Melott a feel-good story in crew

Regardless of what happens in a couple weeks at the Virginia Scholastic Rowing Championships, Hylton coxswain Megan Melott is already a winner on a couple fronts.

First, the junior who coxes the Bulldogs’ light four, is a survivor of bone cancer which afflicted her at age six. Melott estimates she has undergone 10 surgeries as a result of her diagnosis, but the cancer has not returned.

Second, Melott was recently chosen as a Distinguished Finalist for the state of Virginia in the Prudential Financial Spirit of the Community Awards Program.

Melott, who is also a member of the Nation’s Capital chapter of the Girl Scouts of America, led a team of volunteers that collected and recorded more than 100 books on tape for young cancer patients. Melott then distributed them to the pediatric oncology unit of Inova Fairfax Hospital.

“Seeing the smiles on the faces of the patients was really the reward,” Melott said. “I’ve been there (a cancer patient) and the books are great because most of the time when you are in the hospital you need a release and the parents can’t always stay to read to the patients. Most of the time,with the side effects, patients feel too sick to read themselves.”

Melott, who began scouting about a year after her cancer diagnosis, said she also received a Girl Scout Gold award, which is similar to Eagle Scout status for Boy Scouts.

Melott began rowing in her freshman year mainly because it was “one of the only sports I can participate in.” Melott has a metal implant in her leg that took the place of the bone, which limits her ability to run.

“The low impact nature of rowing, but using all the muscles, made rowing the perfect outlet for me,” Melott said. Melott credits Forest Park girls’ coach Gretchen Thompson, who was her coach for fall rowing during her freshman year, and Hylton coach Brian Tassi for giving her the “inspiration to become a coxswain and putting me in the best position to use my abilities.”

Melott said she aspires to be a cancer researcher and hopes to find a cure for cancer, but until then “I have dedicated myself to the care side, showing patients someone loves them and cares for them.”

Melott’s boat has already had its share of success this season, including winning the Light Four final at Saturday’s Al Urquia Regatta at Sandy Run Park. The boat, which edged Woodbridge by nearly two seconds, was stroked by Jill Williams, with Ali Casillas sitting third seat, Audrey Timmons in the two, and Melissa Bearden in bow. The Bulldogs finished with a time of 6:04.0.

Meanwhile, Hylton’s girls’ double finished second behind J.E.B. Stuart in the girls’ double final. Kelly Bogart and Victoria Lazor finished with a time of 6:18.5, about four seconds behind the winning boat.

Tassi said the Bulldogs have been working to perfect their sprint times in the final 250 meters of the race in recent practices.

“It really worked well, especially for those two boats,” Tassi said. “All of our boats have been coming along, but those two boats have really made steady progress. I would say we are in contention for a medal at states, but we don’t know what boats are coming from southern Virginia. A lot of the schools down there have good speed, so we will have to see how things play out.”

Saturday was a banner day for Hylton’s boys’ team as well as a couple of Forest Park’s and Woodbridge’s boats in what amounted to the final tuneup for varsity boats before the state regatta. Next Saturday’s Ted Phoenix Regatta will serve as the “championships” for novice boats.

The Bulldogs’ boys’ double of Scolaighe Goebert and William Cho finished third, while Hylton’s light four of Steven Scott, Andrew Kitzmiller, Seth Waylan, Eric Jara and coxswain Jasmil Perez finished third behind Woodbridge and South County.

In an uncontested race, Hylton’s first quad of David Drewett, Drew Casebere, Matt Mengel, and John Strang outraced teammates C. J. Fichten, Kevin Schall, Cameron Brengleman and Logan Meyer. The first quad notched a solid time of 5:00.2 in its last race before the state regatta.

Meanwhile, Forest Park’s girls’ quad, despite leading for most of the race, finished second behind McLean, losing by just 1.7 seconds. The Bruins’ top quad had faced McLean just one other time this season in the campaign’s opener, the Polar Bear Regatta.

In that race, the Bruins finished a whopping 34 seconds behind McLean.Thompson said the quartet of stroke Ciera Mead, Caitlyn Bryant, Alex Collins, and bow Becca Lee, which has been one of Forest Park’s most decorated boats this season, is working hard to make up the gap on McLean at the upcoming state meet.

Forest Park’s rowers will travel to Mathews this weekend for an intense tuneup to prepare for the state meet, Thompson said. Forest Park’s novice eights in both the boys’ and girls’ divisions won their races last week, giving Thompson much to cheer about.

Woodbridge’s boys’ varsity first four won its fifth consecutive race, edging Langley by nearly six seconds. The boat’s lineup consisted of stroke Tyler Dawson, Matt Doody, Val Stutz, bow J. C. Fisher, and coxswain Katie Garrity.

The Vikings’ varsity first eight placed third, just 2.1 seconds out of first. The boat’s lineup: stroke Laura Doody, Paula Coughlin, Allison Mayberry, Katherine Changes, Kaelynn Benedicto, Kristina Janitschek, Beth Couch, Catherine Tallman, and coxswain Danielle Woods.

In addition, Woodbridge’s boys’ and girls’ light fours each placed second in their races. The boys’ boat consisted of Tyler Powell, Alex Narro, Ed Medlin, bow Roland Dean and coxswain Jonas Habtermichael, while the girls’ lineup featured stroke Olivia Twyman, Ashley Biegun, Beth Matusiewicz, bow Sydney Talbot and coxswain Sarah Thomas.