COLUMBUS, Ohio — High waters on the Muskingum River forced a change of venue for the 62nd annual Marietta/Purdue Challenge Cup Sunday (April 8) morning. The annual duel was moved to Griggs Reservoir in Columbus.
Purdue took the Cup back from Marietta with a nearly eight second win in the varsity 8+ race. The Boilermakers crossed the line in 5:56.22, while the Pioneers finished in 6:04.15.
Marietta's varsity 8+ lineup included coxswain
Chrissy Billingsley (Marietta, Ohio/Marietta),
Angelo Leitner-Wise (Alexandria, Va./TC Williams) in the stroke seat,
William Hooper (Reston, Va./Tabor Academy),
Michael Shrader (Clarence Center, N.Y./Clarence),
George Riffle (San Diego, Calif./Point Loma),
Brooks Spires (Sebastian, Fla./Sebastian River),
Scott Cressman (Philadelphia, Pa./Father Judge),
Evan Odom (Vista, Calif./Rancho Buena Vista) and
Ethan Schafhausen (Westerville, Ohio/Westerville Central) in the bow.
Purdue made it a sweep with a win in the second varsity 8+ race as well. Purdue posted a time of 6:15.05 with the Navy Blue and White recording a time of 6:32.86.
The Pioneer second varsity 8+ lineup featured coxswain
Georgia Majka (Ocean View, N.J./Ocean City), stroke
Chris Metz (Cincinnati, Ohio/Indian Hill),
Joe Tucker (Grand Rapids, Mich./Forest Hills Northern),
William Rafferty (Moorestown, N.J./),
Martin Hall (Toney, Ala./Home Schooled),
Richey Puntarelli (Marietta, Ohio/),
Josh Loudon (Streetsboro, Ohio/),
Cameron Short (Hilliard, Ohio/Hilliard Davidson) and
Samuel Rojas (Bronx, N.Y./) in the bow.
In the afternoon, Marietta took the water against Ohio State University. The Pioneer varsity 8+ crew defeated the Buckeyes by 6.5 seconds. Marietta finished the 2,000-meter course in 6:03.64, while Ohio State crossed in 6:10.12.
The Buckeye's freshman 8+ shell edged Marietta's second varsity 8+ boat by nearly five seconds. Ohio State posted a time of 6:28.67 and the Pioneers finished in 6:33.42.
The final race of the day was a mixture of boats. Marietta's second varsity 4+ crew won the race with a time of 6:51.73. Next across the line was a pair from Ohio State (7:02.48) followed by OSU's novice 4+ (7:04.95) and OSU's second varsity 4+ boat (7:06.66).
Marietta's second varsity 4+ crew included Billingsley at coxswain, Metz in the stroke seat, Tucker, Rafferty and Hall in the bow.
Marietta is back on the water next Saturday (April 14) at the Kerr Cup Regatta in Philadelphia.
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.
