I start the season with extremely high expectations. I hope that these rowers will be able to rise to the occasion. My worry is that the underclassmen are not yet physically and mentally prepared for the rigors of competition.
From The Ann Arbor News
Preps News
Crew teams run deep
Pioneer boys, girls squads will compete for top medals
Thursday, 8, 2004
BY KEVIN RYAN
News Sports Reporter
When he looks at the lineups, Michael Dove is in love with his Pioneer High School boys and girls crew teams.
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Both squads had superior seasons last fall, and he said they're shaping up to be his best teams this spring. Plus, he has more than 90 rowers from which to choose. They make up the largest combined program in his tenure.
He'll find out how good on April 17, when Pioneer and Huron begin their seasons on the Grand River in Grand Rapids.
"Last year in the spring, (our boys) were up and down, though we had a lot of successes," Dove said. "We're looking better this year. And on paper, this is by far the best girls team I've ever had."
In the fall season, which features longer race distances, his girls went undefeated. Their eight and four boats won against 25 high schools in Pittsburgh.
Now they expect to improve on last spring's fourth-place finish at the Canadian Secondary Schools Championship in St. Catharines, Ontario, he said.
"They're hoping to win it, actually," he said.
Huron's teams are in position to do better than last year, too.
Though the River Rats will have few, if any, boats in the senior divisions because of a lack of seniors, several of the boats in junior division (11th grade and younger) could excel.
The boys team, which consists of 22 rowers, will focus on qualifying its varsity four boat to the finals at St. Catharines, coach Dave Morrison said.
Here is a quick glance at each of the crew teams heading into the spring season:
HURON BOYS CREW
* Key rowers: George Slater (sr.), Greg Hall (jr., coxswain), Pete Friedewald (jr.), Dave Vanbolt (jr.).
* Comment/prognosis: Though 11 seniors graduated off last year's team, Morrison said this year's team is poised to do even better this season. The varsity four boat will include Pete Friedewald, Slater, Vanbolt and Hall.
HURON GIRLS CREW
* Key rowers: Marta Sylbia (jr., coxswain), Ellen King (so.), Casey Leonard (so.), Gerri Zhang (so.), Sarah Oas (so.), Julie Schulcz (fr.), Mia Vitullo (fr.), Caitlin Breakey (fr., coxswain).
* Comment/prognosis: Last year's senior girls four was the first Huron boat to medal at the Canadian Secondary Schools Championships in St. Catharines in Morrison's seven years as coach. This year, he says the girls novice eight and junior lightweight eight boats should stand out.
* Morrison says (about both his boys and girls teams): "We did well last year, and although we're younger this year, I'm looking for even more."
PIONEER BOYS CREW
* Key rowers: Zach Ringo-Kasotakis (stroke, sr.), Alex Hegyi (sr.), Andy Rivits (sr.), Ryan Bouchart (sr.), Jeff Nerenz (coxswain, sr.).
* Comment/prognosis: All five key rowers have been on the team all four years, and they are the core of what Dove calls one of his deepest boys teams yet. They won two gold medals in the fall season, and expect more consistency in the spring season compared to last year.
* Dove says: "They've given me the leadership that I expected, and it's made for a lot smoother sailing for us."
PIONEER GIRLS CREW
* Key rowers: Jessica Makolin (sr., stroke), Kate Burdick (sr.), Julia Blessing (sr.), Danielle Stempien (sr.), Jessy Meyerhoff (sr., coxswain).
* Comment/prognosis: The Pioneers went undefeated in the longer-distance fall season for the first time. Dove calls this year's team the best squad he's coached, with the girls senior eight and four boats standing out.
* Dove says: "This is by far the best team I've ever had. Whether it plays out that way, I don't know."
Grand Rapids Invitational Regatta Results
Saturday April 17, 2004
The Ann Arbor Pioneer High School Crew got off to a fine start of their Spring Season. On Saturday April 17, 2004 at the Grand Rapids Invitational Regatta the Pioneers entered 14 of 15 events scheduled. With heats held in the morning after a short delay because of thunder storms the Pioneer Crew advanced 12 crews to the afternoon finals. With some key rowers missing because of spring break a number of sophomore and junior rowers stepped up and performed in place of senior rowers. Crews had to place 1 st , 2 nd or 3 rd in heats to advance to finals. The afternoon finals began under sunny skies and temperatures in the 70's and very little wind. Great weather for racing and a finer day for the Pioneers.
