Prep crew notebook

Woodbridge High School saw two of its boats take home silver medals and narrowly miss gold, while Forest Park had a boat advance to the grand finals this past weekend at the Scholastic Rowing Association of America’s National Regatta at Lake Mercer, New Jersey.

The Vikings’ first varsity four continued its outstanding season despite being beaten for the first time. Manhasset High School from New York outpaced Woodbridge’s four of stroke Tyler Dawson, Matt Doody, Val Stutz and J. C. Fisher, and coxswain Katie Garrity by just two seconds. In addition, the boat beat Bonner, the school which edged them out for the gold at Stotesbury the previous weekend, for the silver medal by nearly eight seconds. Despite narrowly missing the gold, the boat completed a tremendous season as the crew was unbeaten during the regular season and then took gold at the Virginia Scholastic Rowing Championships.

Dawson, who will row for the University of Wisconsin next fall, and Garrity, who will attend the University of Washington, will each be part of successful rowing programs in college. The Woodbridge boat had the lead for the first 500 meters before Manhasset pulled even in the final 150 meters.

According to coach Mike Malak, the Manhasset crew told the Woodbridge crew they “had never been in as hard a race as that final.”

“These two crews first met last year at the Stotesbury Regatta and have developed a strong respect and friendship for each other,” Malak said.

Woodbridge’s junior double of stroke Allison Mayberry and bow Katherine Changes lost to Ridgewood (New Jersey) by five seconds, but finished 10 seconds ahead of third-place Montclair. Considering the Vikings rowed in unfamiliar waters, while Ridgewood, Manhasset from Long Island, and Bonner each were rowing on a lake they were familiar with, the Vikings’ finishes were much more remarkable. The Woodbridge duo had edged Ridgewood by five seconds in their semifinal heat.

Changes, who had endured shoulder tendonitis for much of the season, and Mayberry were two of Woodbridge’s most talented and successful rowers of the season and their finale capped a season that saw them forge strong chemistry on the water. The two rowed for the Junior National Development camp earlier this year and figure to return next year to defend their gold at the Virginia Scholastic Rowing Championships.

Woodbridge’s girls’ junior four of stroke Elisabeth Couch, Kristina Janitschek, Catherine Tallman, bow Kelly Mitchell, and coxswain Britt Schaufele missed qualifying for the finals by one second. The Vikings’ boys’ lightweight eight also missed the finals by six seconds, but its time of 4:59.1 was better than any Virginia school, including Great Bridge and Lake Braddock. The lineup of stroke Austin Squyres, Roland Dean, Brad Jones, Nic McCullough, Dan Schrei, Aaron Bish, Jacob Callahan, bow Brian Hetrick, and coxswain Brennan Kemp, features one senior, two juniors, and six sophomores.

Forest Park’s quad of stroke Ciera Mead, Caitlin Bryant, Nina Quigley, and bow Kaitlyn Ostrum made the senior quad finals, but finished sixth. Last year, Mead and Bryant were part of a boat that won a gold at nationals, but Forest Park coach Gretchen Thompson said the quad was still happy to have made the finals.

“We knocked out the third-place Stotesbury boat just to reach the finals, so that alone is a victory,” Thompson said. “(In the same finals race) the sixth place Stotesbury boat finished second, so it was a race of upsets. It was an honor for our boat to qualify for Nationals, so to make a final was almost overwhelming.”

Thompson noted Mead, the Potomac News and Messenger’s Rower of the Year last season, and Quigley will return next year, but both Bryant and Ostrum plan to take a year off before resuming their college careers. Bryant, who will attend the Naval Academy in 2010, will attend a prep school in Boston next year, according to Thompson, while Ostrum, the Bruins’ prom queen who will also deliver the commencement address at Forest Park’s upcoming graduation, changed her original plans.

“Kaitlyn had planned on attending the University of Vermont, where they don’t have a rowing program, but she is rethinking that decision and may take a year off from school,” Thompson said. “She wants to go to Russia and teach children English. She is a strong student (of Russian) and plans to return to Virginia in 2010 and continue her college studies.”

Thompson also noted the final race for the successful quad was cause for emotion.

“The foursome have so much respect for each other, their work ethic alone set them apart from other crews,” Thompson said. “Nina and Ciera knew what was on the line as well as what it meant to their senior boatmates. They are perfectionists, always seeking more, (always asking) how can we be faster, stronger, better rowers. They are true Forest Park Bruin champions, even if they didn’t win at Nationals, and we are proud of them.”

Hylton’s first varsity four of Drew Casebere, Peter Booker, Cameron Brengelman, Matt Mengel, and Jasmil Perez advanced to the semifinals in the Senior Four category, but could get no further. Woodbridge’s girls’ light four of stroke Olivia Twyman, Kara Pohlmeier, Beth Matusiewicz, bow Sarah Jane Powell, and coxswain Megan Burks did not qualify for the semifinals.