Marietta men win five medals at Mayor's Cup
Pioneers back in action against Purdue on March 28

March 14, 2009
TAMPA, Fla. — The Marietta College men’s rowing program officially began its quest for a 2009 Dad Vail Championship on Saturday (March 14) when the Pioneer Navy earned five medals at the second annual Mayor’s Cup. The Stewards Foundation, Inc., organized the 1,500m event, which took place on the Seddon Channel. [Results]

Head Coach Chris Pucella and his squad sent six boats to the start line at the Mayor’s Cup, a Varsity 8+, Varsity 4+, Junior Varsity 4+, Junior Varsity 8+ and a pair of Freshmen 8+ shells.

The Varsity 8+, which sat sophomore stroke Devin Turley (Herndon, Va./Westfield), junior Mike Flanagan (Absecon, N.J./Holy Spirit), senior Mitch Paskawych (Marietta), sophomore Zach McGurk (Alexandria, Va./Bishop O'Connell), junior John Porter (Potomac, Md./Walt Whitman), junior Steven Little (Seattle, Wash./Bishop Blanchet), Andrew Hazelrigg (Orlando, Fla./Olympia), freshman bow James Smith (Atlantic City, N.J./Holy Spirit) and sophomore coxswain Thomas Dougherty (Lansdowne, Pa./Monsignor Bonner), placed third in its final with a time of 4:16.48. Temple (Pa.) won the race after beating the other four boats to the line in 4:09.90. Jacksonville (Fla.) beat out Marietta in the final 500m to take runner-up after finishing in 4:12.54. Temple took third Jacksonville was fourth at the 2008 Dad Vail Championship. Emory (Ga.) (4:24.28) and Florida (4:25.34) rounded out the finishers in the Varsity 8+.

Earlier in the day, members of the Varsity 8+ combined to race in the Varsity 4+. Stroke Turley, McGurk, Paskawych, bow Flanagan and coxswain Dougherty earned a silver medal in the event after finishing behind Jacksonville, which crossed the line in 4:34.10. The Pioneers covered the course in 4:37.76. Stetson (Fla.) took third with a time of 4:44.05. Emory (4:49.91), Florida (4:55.83) and Tennessee at Chattanooga (4:59.53) followed.

Marietta’s Junior Varsity 4+, all sophomores, took fourth place in its event. Stroke Daniel Bratton (Philadelphia, Pa./Roman Catholic), Zach Mateja (King of Prussia, Pa./Upper Merion), Gregory Clair (Pittsburgh, Pa./Central Catholic), bow Michael Cute (Philadelphia, Pa./Roman Catholic) and coxswain Dougherty rowed a time of 4:51:51. Jacksonville, which finished in 4:37.10, won the race, while Temple, which finished in 4:38.77, and Emory, which finished in 4:46.18, took second and third, respectively.

In the Freshman 8+, the Pioneers placed first and second in the finals. Marietta “A”, which sat stroke Patrick Cleveland (New Canaan, Conn.), Ben Charley (Pittsburgh, Pa./Winchester Thurston), Steven Williamson (Moon Township, Pa./Central Catholic), Brian Timlin (Aston, Pa./Sun Valley), Drew Schulte (Parma/St. Ignatius), Jim Furl (Marietta), Ethan Shoemaker (Westerville/North), bow Sean McKenna (Blue Bell, Pa./La Salle) and coxswain Kendra Canter (Marietta), claimed gold after rowing the course in 4:11.30. Marietta “B”, which featured stroke Tim Shields (Seaville, N.J./St. Augustine Prep.), James Inks (McDonald, Pa./Seton-La Salle), Richie Fredericks (Seaville, N.J./Ocean City), James Smith (Atlantic City, N.J./Holy Spirit), Robert Hune-Kalter (Marietta), Adam Null (Parkersburg, W.Va.), Charles Jordan (Bay Shore, N.J./St. Anthony's), bow John Chester (Petersburg, N.J./Ocean City) and coxswain Tyler Stay (Bethel Park, Pa.) chased its shell of teammates to the line in 4:15.58. Jacksonville was a distant third, finishing in 4:24.73, while Tennessee at Chattanooga (4:33.62) and Emory (4:49.99) followed in fourth and fifth, respectively.

After a short break, Marietta Freshmen 8+ “A” competed in the Junior Varsity 8+ and earned a bronze medal. Temple won the race in 4:10.70 and Jacksonville placed second in 4:16.65. Emory, which finished in 4:40.91, took fourth.

Marietta rowing is back in action on Saturday (March 28) when it competes against rival Purdue in the Challenge Cup. This year’s battle will take place in Indianapolis, Ind.