Finals Results
Junior Women's 8+ 6 th place
Junior Men's 4+ 5 th place
Senior Women's 4+ 4 th place
Senior Men's 4+ 6 th place
Junior Women's 4+ 5 th place
Senior Men's 145# 4+ 4 th place
Senior Men's 8+ 5 th place
The stand out performance in the finals came from:
Senior Men's 160# 8+ Silver Medal
Coxswain, Maria Princen. Rowers, Ryan Bouchar, Andy Ribits, Brian McNair, Eric Wustrow, Matt Remsen, Hunter Brawn, David Elner, Shon Thomas.
Senior Women's Lightweight 4+ Bronze Medal
Coxswain, Julia Lathin. Rowers, Sarah Elner, Jessie Taggart, Krista Aschenbach, Grace Hollowell.
Senior Men's 160# 4+ Gold Medal
Coxswain, Maria Princen. Rowers, Brian McNair, Hunter Brawn, Matt Remsen, Eric Wustrow.
Senior Women's 8+ Bronze Medal
Coxswain, Jessy Meyerhoff. Rowers, Phoebe Goldberg, Molly Junck, Maren Greene, Claire Luczak, Sarah Elner, Claire Leonard, Heather Miekstyn, Jessie Taggart.
Hebda Memorial Challenge Cup Regatta: Results
Saturday, April 24, 2004
On Saturday, April 24, 2004 the Ann Arbor Pioneer High School Crew participated in the the 40 th Hebda Memorial Challenge Cup Regatta under sunny skies and temperatures in the high 50's. Pioneer entered 12 of 16 events and moved 6 crews thru heats to the finals held in the afternoon. The results of the finals for Pioneer were encouraging.
Final results:
Senior Men's 8 5 th
Men's Lightweight 8 4 th
Women's Junior 8 4 th
Men's Junior 4 3 rd
Coxswain, Maria Princen. Rowers, Nate Kurcz, Joey Dominio, David Hamstra, Evan Davies.
Women's Senior 8 3 rd
Coxswain, Jessy Meyerhoff. Rowers, Jessica Makolin, Kate Burdick, Julia Blessing, Danielle Stempien, Maren Greene, Molly Junck, Heather Miekstyn, Jessie Taggart.
Women's Senior 4 1 st Gold Medal Winners Plaque
Coxswain, Jessy Meyerhoff. Rowers, Jessica Makolin, Kate Burdick, Julia Blessing, Danielle Stempien.
Combined Points Trophy
Pioneer 7th place of 17 schools
Other News:
On Friday April 23, 2004 the Junior National Team notified Molly Junck (Sophomore) that she was selected for the 2004 Junior National Development Team this summer. We are extremely excited with this news. Molly along with rowers Phoebe Goldberg,, JR, Marene Greene, JR, Heather Miekstyn, SO, Claire Leonard, SR, Kate Burdick, SR. tested each month since November sending in scores for 4000 meters and 2000 meter erg tests.
33rd Wyandotte High Schools Regatta: Results
Friday April 30, 2004 and Saturday May 1, 2004
On the Detroit River in Wyandotte
The 33 rd Wyandotte High Schools Regatta held over Friday and Saturday on the Detroit River saw High School Crews from Michigan, Ohio, and Canada compete in some trying conditions. Friday April 30 th was a complete wash out with delay after delay due to strong winds out of the South whipping up waves and white caps a couple of feet high. Crews sat around all afternoon waiting for conditions to improve so that heats could begin. At 5 pm on Friday race official finally called off all 52 heats scheduled for the day.
All heats and finals had to be crammed into one day of rowing Saturday. Heats were 1000 meters long and finals were shortened to 1000 meters also. Novice 4 events were cancelled completely to help speed along the regatta. This was unfortunate for novice rowers scheduled to compete in those events as they would not be able to compete at all.
The weather improved as the day went along and the temperature dropped, but water condition kept improving and racing zipped along at a fast clip. Pioneer Crews were entered in 16 events, but 3 of those were cancelled. Five crews were able to row thru some strong competition from Canada and Ohio to advance to finals.
