PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania — The Marietta College men's rowing team entered four shells in the 2022 Jefferson Dad Vail Regatta. The Pioneers raced a varsity heavyweight eight, a junior varsity heavyweight eight, a men's varsity heavyweight four and a single.
Both eights finished in the level two final, as did the single. Marietta won the JV eight second level final, placed second in the varsity eight and fourth in the single second level finals. The Pioneer four raced in the third level final and placed fifth.
"Across the board, the team raced hard, with some really impressive results … it's just not quite enough, given the level of competition we are facing," Marietta head coach
Greg Myhr said. "We're knocking at the door, but no one is going to just invite us in. We need to step back across the threshold and join the other perennial finalists. It's time."
The varsity eight crew managed to avoid the afternoon repechage with a top-three finish in the morning heats on Friday. Drexel won the heat, followed by Delaware. The Pioneers finished nearly two seconds ahead of Minnesota in third place.
Another top-three finish in the semifinals would earn Marietta a spot in the Grand Final. However, the Pioneers were not able to catch Delaware and finished fourth, 1.3 seconds back, landing in the second level final.
Jacksonville (5:43.334) won the final crossing the line less than three seconds ahead of Marietta (5:46.072). Rutgers (5:51.772) was third, followed by Minnesota (5:54.736), Stetson (5:55.050) and West Point (6:07.994).
"The semifinal was a really good race, so much better than Friday's run, and wildly frustrating," Myhr said. "It was right there for the taking and we just didn't quite reach out when we could have."
The junior varsity eight division was a heats to final event with two heats and no repechage or semifinals. Marietta needed a top-three finish to earn a spot in the Grand Final. "Facing Temple, St. Joe's and GW we knew it would be a tough heat, but thought we had a chance to get it done," Myhr said.
The top three crews pulled away from the Pioneers as Marietta finished fourth in the heat and advanced into the second level final. MC won the final finishing in 5:55.852) ahead of Delaware (5:56.528) and Minnesota (6:11.838).
"The final was fantastic. Delaware jumped out to an early lead, but we kept chipping away at it," Myhr said. "We moved back in to a half-length by the 1K mark and it seemed like we couldn't get much more traction. Then, in the last 100 meters, we got them."
The varsity four lineup featured three freshmen and one sophomore. The Pioneers placed fourth in the morning heats forcing them into the afternoon repechage. A second place showing in the reps advanced Marietta into the A/B semifinal.
After placing fifth in the semis, Marietta was slotted into the third level final. Washington College (6:35.663) won the final, followed by Grand Valley (6:51.753), St. Joseph's (6:53.169), Georgia Tech (6:53.467), Marietta (6:53.797), and Pittsburgh (7:04.787).
Senior
Gregorio Puntarelli (Houston, Texas/Memorial) maned the single for Marietta. He placed fourth in the heats advancing into the A/B semifinal. A fourth-place finish in the semis put Puntarelli in the second level final where he placed fourth.
"We've trained quite a bit in singles over the past two years," Myhr said. "While I don't envision us making the single a top priority, I can certainly see us becoming more competitive in this event as we spend more time training in the small boats."
The Pioneers will close out the season at the Intercollegiate Rowing Association Championships in New Jersey on June 3-5.
Results
Men's Varsity Heavyweight 8+
Heats
1. Drexel (5:33.058), 2. Delaware (5:37.848), 3. Marietta (5:46.036), 4. Minnesota (5:47.816), 5. Villanova (6:29.582)
Semis
1. Temple (5:37.284), 2. Colgate (5:39.808), 3. Delaware (5:44.210), 4. Marietta (5:45.552), 5. Rutgers (6:01.624), 6. West Point (6:12.146)
Final 2
1. Jacksonville (5:43.334), 2. Marietta (5:46.072), 3. Rutgers (5:51.772), 4. Minnesota (5:54.736), 5. Stetson (5:55.050, 6. West Point (6:07.994)
Coxswain:
Duncan Fraser (Cleveland, Ohio/Saint Ignatius), Stroke:
William Hoffman (Brigantine, N.J./Holy Spirit), 7:
Joseph Madrid (Mineral Wells, W.Va./Parkersburg South), 6:
George Riffle (San Diego, Calif./Point Loma), 5:
Drayton Piper (Roswell, Ga./Roswell), 4:
John Saunders (Buffalo, N.Y./Olmsted), 3:
Dylan Dalpedri (Spring, Texas/The Woodlands), 2:
Kade Hennacy (Columbus, Ohio/Upper Arlington), Bow:
Tyler Heldt (Tampa, Fla./Steinbrenner)
Men's JV Heavyweight 8+
Heats
1. Temple (5:43.249), 2. St. Josephs (5:46.449), 3. George Washington (5:48.721), 4. Marietta (5:58.153)
Final 2
1. Marietta (5:55.852), 2. Delaware (5:56.528), 3. Minnesota (6:11.838)
Coxswain:
Natalia Facchinato-Sitja (Washington, D.C./Woodrow Wilson), Stroke:
Brett McGettigan (Ventnor City, N.J./Holy Spirit), 7:
Jonathan McWhite (Bellingham, Mass./Bromfield), 6:
Matthew Rought (Mason, Ohio/Mason), 5:
Liam Sherman (Chicago, Ill.), 4:
Anthony Calandra (Nokomis, Fla.), 3:
Edmund Lynch (Marietta, Ga./Walton), 2:
Patrick Watson (Sarasota, Fla./Out-of-Door Academy), Bow:
Colby Pasour (Lincolnton, N.C./Highland)
Men's Varsity Heavyweight 4+
Heats
1. Florida Tech (6:26.136), 2. West Point (6:42.332), 3. Grand Valley (6:49.330), 4. Marietta (6:58.268)
Repechage
1. Grand Valley (6:54.116), 2. Marietta (6:56.962), 3. Case Western (7:01.854)
Semis
1. Florida Tech (6:17.127), 2. La Salle (6:18.933), 3. Lafayette (6:39.319), 4. West Point (6:49.073), 5. Marietta (6:56.465), 6. Grand Valley (6:58.881)
Final 3
1. Washington College (6:35.663), 2. Grand Valley (6:51.753), 3. St. Josephs (6:53.169), 4. Georgia Tech (6:53.467), 5. Marietta (6:53.797), 6. Pittsburgh (7:04.787)
Coxswain:
Lara Coghlan (Dayton, Ohio/Centerville), Stroke:
Brian Bonifas (Rocky River, Ohio), 3:
Adam Sarhan (Egg Harbor Twp., N.J.), 2:
Christian Schulitz (Pittsford, N.Y.), Bow:
Evan Saribalas (New Albany, Ohio/New Albany)
Men's Open Collegiate 1x — Gregoria Puntarelli
Heats
1. Rhode Island (7:19.221), 2. Stetson (7:25.591, 3. Clarkson (7:27.371), 4. Marietta (7:39.673), American (7:40.853)
Semis
1. Georgia Tech (7:12.670), 2. Rhode Island (7:20.206), 3. Grand Valley (7:50.754), 4. Marietta (8:11.964)
Final 2
1. Clarkson (7:31.045), 2. Detroit Boat Club (7:32.199), 3. Stetson (7:56.171), 4. Marietta (8:01.127)
