When Chris Pucella was hired to take over the Marietta College men’s crew program in the spring of 2005, he knew that he would soon be in charge of one of the top small-school crews in the nation.

After some quick research, Pucella, the fifth Pioneer coach since 1959, got a glimpse into the program’s storied history. He found out that Marietta’s Varsity 8 (V8) won the inaugural Dad Vail race in 1934, the first of five gold medals for the school in its biggest race of the season. The Pioneers, who are one of only two original schools—Manhattan being the other—that still attend the Dad Vails, also won the event in 1939, 1963, 1966 and 1967.

What also stuck in Pucella’s mind was that the Pioneer Navy had gone 38 years without capturing the gold medal at Dad Vails. When first interviewed, Pucella, who spent the previous two years as an assistant coach with Central Florida, was quoted as saying: “My goal is to continue the development of Marietta rowing as one of the best programs in the nation. The ultimate goal remains the same, to win the V8 at Dad Vails on a consistent basis.” It did not take Pucella long to end the streak as he guided the 2006 V8 to that elusive gold medal. Marietta also made the finals in 2007 and finished fourth.

Looking back, Pucella is still very proud how his men were able to come together to row such a great race and bring back a Dad Vail gold for all of the alumni, family and friends of Pioneer Rowing.

Pucella has devoted himself to developing the program to a level where it remains a consistent force at the Dad Vail. Marietta’s V8 has won a medal at the event in five of the last six years and he intends to keep that trend alive in the years to come. Pucella also looks to build the medal count of the Freshmen 8 (F8) and develop a consistent Lightweight program.

Before his time at UCF, Pucella was the men’s head coach at Edgewater High School in Orlando, Fla. Pucella’s Varsity 8 won the gold medal and his JV 8 took the bronze at the 2002 Florida State Championships.

Pucella also served three years as the head coach of the West Side Rowing Club in Buffalo, N.Y. During his tenure, the West Side rowers were among the best in the state and never placed a boat lower than third.

As a rower, Pucella has won medals from the Dad Vails, Royal Canadian Henley and U.S. Nationals. Pucella was awarded a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science in 1997 and a Masters of Education in 2002—both from the University of Buffalo.

Pucella and his wife, Tanya, live in Marietta. Tanya is the Director of Civic Engagement and an assistant professor of Leadership Studies in Marietta College’s McDonough Leadership Program.

(740) 376-4587
jps001@marietta.edu

JP Sekulich
Assistant Coach

John Paul Sekulich begins his second year as the assistant men’s crew coach at Marietta.

Sekulich spent the previous four seasons coaching the freshman crew at St. Ignatius College Preparatory (SI) in San Francisco, Calif. Under his tutelage, the Frosh 8s excelled at the Southwest Regional Championships—earning gold in 2003 and 2004, silver in 2005 and a fourth place finish in a tight field of racing in 2006. His athletes continued to produce results on the varsity level, helping to make SI one of the nation’s premier programs. 

As an athlete at SI, Sekulich stroked the JV8 to a state title in 1995. In 1997, he rowed 6-seat in the Varsity 8 that won the San Diego Crew Classic, Southwest Regional Championship and USRowing Junior Invitational National Championship. He was voted the Most Inspirational Rower in 1994 and 1997.

Sekulich continued to row in college at the University of California, Berkeley, where he won two California Collegiate State Championships, as stroke in the Frosh 4+ in 1998 and 2-seat in the JV8 in 1999.

In 2005-06, Sekulich coached a master’s swim team in Burlingame, Calif., providing training sessions for swimmers of all levels, from true beginners to elite-level triathletes and former Olympians. Some of his own swimming accomplishments include swims from Alcatraz to San Francisco and across the Golden Gate Bridge from San Francisco to Marin.