Men's crew wins four races at 15th annual Marietta Invitational
Pioneers edge out Grand Valley to take gold in Varsity 8+

April 4, 2009
MARIETTA, Ohio — The Marietta College men rowed to victory in four of its six events to highlight the Pioneer Navy’s performance at its 15th annual Marietta Invitational Saturday (April 4) on the Muskingum River. 11 crews descended on the Lindamood-Van Voorhis Boathouse for the Pioneers’ lone home regatta of the season, making it the largest event in the history of the Invitational. [Complete Results]

Head Coach Chris Pucella’s team competed in six events in front of the home crowd. Marietta earned first place finishes in the Varsity 8+, Varsity 2-, Freshman 8+ and Freshman 4+ as well as a second place finish in the Junior Varsity 8+ and a third place finish in the Varsity 4+.

Marietta’s Varsity 8+, which sat sophomore stroke Devin Turley (Herndon, Va./Westfield), freshman James Smith (Atlantic City, N.J./Holy Spirit), senior Mitch Paskawych (Marietta), sophomore Zach McGurk (Alexandria, Va./Bishop O'Connell), junior John Porter (Potomac, Md./Walt Whitman), sophomore Daniel Bratton (Philadelphia, Pa./Roman Catholic), Andrew Hazelrigg (Orlando, Fla./Olympia), junior bow Mike Flanagan (Absecon, N.J./Holy Spirit) and sophomore coxswain Thomas Dougherty (Lansdowne, Pa./Monsignor Bonner), capped off a great day of racing with a narrow win in the final event of the regatta. The Pioneers, who won their morning heat in 5:17.50, beat Grand Valley State to the line by .66 seconds in the Grand Final to claim the victory. Marietta finished in 5:23.00, while Grand Valley was second with a time of 5:23.66. North Carolina placed third after crossing in 5:44.81.

Marietta’s Freshman 8+, which featured stroke Tim Shields (Seaville, N.J./St. Augustine Prep.), Sean McKenna (Blue Bell, Pa./La Salle), Steven Williamson (Moon Township, Pa./Central Catholic), Brian Timlin (Aston, Pa./Sun Valley), Patrick Cleveland (New Canaan, Conn.), Ben Charley (Pittsburgh, Pa./Winchester Thurston), Drew Schulte (Parma/St. Ignatius), bow Matt Newsome (Petersburg, N.J./Ocean City) and coxswain Kendra Canter (Marietta), continued their early season success with a first place finish in its final. The Pioneers, who took second in their opening heat after finishing in 5:13.82, beat their three opponents to the line in the afternoon final. Marietta covered the course in 5:31.86. North Carolina was second after crossing the line in 5:32.70. Grand Valley took third with a time of 5:33.77.

The Pioneers’ Varsity 2-, which featured Turley and McGurk, combined to win its event after covering the course in 5:48.0. Cincinnati, who crossed in 5:55.56, was second, while Penn State, who finished in 6:14.62, placed third.

Marietta’s Freshman 4+ swept its races on Saturday. Stroke Schulte, James Inks (McDonald, Pa./Seton-La Salle), Robert Hune-Kalter (Marietta), bow John Chester (Petersburg, N.J./Ocean City) and coxswain Tyler Stay (Bethel Park, Pa.) held off Cincinnati to win its heat by finishing in 6:18.07. The Pioneers then won the final after they crossed the line in 6:05.8. Grand Valley, which won the other heat, took second in the final with a time of 6:14.64.

The Junior Varsity 8+, which sat freshman stroke Ethan Shoemaker (Westerville/North), freshman Jim Furl (Marietta), freshman Charles Jordan (Bay Shore, N.J./St. Anthony's), junior Steven Little (Seattle, Wash./Bishop Blanchet), freshman Richie Fredericks (Seaville, N.J./Ocean City), sophomore Zach Mateja (King of Prussia, Pa./Upper Merion), sophomore Gregory Clair (Pittsburgh, Pa./Central Catholic), sophomore bow Michael Cute (Philadelphia, Pa./Roman Catholic) and coxswain Stay, placed runner-up in its final only race. The Pioneers finished in 5:35.02, behind winner Grand Valley, which finished in 5:29.08.

Marietta’s Varsity 4+ rowed to a third place finish in its event, which was an 11-boat time trial. Stroke Paskawych, Smith, Hazelrigg, bow Flanagan and coxswain Dougherty finished in 5:52, just behind the time of first place Grand Valley “A” (5:46) and Penn State “A” (5:50).