Team Hawai'i Aloha Surf Lifesaving placed third in the B Chapter of the United States Lifesaving Association National Championships last weekend at Huntington Beach, Calif.

More than 1,000 lifeguards from around the country participated in the three-day event. The lifeguards compete in various ocean-related races, including swimming, paddleboarding, surfski paddling and beach running.

The Aloha Surf Lifesaving team featured 15 lifeguards from O'ahu.

"We had a small team compared to some of the others, but we still came up with our best placing," team captain Matthew DuBrule said.

Smith Point (New York) won the B Chapter for smaller teams with 140.5 points. Boca Raton (Florida) was second with 130, followed by Aloha Surf Lifesaving.

Los Angeles County dominated the A Chapter for larger teams.

According to DuBrule, Hawai'i scored most of its points in the seniors (ages 30 and older) and masters (40 and older) divisions.

Among the Hawai'i competitors winning gold medals were Dolan Eversole (ironman, ages 35-39), Chris Miller (paddleboard, ages 40-44), Matthew Higgins (surfski, ages 50-54), Sean Monahan (surfski, ages 35-39) and Andrew Penny (surfski, ages 30-34).

Other key contributors to the Hawai'i effort included DuBrule, Mike Fox, John Flanagan, Kaiea Mowat and Jamie Mitchell.

"Some of the other teams had Olympic swimmers, so that tells you a little bit about the caliber of athletes there," Fox said. "I think for the size of our team, we had a great showing."

Hawai'i's Erik Barnes received praise from DuBrule for placing fourth in the American Ironman race. Barnes is the only Hawai'i competitor ever to enter the American Ironman race, which is a medley of running, swimming, paddleboarding, and surfboat paddling.

Surfboats — also called Dory boats — are like big rowboats, and are rarely used in Hawai'i.

"We don't have them here to practice with, so what Erik (Barnes) did was pretty special," DuBrule said.

DuBrule said the Hawai'i team was hurt by not having any female lifeguards on its roster.

"The girls can get just as many points as the guys, but we couldn't find any who could make the trip," he said.

DuBrule said several companies sponsored the Hawai'i lifeguards, including Maui Jim Sunglasses, Patagonia, Reactor Watches, Hawai'i Modular Space and the Outrigger Duke Kahanamoku Foundation.

Reach Dayton Morinaga at dmorinaga@honoluluadvertiser.com.