Late push by Cornell leaves Marietta pair with a silver medal at the 2005 IRA National Championships

June 4 , 2005
CAMDEN, NJ – In one of the closest finishes of this weekend's 2005 Intercollegiate Rowing Association (IRA) National Championships, the difference between a gold and silver medal in the men's pair race came down to less than half a second.

The Pioneer Navy led for every stroke on the Copper River Saturday (June 4) but the last, as Cornell put together a late push to sneak past the duo of seniors Chuck Gowdy (Atlantic City, NJ/Holy Spirit) and Rob Johnson (Margate, NJ/Atlantic City) and win the gold medal. Marietta finished with the silver.

"It was a great race," said former Pioneer rower Joe Palmer, who was at the event with the two athletes this weekend. "This really shows the success of MC's program and the hard work of Head Coach John Bancheri and the guys."

The Grand Final proved to be a two-boat race down the stretch. Cornell, who also won the event in 2004, finished with a time of 7:05.82. Marietta (7:06.06) crossed the finish line two strokes later. Rochester (7:14.94) took the bronze medal, while Florida Tech (7:18.54), Georgia Tech (7:22.38) and Princeton (7:23.95) rounded out the top six.
 
"It was a tough race," remarked Gowdy. "Cornell proved they were the faster crew, but I'm glad we had the opportunity to race with the best colleges in the country. I'd also like to thank Coach Bancheri for pushing our team to our limits and making us better athletes."

Marietta advanced to the championship by winning its opening heat on Thursday (June 2) morning. It is the second straight season in which the Pioneers took home a medal; Matt Henwood and Matt Henderson won the bronze medal a year ago.
 
"We put the best of Marietta against the country and we came two strokes short," added Johnson. "It was disappointing, but Chuck and I fought through the whole race. It's been a good four years and this is a great note to leave on."

This concludes the season for the Pioneer Navy. The men will look to build upon the successful season to make bigger waves in 2005-06.