Senior rowers, along with especially strong performances from 3 sophomore rowers brought home 2 Silver Medals and 1 Bronze Medal. The Men's 155# 4 race was especially hard fought with 4 crews coming to the finish line neck and neck. The Pioneer boys came very close to a second place finish. The Women's Senior Varsity 4 was another nail bitter with the Senior Women suffering their first defeat in a final since last October. The girls charged hard in the last 100 meters and came up just short. The feeling among the crew is that they needed that extra 500 meters that a 1500 meter course allows. After a short rest they went back out in the Women's Senior Varsity 8 and had a terrific race against a strong Denis Morris Crew from Canada, both crew raced side by side to the finish with the Canadian crew taking the win. It was especially nice to realize that we were the first American crew though. This was the first test of this Varsity 8 with 3 sophomore girls added to 5 senior women. We go into this coming week encouraged for the Midwest Championships on Saturday and Sunday, May 1 st and 2 nd .
Crews advancing to finals were:
Men's Senior Varstiy 4 5 th Place
Coxswain, Ariel Grosshuesch. Rowers, Zach Ringo-Kasotakis, Alex Hegyi, Nate Kurz, Joey Domino.
Men's Senior Varsity 8 5 th Place
Coxswain, Ariel Grosshuesch. Rowers, Zach Ringo-Kasotakis, Alex Hegyi, Ryan Bouchard, Andy Ribits, Carl Duke, Joey Domino, Nate Kurz, Hunter Brawn.
Men's 155# 4 3 rd Place Bronze Medal
Coxswain, Ariel Grosshuesch. Rowers, Ryan Bouchard, Andy Ribits, Carl Duke, Hunter Brawn.
Women's Senior Varsity 4 2 nd Place Silver Medal
Coxswain, Jessy Meyerhoff. Rowers, Jessica Makolin, Kate Burdick, Julia Blessing, Danielle Stempien.
Women's Senior Varsity 8 2 nd Place Silver Medal
Coxswain, Jessy Meyerhoff. Rowers, Jessica Makolin, Kate Burdick, Heather Miekstyn, Molly Junck, Julia Blessing, Danielle Stempien, Claire Luczak, Sarah Elner.
Combined Points Trophy
Pioneer 9th place of 27 schools
Results: Midwest Scholastic Rowing Championship
Saturday, May 8, 2004 and Sunday, May 9, 2004
On Saturday and Sunday, May 8& 9, 2004 the Midwest Scholastic Rowing Championships were held in Stoney Creek metro Park in Utica, Michigan. Crews from Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia competed. The usual mix of spring weather made things interesting for all participates. Saturday's heats were interrupted a number of times due to thunderstorms and bone chilling weather. Heats continued until 8:30 pm and the sun just going down.
Sunday consisted of semi-final events and finals starting around 11 am. The weather cooperated Sunday with sunny skies and warm temperatures. Light winds made the course ideal for racing. Pioneer Crews advanced 5 boats to the semi-finals Sunday morning and two boats made it to the finals in the afternoon. Especially exciting for us was seeing the Boys Novice 4+ advance to the semi's and just coming up short of advancing to the finals. We saw an especially hard fought race for the last transfer spot.
The Girls Varsity 4+ and the Boys Junior 4+ both advanced to the finals with exciting performances. In the finals for he Boys Junior 4+ we saw an exciting race. With about 500 meters left in the race we heard the announcer tell the spectators that the Pioneer boys were making a hard charge thru the pack and making a challenge for the bronze medal position. Pioneer rowers on the beach were screaming as they came into view. We came up just a half boat length short at the finish line with a hard fought 4 th place.
The Girls Varsity 4 had a very interesting advance thru heats, semi's and finals. The crew won their heat in convincing style, but we soon learned that one of our rowers had hurt their back. We consulted with the officials and were allowed to replace her with a rower from our B boat, which had also qualified for the semi finals. Sophomore Molly Junck stepped into our A boat and sparked the girls with a convincing win in the semis. The crew won by a couple of boat lengths. We knew we would have a hard fight with the Oakland Catholic crew from Pittsburgh in the final. They had come with the intension of winning this race and not entering the 8's. Pioneer crew wee trying to advance both our 4's and 8's with the same girls. This meant a lot of racing for the weekend for our girls. The final was a hard fought race with the Pioneer crew coming up just short in the final meters. A silver medal still looks awfully nice.
