By Kevin Howe
Monterey County Herald
MONTEREY, Calif. — A Monterey High School student credited with rescuing two swimmers off Del Monte State Beach on Sunday is a competitive swimmer and water polo player.
His conditioning and experience made it possible for Luke Phillips, 18, to save two lives, said Monterey police Officer Adam Costa.
The incident occurred shortly before 4 p.m. when Phillips and two friends were body surfing off Del Monte.
A 15-year-old boy and 20-year-old man swimming about 25 yards from them called out for help when they became caught in a rip current, Costa said.
Phillips rescued the teenager first.
“I heard him yelling in the water for help, so I went,” he said. “I swam over and got his neck but he hit his head in the water (after being knocked down by a wave) as he walked ashore.”
The other swimmer continued to be pulled out to sea, and Phillips swam out to rescue him. Costa said the man was about 75 to 100 yards offshore by that time.
“I started pulling him against the rip current that was taking him farther out,” Phillips said. “He’d go under and pop up. I pulled him up under his arm but he tumbled in a wave and I lost him.”
Phillips and the man were in the surf line and Phillips swam ashore, told those on the beach to call 911, and then grabbed a boogie board and swam back out, Costa said.
By the time he was heading out into the water, Phillips said, the man had been washed up to shore and was able to wade in with assistance from him and his companions.
“He was wobbling, so I helped him sit down and a paramedic came to help him,” Phillips said.
By the time police, firefighters and state lifeguards had arrived at the beach, Costa said, the two victims were out of the water. The 15-year-old was complaining of a neck injury from being tumbled in a wave, and the 20-year-old was vomiting seawater, he said.
“Based on the condition of the two,” Costa said, “it’s very clear that had Luke not gone out and helped them, the outcome of the incident could have been tragic.”
He also noted that Phillips has had extensive training and experience in open ocean water distance swimming and is in top condition.
“He’s an athlete, not just a swimmer, who has trained regularly and is an avid, competitive swimmer,” Costa said.
“Even with all that, when I asked him if he was tired, he said he was very tired.”
Anyone with less training and conditioning, Costa said, should think twice before attempting such a rescue.
“Most of the time when someone goes in to rescue another, we end up with two victims instead of one. If an average citizen had tried this, we’d have had three victims.”
Phillips was an All-American high school swimmer in his sophomore and junior year, is a certified lifeguard and completed the 1.25-mile Alcatraz Island swim, among other accomplishments, Costa said.
Phillips said his main concentration is team swimming in high school and with the Seaside Aquatic Club, but “I play water polo for the fun of it.”
He said he is hoping to obtain an athletic scholarship for college.
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