Lightweight Eight victory highlights Marietta's sweep at Bill Braxton Memorial Regatta
Marietta retains Bill Braxton Cup for third straight season

Nov. 12, 2006
PHILADELPHIA, Pa. — There is no better way for a rower to finish his fall season that to do it with a victory. Thanks to a trio of wins at Sunday (Nov. 12) afternoon's Bill Braxton Memorial Regatta, the Marietta College men's team will head into its winter training riding a wave of momentum from a successful weekend on the Schuylkill River in Philadelphia, Pa. [Results]

Fresh off a solid day of racing Saturday at the Frostbite Regatta, the Pioneer Navy rolled to victories in the Freshmen Eight, Intermediate Four and Lightweight Eight at the Braxton, which has special meaning to the Marietta College program.

The last regatta of the fall season on the Schuylkill, the Bill Braxton Memorial Regatta was founded by the Braxton family and friends to honor the memory of Bill Braxton, Jr., a popular and highly-motivated lightweight rower that attended Marietta College. In 1972, the Marietta Lightweight Eight, in which Braxton rowed bow seat, finished second in the Dad Vail Regatta. The following year, with Braxton rowing seven seat, the Marietta Lightweight Eight went undefeated during the season and won the Dad Vail championship. Braxton was killed later that summer in an auto accident.

The Braxton Regatta, originally sponsored by Crescent Boat Club, moved to the Philadelphia Girls' Rowing Club in the 1980s. The Braxton family and many of Bill Jr.'s friends remain involved in the regatta to this day.

Marietta's Lightweight Eight entered having won the race in honor of Braxton in each of the last two years and easily made it a third with a 15-second victory in Sunday's featured race. The shell, which included stroke Jon Carlon (Winter Park, Fla.), Eric Dowler (Washington, W.Va./Parkersburg South), Mitch Paskawych (Marietta), Zach Stimart (McLean, Va.), Andrew Hazelrigg (Orlando, Fla./Olympia), Mike Flanigan (Absecan, N.J./Holy Spirit), Thomas Gray (Boulder, Colo.), bow David Dojcsak (Orlando, Fla./Olympia) and coxswain Lydia Easterling (Tallmadge), finished the race in 4:14.53.

Just like yesterday, Binghamton (4:30.62) finished second to the Pioneers. Ithaca (4:40.32) placed third.

The Pioneer Navy's Intermediate Four was able to squeak out a close victory over the competition in its race. Marietta, which sat stroke Chuck Geyer (Springfield, Va./West), Andrew Norris (Dublin/Dublin Scioto), Craig Ripski (Claymont, Del./Concord), bow Chase Graham (Mineral Wells, W.Va./Parkersburg South) and coxswain Ester St. Clair (Coshocton/River View), crossed the line in 4:51.12. Ithaca (4:53.05) took second and Loyola (4:53.22) third.

The Pioneers' Freshmen Eight, which included stroke Hazelrigg, Steve Little (Seattle, Wash./Bishop Blanchet), John Porter (Potomac, Md./Walt Whitman), Kevin Wessler (Port Republic, N.J./Holy Spirit), Matt Wilson (Johnsontown, Pa./Westmont Hilltop), Flanigan, Mike Cress (Ventor, N.J./Holy Spirit), bow Dojcsak and coxswain Rita McCoy (Lansdowne, Pa./Archbishop Prendergast), rebounded from a fourth place finish on Saturday to win its race on Sunday. The Pioneers (4:33.63) defeated a pair of Ithaca boats as well as two other teams.

This completes the fall season for the Pioneers. Marietta will open the spring at the FIT Invitational on March 17 in Palm Bay, Fla.