Boats In Semi Final Events:
Girls Varsity 4 (A boat) 1 st in semi
Girls Varsity 4 (B boat) 6 th in semi
Boys Novice 4 4 th in semi
Boys Junior 4 3 rd in semi
Girls Varsity 8 6 th in semi
Boats in Finals:
Boys Junior 4 4 th place
Coxswain, Maria Princen. Rowers, Nate Kurcz, David Hamstra, Joey Domino, Eric Wustrow.
Girls Varsity 4 2 nd place Silver Medal
Coxswain, Jessy Meyerhoff. Rowers, Jesica Makolin, Kate Burdick, Julia Blessing, Molly Junck.
Ann Arbor News Preps News
Huron, Pioneer row to successes
Tuesday, 18, 2004
So far, so good for the Huron and Pioneer high school crew teams this season.
Huron, in fact, has had a spring that has exceeded its coach's lofty expectations.
"I am having so much fun," said Dave Morrison, who has one senior on his 57-member co-ed team. "We're doing phenomenally. This is one of the best seasons we've ever had."
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Among the highlights: The River Rats placed seven boats in the 14 finals at the Midwest Championships near Utica. And at this past weekend's 39-school Midwest Junior Rowing
Regatta in Cincinnati, Huron came away with six medals -
including a gold won by the girls light four crew, which included coxswain Marta Sylvia, Ellen King, Casey Leonard, Sarah Miller and Cherry Liu.
Pioneer coach Michael Dove said his team has had "a few ups and downs," but for the most part he's pleased with what has happened- including the performance of the senior girls four of Jesica Makolin, Kate Burdick, Julia Blessing, Molly Junck and coxswain Jessy Meyerhoff, which won first place at the Midwest Championships.
"We're a more balanced team than we've ever been," he said.
The rowing season wraps up June 4-6 with the prestigious St. Catharine's Regatta in Ontario, an international event that
includes teams from as far away as Vancouver, British Columbia.
Results of Michigan High School and Junior Championship Regatta
Saturday May 22, 2004
Stoney Creek Metro Park, Utica, Michigan
The Pioneer Crew finished out their regular season in grand style Saturday, with a convincing performance from every crew entered. Weather was certainly a factor in determining the overall placement of Pioneer at the end of the day. The regatta was cancelled with severe winds after event 21 of 31 total events for the day. The Pioneer Crew at that point sat in third place in the combined points trophy. The Pioneers still had 4 more finals to compete in and were disappointed not to be able to hopefully come out on top the standings. The Pioneers had to settle for third place in the overall points trophy, but feeling confident that they could have finished higher.
Pioneer Crews had entered 12 events and moved 11 crews thru heats to the finals. At the time of the cancellation Pioneer had 2 gold medals, 1 silver medal and 3 bronze medals. With four more finals they were pretty confident that they could pick up at least 3 more medals, but that is racing.
The team finished up the regular season on a high note and feel confident that they will be able to build on the success achieved. Next up for select Pioneer Crews is the Canadian Secondary Schools Rowing Championship, Ontario, Canada. Go Pioneers!
Crews receiving medals:
Mens Novice 4 Bronze Medal
Coxswain, Doug Webster. Rowers, John Hatch, Matt Mahoney, Matt Thomas, Devin Mantha.
Womens Novice 8 Silver Medal
Coxswain, Samantha Bedore. Rowers, Claire Leonard, Danielle Finch, Yonca Krahn, Pier Davis, Irene Farnsworth, Arielle Clinthorne, Hayley Perry, Chrissy Brownlee.
Mens Junior 8 Bronze Medal
Coxswain, Maria Princen. Rowers, Matt Remsen, Joey Domino, David Hamstra, Eric Wustrow, David Elner, Chris Gewehr, Evan Davies, Shon Thomas.
Womens Junior 8 Bronze Medal
Coxswain, Julia Lathin. Rowers, Julia Ager, Sarah Weisbuch, Rachel Friedlander, Maren Greene, Jeewon Chang, Emilie Lerner, Krista Aschenbach, Jessie Taggart.
Mens Senior 4 Gold Medal
Coxswain, Ariel Grosshuesch. Rowers, Zach Ringo-Kasotakis, Alex Hegyi, Ryan Bouchard, Andy Ribits.
Womens Senior 4 Gold Medal
Coxswain, Jessy Meyerhoff. Rowers, Jessica Makolin, Kate Burdick, Julia Blessing, Molly Junck.