land is your friend,” he joked. “You can run a lot faster than you can swim.”

After the race, the swimmers relaxed on Rainbow Beach and enjoyed a barbeque hosted by the Dolphins. A large contingent of police officers were on hand, not for security, but to cheer on Chief Howell as he crossed the finish line.

Despite being shot in the arm less than a year ago, Howell finished strong and barely seemed fatigued when he came out of the water. Howell said it felt great to be racing again and that he had been eager to start training as soon as he could after being wounded.

“I wanted to get back in the pool even before everything had sealed up, and [the doctors] were like, ‘No!’” he said. “I think they viewed it as me being impatient about it, and I guess I was.”

He said he trained as much as he could after getting the medical green light, focusing on running to restore his endurance. He said he was rehabbing his arm everyday but was still about a year from returning to full strength.

“It’s a process. I don’t think it goes nearly as fast as anybody would want, but you just gotta stay with it and have faith in the people working on you,” he said. “A lot of it is up to you too. You can’t lay down and pretend it’s going to get better on it’s own.”

The results follow.

Overall Male Winners:
1. Zak Westerberg, 22:48
2. Victor Gaud, 22:50
3. Matthew Mays 22:52

Overall Female Winners:
1. Gabriela Oquendo, 24:50
2. Katie LaCava, 25:08
3. Jamaris Washshah, 25:32

Female 12 and under
1. Jelena Vialet, 29:59
2. Genesis Izquierdo, 35:36
3. Hannah Tonin, 45:46

Male 13-17
1. Victor Gaud, 22:50
2. Matthew Mays, 22:52
3. Jean Carlo Pantojas, 22:54

Female 13-17
1. Gabriela Oquendo, 24:50
2. Jamaris Washshah, 25:32
3. Ginady Martinez, 25:50

Male 18-25
1. Zak Westerberg, 22:48
2. Mike Smith, 22:55
3. Ramon Luis Delleguas, 23:05

Female 18-25
1. Katie LaCava, 25:08
2. Caylee Watson, 25:32
3. Kelsie Donahue, 26:06

Male 26-49
1. Brent Mays, 26:03
2. Arland Macasieb, 28:10
3. Derick Luikens, 30:56

Female 26-49
1. Jennifer Andrews, 29:37
2. Catherine Milton, 29:53
3. Kate Miller, 33:31

Male 50 and over
1. Scott Fricks, 33:23
2. Wayne Nichols, 34:10
3. Williams Thomas, 36:39

Female 50 and over
1. Carol Fricks, 34:18
2. Sheelah Fromer, 35:04
3. Janice Williams, 47:14

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