A teenage surfer saved two fisherman who were swept away by a massive wave in New Jersey.
Cooper Lysinger, 18, from Ocean City, is a first-year nursing major at Stockton University and a seasoned surfer who was participating in yet another surfing competition at Avalon Jetty in Avalon, New Jersey, on October 20.
While watching the rest of the contest from a spot on the beach after his own heat ended, a huge wave caught his eye – a wave that washed two fishermen over the jetty and into the treacherous waters down below.
‘I knew they were in danger,’ Lysinger told Need To Know. ‘My instincts took over and I sprinted down to the beach as fast as I could.’
The two men had been angling on a fishing jetty at the 8 Street Avalon fishing pier when they were swept into the surf.
Cooper Lysinger, 18, from Ocean City, New Jersey, saved two fisherman who were swept away by a massive wave after jumping into action with his surfboard
In the footage, Lysinger can be seen quickly paddling to the man who was clearly struggling to keep his head and arms above the water
As he approached the man, he was able to grab him and drag him onto the safety of his own surfboard
Heart-stopping footage captured by Jordan Geller, Lysinger’s teacher, showed the teenager bravely paddling toward one of the men who was clearly struggling to keep his head and arms above the water as the waves pummeled him.
As Lysinger paddled close to the man, another powerful wave washed over the two of them – submerging the fisherman under the water yet again.
‘I paddled out to one and as I approached I could see he was definitely flailing,’ Lysinger added. ‘I threw him on the board and let the waves take us in.’
As the teenager successfully pulled the fisherman onto the safety on his surfboard, other surfers began to make their way over to Lysinger in an attempt to help.
The second fisherman, although not seen in the footage, was rescued on the other side of the rocks.
If it weren’t for the heroic college student, the fishermen may have been met with a very different fate.
Lysinger is a first-year nursing major at Stockton University and a seasoned surfer
Other surfers were then seen in the footage paddling out toward Lysinger in an attempt to help
Lysinger noted how the man was quickly starting to sink because he was wearing waders that filled up with water
‘My guy needed to be rescued because he was wearing waders and they filled up with water,’ Lysinger said. ‘This made him sink and this also made it a lot harder to swim.’
But thankfully, both of the men were brought safely back to shore after the horrifying ordeal.
‘They were okay but seemed a bit rattled at what had happened,’ Lysinger added.
Lysinger, who regularly posts photos and videos of his surfing career on Instagram, shared the rescue video to his followers that has since garnered more than 20,000 views and 400 likes.
‘Absolutely wild rescue today during the contest at Avalon Jetty,’ he captioned the video. ‘Happy that the fisherman and everybody else involved was alright.’
‘Twas a fun day though!’ the caption continued. ‘Surfed 4 times, went to Wawa 4 times and completed approximately 4 statistics questions. Successful day with the homies.’
Fans took to the comments to applaud the 18-year-old boy on his bravery and ability to take quick action when danger was near.
‘We were on the beach last Sunday in Avalon when this happened. Quick response by those guys! Great work!’ one viewer wrote.
‘Superstar in all regards! Way to go Cooper!’ wrote another.
Lysinger’s mother, Lisa, even took to the comments, writing: ‘That’s my boy! I’m the proudest mama ever. He keeps surprising me at every turn. What a fantastic young man!’ which was accompanied by a red heart emoji.
This past October, Stockton University posted multiple Instagram photos of Lysinger and wrote in the caption that the teenager wakes up before dawn for study sessions in the ocean for his Science of Forecasting Waves class held at the university.
The post also noted that Lysinger chose to continue his education after high school and study nursing because he wanted a career that would allow him to help people.
After saving two lives, it seems that he’s already halfway toward his goal.
