Pioneer Navy's Varsity Eight tops six crews at 13th annual Marietta Invitational
Junior Varsity Eight and Freshmen/Novice Four both place second

March 31, 2007
MARIETTA, Ohio — The Pioneer Navy made the only stop at home on its schedule Saturday (March 31) afternoon, when it hosted six men's crews for the 13th annual Marietta Invitational on the Muskingum River. Bucknell, Mercyhurst, Cincinnati, North Park, Ohio and Dayton battled a strong current to participate in the event, which did not have men's competition a year ago.

Marietta's Varsity Eight, which featured senior Zach Stimart (McLean, Va.) at bow, senior Jon Carlon (Winter Park, Fla.) in seat two, senior Chase Graham (Mineral Wells, W.Va./Parkersburg South) in seat three, sophomore Mitch Paskawych (Marietta) in seat four, sophomore Andrew Norris (Dublin/Dublin Scioto) in seat five, senior Mike Ross (Fairport, N.Y.) in seat six, senior Eric Dowler (Washington, W.Va./Parkersburg South) in seat seven, senior Chuck Geyer (Springfield, Va./West Springfield) at stroke and sophomore Lydia Easterling (Tallmadge) at coxswain, cruised to a victory in its opening heat, finishing with a time of 5:11.10. Mercyhurst (5:21.27) was second and Ohio (5:38.19) third. Dayton (5:10.96) won heat two, while Bucknell (5:12.40) finished second and Cincinnati (5:13.14) took third.

The opening heats set up a four-boat Grand Final between Marietta, Dayton, Bucknell and Mercyhurst. The Pioneer Navy (4:44.18) won the race, while Dayton (4:50.77) placed second, Mercyhurst (4:57.10) took third and Bucknell (5:03.50) was fourth. Cincinnati (5:12.75) defeated Ohio (5:28.34) in the Petite Final.

Marietta's Junior Varsity Eight, which featured freshman Mike Cress (Ventnor, N.J./Holy Spirit) at bow, sophomore Craig Ripski (Claymont, DE/Concord) in seat two, freshman Steven Little (Seattle, Wash./Bishop Blanchet) in seat three, freshman John Porter (Potomac, Md./Walk Whitman) in seat four, freshman Kevin Wessler (Port Republic, N.J./Holy Spirit) in seat five, freshman Andrew Hazelrigg (Orlando, Fla./Olympia) in seat six, freshman Mike Flanagan (Absecan, N.J./Holy Spirit) in seat seven, sophomore Austin McIntire (Parkersburg, W. Va./South) at stroke and freshman Rita McCoy (Lansdowne, Pa./Archbishop Prendergast) at coxswain, tested themselves on the course first. Mercyhurst's Lightweight (5:01.10) won the race, Marietta (5:09.33) took second and Bucknell's Lightweight (5:20.02) placed third.

The Pioneer Navy also took second place in a five-boat Freshmen/Novice Four race. The shell, which included Cress at bow, freshman Matt Wilson (Johnstown, Pa./Westmont Hilltop) in seat two, Wessler in seat three, Porter at stroke and freshman Ester St. Clair (Coshocton/River View) at coxswain, finished in 5:35.18. Cincinnati (5:26.71) won the race, while Dayton - B (5:53.80), Dayton - A (5:53.81) and North Park (6:08.12) finished third, fourth and fifth, respectively.

Marietta had three shells in the Varsity Pair, which was the final race of the day for the men. Graham and Geyer (5:24.06) placed second behind Mercyhurst (5:17.84), while McIntire and Little (5:36.62) were third and Flanagan and Hazelrigg (5:50.30) placed fourth. Cincinnati (6:04.46) was fifth.

Marietta is back in action April 6-7, when it travels to Washington D.C. for the George Washington Invitational, which will be raced on the Potomac River.