Perhaps one day, Long Beach Island again will send a team to the U.S. Lifesaving Association National Lifeguard Championships. For now, LBI guards can team up with their brothers and sisters in Monmouth County, which sends a sizable squad every year.

For this year’s national tournament in Hermosa Beach, Calif., contested Aug. 11-13, Barnegat Light Beach Patrol’s Lenny Brown, Hugh Shields and Maddie Cooke made the cross-country trip to compete with the crew from Monmouth, and each fared well in…