Pioneer Navy sweeps Challenge on the Canal
Marietta wins four events at first race of the 2008 fall season

Oct. 4, 2008
GENEVA, N.Y. — The Marietta College men’s rowing team opened its 2008 fall racing season by sweeping all four of the Pioneer Navy’s events at the Challenge on the Canal, hosted by Hobart and William Smith College, on the Seneca-Cayuga Canal Saturday (Oct. 4). The Pioneers, led by Head Coach Chris Pucella, captured first place in the varsity eight, varsity four and freshmen four races, as well as first and second place in the freshmen eight head races.

Marietta’s varsity eight, which featured senior stroke Mitch Paskawych (Marietta), freshman James Smith (Atlantic City, N.J./Holy Spirit), sophomore Devin Turley (Herndon, Va./Westfield), sophomore Zach McGurk (Alexandria, Va./Bishop O'Connell), freshman Ethan Shoemaker (Westerville/North), sophomore Daniel Bratton (Philadelphia, Pa./Roman Catholic), junior Andrew Hazelrigg (Orlando, Fla./Olympia), junior bow Mike Flanagan (Absecon, N.J./Holy Spirit) and sophomore coxswain Thomas Dougherty (Lansdowne, Pa./Monsignor Bonner), beat Rochester (N.Y.) to the line by one second in the eight-boat field. The Pioneers finished in 14:47. Rochester came across the line in 14:48, while Hobart took third after completing the course in 14:50 and Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) placed fourth with a time of 14:51.

The Pioneer Navy’s varsity four, which sat Paskawych at stroke, then McGurk and Hazelrigg with Flanagan at bow and Dougherty at coxswain, picked up a four-second win in its race, which featured 18 boats.. Rochester, who was rowing a straight four (without a coxswain), finished second, while a pair of Hobart boats took third and fourth.

“This was a great start to our fall season,” said Pucella. “We were able to hold a lower stroke rate than the rest of the field in both varsity events and still came out on top. This provides a lot of room for us to pick up speed as we progress throughout the fall.”

Marietta’s freshmen four took the top placement in its first collegiate race, defeating St. Lawrence by two seconds, as well as 12 other shells. Coach Adam Cottrell's shell featured stroke Patrick Cleveland (New Canaan, Conn.), Sean McKenna (Blue Bell, Pa./LaSalle), Steve Williamson (Moon Township, Pa./Central Catholic), bow Jim Furl (Marietta) and coxswain Sam Ellis (West Grove, Pa./St. Mark's).

The Pioneers’ freshmen eights then followed each other through the line in first and second place, ahead of four other crews, to complete the sweep against the predominately NCAA Division III competition. Marietta's first eight sat stroke Williamson, Smith, Cleveland, Ben Charley (Pittsburgh, Pa./Winchester Thurston), Charles Jordan (Bay Shore, N.Y./St. Anthony's), McKenna, Drew Schulte (Parma/St. Ignatius), bow Henry Richard Fredericks (Seaville, N.J./Ocean City) and coxswain Ellis. The Pioneers' second eight featured stroke Shoemaker, Furl, Matthew Newsome (Petersburg, N.J./Ocean City), James Inks (McDonald, Pa./Seton LaSalle), Robert Katler (Marietta), Brian Timlin (Aston, Pa./Sun Valley), Tim Shields (Seaville, N.J./St. Augustine), bow John Chester (Petersburg, N.J./Ocean City), and coxswain Tyler Stay (Bethel Park, Pa.).

"The freshmen looked comfortable on the water today," said Cottrell. "We were also able to keep a lower stroke rate than our competitors and still put together solid times. We will continue to build up that rate over the next few weeks as we prepare for our next race"

Marietta will face many of the same schools again on Sunday (Oct. 12) when the Pioneer Navy’s varsity team travels to Rochester, N.Y., for the Head of the Genesee. The freshmen will then make the trek to Charlottesville, Va., on Nov. 1 to compete against an assortment of crews at the Virginia Invitational.