CLEVELAND, Ohio — The Marietta College men's rowing team opened the fall racing season with a dominating performance at the Head of the Cuyahoga. The Pioneers took first place in three of the four events they entered; and head coach
Greg Myhr even won the men's masters single division.
"It was good racing today. We finished first in all the events we entered," Myhr said. "The guys raced hard and carried themselves well. We have lots to do, but it's nice to start the season on solid footing. We had tons of tremendous support from our parents. It was really unbelievable and incredibly helpful in our efforts."
William Hoffman (Brigantine, N.J./Holy Spirit) started the day with a first-place finish in the men's open singles. Hoffman posted a time of 19:00.1, three seconds ahead of former Pioneer
Joseph Madrid (Mineral Wells, W.Va./Parkersburg South) (19:03.6).
Kade Hennacy (Columbus, Ohio/Upper Arlington) (19:34.6) was fifth,
Patrick Watson (Sarasota, Fla./Out-of-Door Academy) (19:57.1) was eighth,
Liam Sherman (Chicago, Ill./) (20:19.3) placed tenth,
Gregorio Puntarelli (Houston, Texas/Memorial) (20:28.4) eleventh,
Gavin Marshall (Westerville, Ohio) (20:40.0) twelfth,
Anthony Calandra (Nokomis, Fla./) (21:10.8) was fourteenth.
In the men's open novice four, Marietta crushed the field winning by over 30 seconds. The Pioneers posted a winning time of 18:24.8 with Ohio State (18:56.3) in second.
The novice four lineup included coxswain
Declan Garrett (Old Greenwich, Conn./), stroke
Benjamin Harper (Westerville, Ohio),
Zach Silvers (Ormond Beach, Fla.),
Jason Keck (Hilliard, Ohio) and
Zach Kirla (Deep River, Conn.) in the bow.
The men's open eights were next on the water and the Pioneers crossed the line in 15:33.7 five seconds ahead of Adrian (15:39.4).
The varsity eight crew included coxswain
Duncan Fraser (Cleveland, Ohio/Saint Ignatius), Hoffman in the stroke seat, Hennacy, Puntarelli,
Gavin Marshall (Westerville, Ohio), Watson,
John Saunders (Buffalo, N.Y./Olmsted), Calandra and Sherman in the bow.
Marietta entered three shells in the men's open four and all three crews placed in the top seven. Greater Columbus won the race with a time of 17:06.6. Marietta's "B" entrant took second with a time of 17:19.3. The Pioneers' "C" crew placed fifth with a time of 17:58.3 and the "A" shell placed seventh with a time of 19:06.4.
The "A" lineup featured coxswain Garrett, Harper at stroke, Silvers, Keck and Kirla in the bow.
Marietta's "B" crew included coxswain Fraser, Hennacy in the stroke position, Puntarelli, Marshall and Hoffman in the bow.
The "C" lineup included coxswain
Natalia Facchinato-Sitja (Washington, D.C./Woodrow Wilson), Calandra at stroke, Saunders, Watson and Sherman in the bow.
Marietta is off until Saturday (Oct. 15) when the Pioneers are hosting the Head of the Muskingum.
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.
