Cleveland – On Saturday September 19th, the Cleveland Rowing Foundation hosted its annual Head of the Cuyahoga. This regatta, considered to be one of the most difficult courses in the country, includes 3 ninety degree turns in approximately 4500 meters of the Cuyahoga River. The John Carroll University Rowing Team started the season with high expectations even with only a few short weeks of practice.
The Men’s Novice Four of Shawn Cain, Cley Morgan, Anthony Miano, Matt Knestrick, and coxswain Kate Schafer set the team standards high by posting an impressive 2nd place with a time of 15:44. The team earned the top college time for novices.
The JCU Women’s Open Novice Eight was the lone entry in this category as novice eights are tough to field due to the difficulty of getting 8 new rowers ready to row in less than two weeks. However, the boat of Genna Losinski, Steph Fair, Lauren Penkola, Cathleen Morris, Connie DiBacco, Cassie Jaksic, Karen Stetner and Brittany Thompson made their rowing debut and completed their first race.
Next, the Women’s Open Four, considered one of the tougher events of the day, proved to be difficult for the Blue Streak women. Maddy Culbertson, Kayla Salomone, Megan Hamlin, Sarah Horan, and coxswain Lauren Brock took 5th out of 8 boats with a time 16:35. The race consisted of the top four women of the better crew teams at this regatta, and the four JCU sophomore girls were unable to edge their rivals from Case Western University who placed ahead of them.
A silver medal was earned by the Women’s Open Eight, which consisted of the Women Open Four plus Lauren Brock, Connie DiBacco, and novices Lauren Penkola and Steph Fair. The crew toppled Cleveland State’s girls eight by 20 seconds but was overmatched by a strong crew from Three River Rowing Club.
Finally, the Men’s Open Four, which was the same boat as the novice four with the substitution of Devin Eicher at 3 seat, held their own and showed the makings of a promising young crew. The team of mostly novices was able to earn a 5th place finish out of 14 boats. To top it off, the JCU men put on a show in front of the spectator village by passing Case Western University’s A boat.
The JCU Rowing Team travels to Pittsburgh for the Head of the Ohio in two weeks.