2008 Pioneer Navy preview
Marietta looking to build foundation with youth-dominated squad

March 4, 2008
MARIETTA, Ohio — The goals for 2008 Marietta College men's rowing program remain the same as years past. The Pioneers will have Dad Vail gold on the mind each time they take the water. However, the Pioneer Navy will attempt to achieve them with a modified boat lineup due to its youth-dominated roster.

"The focus for the team this season has been to build a solid foundation from the bottom up," said third-year coach Chris Pucella. "Currently we have 15 freshmen (two are coxswains) as well as six returning athletes (five sophomores and one junior). We will be rowing both a Freshmen 8+ and Freshmen 4+ as well as a Varsity Heavyweight 4+ this spring, and I would expect all three boats to be pushing for medals the whole season."

While Marietta's traditional lineup centers around the Varsity Heavyweight 8+, the coaching transition that took place a few years ago resulted in a low turnout of freshmen and sophomores. As a result, that gap in the recruiting process has caused the 2008 squad to be without the large number of upperclassmen that usually anchor the program. Therefore, the team has recognized that its ability to develop young rowers together in freshmen boats will pay huge dividends for the traditional shell in the near future.

"In addition to our goal of winning Dad Vail and advancing to IRAs, we have a secondary goal of proving to the freshmen that they are fast enough to be able to help fill the V8 next year," Pucella said. "I am confident that they will be able to do this."

The development of the young squad began in the fall with solid performances at the Head of the Genesee, Head of the Hooch, Frostbite and Bill Braxton regattas. Coach Pucella is looking for that early success and the hard work turned in throughout the winter to translate into fast times and high finishes at each race this spring.

Junior Mitch Paskawych (Marietta) and sophomores Mike Flanagan (Absecon, N.J./Holy Spirit), Andrew Hazelrigg (Orlando, Fla./Olympia), Steven Little (Seattle, Wash./Bishop Blanchet) and John Porter (Potomac, Md./Walt Whitman) will team up with sophomore coxswain Rita McCoy (Lansdowne, Pa./Archbishop Prendergast) to make up the Varsity 4+ this spring. The majority of the upperclassmen are lightweights, but the shell will compete in the heavyweight division this spring. Each athlete knows what it takes to succeed at this level and all will be expected to lead the program both on and off the water this spring.

Freshmen Stephen Baranoski (Meriden, Conn./Xavier), Daniel Bratton (Philadelphia, Pa./Roman Catholic), Zach Burgess (Ashland), Nathan Capers (Orlando, Fla./Edgewater), William Charlton (New Vernon, N.J./Berkshire), Gregory Clair (Pittsburgh, Pa./Central Catholic), Michael Cute (Philadelphia, Pa./Roman Catholic), Duncan Hall (Marietta, Ga./Walton), Zach Mateja (King of Prussia, Pa./Upper Merion), Zach McGurk (Alexandria, Va./Bishop O'Connell), Daniel Mills (Fairport, N.Y.), Devin Turley (Herdon, Va./Westfield) and Niklas Von Kuczkowski (Hanover, Germany/Culver Military Academy) are all battling for a seat in either the Freshman 8+ or Freshman 4+, which will be led by freshmen coxswains Thomas Dougherty (Lansdowne, Pa./Monsignor Bonner) and Kristina Markman (Columbia, Md./Atholton), respectively. All have been through a full fall and winter of training and will now be asked to continue their maturity on the water this spring.

Marietta, who plans to practice on the water this week and has already gotten its oars wet a couple of time last week, will head down to Palm Bay, Florida, for a week of training beginning on March 7. Again, the Pioneers expect to approach the 200-250 goal in terms of kilometers rowed during the week on Canal 54.

Marietta will end the week by entering five boats into the Mayor’s Cup, which will take place on March 15 in downtown Tampa’s Seddon Channel. The Pioneer Navy will not only compete in the three events that it plans to concentrate on this season but also row in the Varsity 8+ and put a second boat in the Freshmen 4+. Competition will be fierce with Yale, Temple, Colgate, Jacksonville and Florida Institute of Technology expected to join Marietta in highlighting the participants.

"Coach JP (Sekulich) and I feel good about the training and development of the team and we look forward to seeing how we stack up against some of the best crews in the country," Pucella said.

The Mayor’s Cup is one of three races, the Marietta Invitational (March 29) and the Marietta/Purdue Challenge Cup (March 30) being the others, which allow athletes to compete in multiple events. Dayton and Buffalo (N.Y.) as well as a few other schools are expected to make their way to the Muskingum River for the Marietta Invitational this year.