CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — The Marietta College men's rowing team opened its fall racing season at the 54th annual Head of the Charles Regatta Sunday (Oct. 21) afternoon. The Pioneers competed in the Men's Collegiate Eight division and placed 23rd out of 35 boats in the race.

"The guys raced in very challenging conditions today and put their best foot forward," Marietta head coach Philip Schmehl said. "We know there is room for improvement, and will continue to gain speed as we progress through the heart of our fall racing season."

Michigan claimed the gold medal with a time of 15:58.108. Drexel took second with a time of 16:05.830, followed by MIT (16:05.842), Hobart (16:06.302) and Marist (16:13.064). The Pioneers posted a time of 17:31.938 in the annual head race.

Marietta's lineup included coxswain Chrissy Billingsley (Marietta, Ohio/Marietta), Chris Metz (Cincinnati, Ohio/Indian Hill) in the stroke position, Ethan Schafhausen (Westerville, Ohio/Westerville Central), Michael Shrader (Clarence Center, N.Y./Clarence), John Saunders (Buffalo, N.Y./Olmsted), Brooks Spires (Sebastian, Fla./Sebastian River), George Riffle (San Diego, Calif./Point Loma), Angelo Leitner-Wise (Alexandria, Va./TC Williams) and Evan Odom (Vista, Calif./Rancho Buena Vista) in the bow seat.

Established in 1965, the Head of the Charles is the world's largest two-day rowing event. More than 11,000 athletes from around the world compete in the regatta's various events.

The Pioneers return home to host the Muskie Chase on the Muskingum River next Saturday (Oct. 27).

Fans can follow all the Pioneer teams all year long at pioneers.marietta.edu. You can also follow the Pioneers on Facebook at facebook.com/MariettaCollege and @MariettaPioneer on Twitter and Instagram.