The Buzzards Bay Coalition held its 22^nd annual Buzzards Bay Swim on Saturday morning with 248 participants traversing the 1.2-mile course from New Bedford to Fort Phoenix Beach State Reservation in Fairhaven.

This year swimmers raised more than $100,000 to help the Coalition’s ongoing work to protect Buzzards Bay and preserve clean water.

Max Medina of Marion has been part of the fundraiser for at least six years.

“It’s a great organization and a great way to help the community,” he said.

Medina and friends Jonathan Mariner, also of Marion, and Robert Stringfellow of Foxborough swam as team “Washed Up,” coming in first place in the team category and winning the Wheeler Watershed Challenge Cup with a time of 26:51.

The 19-year-old college student said his sisters were the first ones to participate in the swim.

“That was a big part of leading me into it,” he said.

Medina's high school swimming career also played a part, but for this race, he admitted that he didn't do much training in the water.

“It was definitely tough," he said. “I can honestly say I haven’t swum that far of a distance. It was pretty cold.”

The cool spring season meant the water was still chilly, but it didn’t stop the swimmers, who came from 19 states and ranged in age from 12 to 75.

“The Buzzards Bay Swim is a fantastic celebration of clean water in our community,” said Coalition President Mark Rasmussen. “The fact that nearly two hundred and fifty swimmers came out this morning to swim across New Bedford Harbor – one of the biggest Swims in twenty-two years – shows how important our local waters are to people here on Buzzards Bay.”

Other tri-town residents involved in the swim included Tony Williams of Rochester who also works for the Coalition. Williams wasn't a swimmer this time around, but did challenge his co-worker Brendan Annett to a surf and turf race. While Williams, an avid runner, hit the pavement, Annett took to the water to see who would reach Fort Phoenix's shore first.

Annett won, but only by a close 10 seconds.

Regarding fundraising, Bill Muldoon of Mattapoisett who has participated in the swim for several years, was a top fundraiser this year, coming in third place with $2,003.

The overall winners are as follows:

Lukas Williams of Scottsdale, Ariz. was the top finisher, completing the course in 21 minutes and 36 seconds. Alex Gallant, 18, of Lakeville came in second with a time of 22 minutes and 3 seconds. In third place was Henry Keegan, 14, of Needham with a time of 22 minutes and 48 seconds. The Wheeler Watershed Challenge Cup for the fastest team went to Team Freetown/Lakeville (Brett Pacheco of New Bedford, Jaren Hawxwell of Berkley and Andrea Newman of Attleboro) with an average team time of 29 minutes and 56 seconds.

The Quicks Awards for the fastest boys youth team went to Apponequet Regional High School (Alex Gallant, 18, of Lakeville, Joshua Beck, 18, of Lakeville and Nicholas Graca, 17, of East Freetown) with an average team time of 23 minutes and 21 seconds. The fastest girls youth team was Metrowest Aquatic Club (Riley Correll, 14, of Dover, Caroline Body, 18, of Dover and Kate Okun, 15, of Wellesley) with an average team time of 30 minutes and 38 seconds. The two teams will each bring a $500 prize back to their school or swim club.

Steve Johnson of Tiverton, Rhode Island was the top fundraiser this year, raising $2,625. Christine Parks of Fairhaven raised $2,220 and Bill Muldoon of Mattapoisett raised $2,003. In addition to the top individual fundraisers, the Red Dory Restaurant of Tiverton was the top fundraising team with a total of $3,595.

Fundraising for the swim continues until July 15. To donate and see the complete results of the swim, visit www.savebuzzardsbay.org/swim.