CHERRY HILL, New Jersey — The Marietta College men's rowing team advanced three crews into the Grand Finals and came away with one gold medal at the Dad Vail Regatta Saturday (May 10).

The Pioneers finished sixth in the Open Varsity 8+ Grand Final. Marietta's second and third varsity eights both competed in the Club/Division III race and the Navy Blue and White finished first and sixth in the Grand Final.

The gold medal was Marietta's 40th Dad Vail gold and first since winning the Freshman/Novice Heavyweight 8+ gold in 2012.

"In the open varsity eight, we went from taking last in the Petite Final (12th overall) a year ago to taking 6th in today's Grand Final. There was no doubt we were the underdogs in this final, and our guys went after it hard," Marietta head coach Greg Myhr said. "We're excited to see what additional speed we can generate as we prepare for the IRA National Championships at the end of the month."

Marietta turned in the sixth fastest time during the morning time trial on Friday. In the afternoon semifinal, the Pioneers placed third earning a spot in the Grand Final. LaSalle won the semifinal with a time of 5:44.359 with Drexel (5:50.043) and Marietta (5:54.103) in second and third.

In Saturday's Grand Final, Temple claimed the gold medal with a time of 5:37.711), followed by LaSalle (5:38.073), Drexel (5:47.483), St. Joseph's (5:50.453), Stetson (5:58.571), and Marietta (6:03.877).

"Our guys raced with an enviable mix of aggression and composure. They took the body blows Fordham threw at them all the way down the course, and pressed ahead for the win," Myhr said. "Today was fantastic racing in a really tough field which included our B Boat, coming in 6th."

The Marietta A crew had the fastest time in the morning time trial, while the Marietta B boar was fifth. Both Pioneer crews ended up in the same semifinal and finished first and third to earn spots in the Grand Final. Marietta A won the semi with a time of 6:11.996, with Boston College A (6:20.808) and Marietta B (6:22.176) close behind.

In the Grand Final, Marietta A edged Fordham at the line for the gold medal. The Pioneers posted a winning time of 5:59.786, less than one second ahead of Fordham (6:00.398). Army (6:12.456) placed third, followed by Rhode Island (6;14.994), Boston College A (6:16.348), and Marietta B (6:22.294).

Marietta will close out the 2025 season at the Intercollegiate Rowing Association Championships May 30-31 in Cherry Hill.

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 X and Instagram.


Results
Open Varsity 8+

Grand Final
1. Temple (5:37.711), 2. LaSalle (5:38.073), 3. Drexel (5:47.483), 4. St. Joseph's (5:50.453), 5. Stetson (5:58.571), 6. Marietta (6:03.877)

Semifinal
1. LaSalle (5:44.359), 2. Drexel (5:50.043), 3. Marietta (5:54.103), 4. Jacksonville (5:55.919), 5. Loyola (5:58.459), 6. Western Ontario (6:00.059)

Time Trial
1. Temple (5:31.704), 2. Drexel (5:34.016), 3. LaSalle (5:36.948), 4. St. Joseph's (5:37.786), 5. Marist (5:42.638), 6. Marietta (5:42.916), 7. Western Ontario (5:43.162), 8. Delaware (5:43.282), 9. Colgate (5:43.440), 10. Loyola (5:43.904), 11. Jacksonville (5:46.128), 12. Stetson (5:48.080), 13. Florida Tech (5:56.368), 14. Fairfield (6:05.406)

Marietta: coxswain: Declan Garrett (Old Greenwich, Conn./Greenwich), stroke: Nik Simone (Ocean City, N.J./Ocean City), 7: Benjamin Harper (Westerville, Ohio/Westerville South), 6: Nicholas Pachete (Monroeville, Pa./Central Catholic), 5: Rowan Streaker (Kensington, Md./Walter Johnson), 4: Michael Swale (Vienna, Va./James Madison), 3: Nicolas Invernizzi (Lambare, Paraguay/Colegio Cristo Rey), 2: Alexander Cathcart (Nyack, N.Y./Nyack), bow: Carson Jones (Spring, Texas/Providence Classical School)


Club/D3 Varsity 8+

Grand Final
1. Marietta A (5:59.786), 2. Fordham (6:00.398), 3. Army (6:12.456), 4. Rhode Island (6:14.994), 5. Boston College (6:16.348), 6. Marietta B (6:22.294)

Semifinal
1. Marietta A (6:11.996), 2. Boston College A (6:20.808), 3. Marietta B (6:22.176), 4. Villanova A (6:32.128), 5. Villanova B (6:39.214), 6. Boston College B (6:42.796)

Time Trial
1. Marietta A (5:53.504), 2. Fordham (6:00.580), 3. Rhode Island (6:05.106), 4. Boston College A (6:05.136), 5. Marietta B (6:06.296), 6. Army (6:08.370), 7. Central Florida (6:13.428), 8. Boston College B (6:16.416), 9. Villanova A (6:17.184), 10. Maryland (6:25.970), 11. Rochester Tech (6:26.192), 12. Villanova B (6:36.624)

Marietta A: coxswain: Bryce West (Zanesville, Ohio/West Muskingum), stroke: Liam Sherman (Chicago, Ill./Lake View), 7: Jacob Salvo (Pittsburgh, Pa./Mt. Lebanon), 6: Kyle Rucker (Dublin, Ohio/Dublin Coffman), 5: Graysen Brady (Washington, D.C./Woodrow Wilson), 4: Ryan Campbell (Hopewell Junction, N.Y./John Jat), 3: Nikolas Passarella (Leesburg, Va./Riverside), 2: Rowan Schulde (Litchfield, Conn./Litchfield), bow: Nicholas Sarno (Brigantine, N.J./Holy Spirit)

Marietta B: coxswain: Connor Rothandler (Burke, Va./Robinson), stroke: Christian Schulitz (Pittsford, N.Y./Pittsford Mendon), 7: Story Rufener (Cincinnati, Ohio/Cincinnati Country Day), 6: Gary Rought (Mason, Ohio/William Mason), 5: Aiden Gatland (Xenia, Ohio/Dayton Regional STEM), 4: Adam Sarhan (Egg Harbor Twp., N.J./Egg Harbor Township), 3: Brian Bonifas (Rocky River, Ohio/St. Ignatius), 2: Anthony Calandra (Nokomis, Fla./), bow: Zach Kirla (Deep River, Conn./Valley Regional)