Lifeguards in Lavallette were honored on Monday night for rescuing nearly two dozen kids from rip currents.

News 12 caught up with Lt. Joe Caucino, of the Lavallette Beach Patrol, ahead of the ceremony. He said in his 50-year career, this rescue was the biggest because of the sheer volume of victims.

"The children got washed into the run, off the sandbar, Caucino said.

Caucino was the head lifeguard on White Avenue Beach the afternoon of Aug. 11, when some 20 kids from the Lavallette Yacht Club sailing school got caught in a rip current while they were swimming. The children were between the ages of 8 and 12.

"A big set of waves came in and what happened is what we call in the industry ‘a washout,’" Caucino said.

This summer was Tristan Rodriguez's second summer serving as a lifeguard for the Lavallette Beach Patrol. He was one of the guards on the beach that afternoon.

"It was definitely a little frightening, but we do a lot of training to prepare ourselves for that moment and at that point, you just have to trust in your abilities and what you’re trained to do and kind of take action," Rodriguez said.

During Monday night’s borough council meeting, the lifeguards who answered the call that day were recognized for their heroic lifesaving actions - not just locally, but on the state level by state Assemblyman Paul Kanitra.

"First and foremost, I just want to thank you all for representing this town so incredibly well, this county so incredibly well and my legislative district so incredibly well," Kanitra said.

"It feels great. I wasn’t really expecting it, but it feels good," Rodriguez said.

Up and down the Jersey Shore this summer, lifeguards had their hands full pulling swimmers from the rough surf. In Lavallette, lifeguards counted 86 assists and 18 major rescues.

Caucino hopes that the recognition ceremony will aid in the fight to get lifeguards classified as first responders.

"Being designated first responders, I think, is something that lifeguards in the state of New Jersey should be. That’s way overdue," Caucino said.