Men's Rowing | 10/6/2008 1:45:15 PM

GENEVA, NY - The RIT men's crew squads raced Saturday at the 3rd Annual Hobart & William Smith Challenge on the Erie Canal.  All of RIT's boats recorded strong finishes.

The Varsity 8, featuring coxswain Dan Knorr (Niskayuna, NY/Niskayuna), stroke Cameron Staunch (Fairport, NY/Fairport), seven seat #Trevor Reid#, six seat #Drew Lawlor (Erie, PA/Fairview)#, five seat #Justin Dixon (Factoryville, PA/Lackawanna Trail)#, four seat #Jason Gallant (Clinton, ME/Lawrence)#, three seat #Danny Martin#, two seat #Spencer Trafton (Brockport, NY/Brockport)# and bow #Kevin Macksamie (Rochester, NY/Gates-Chili)# finished fourth among varsity 8s, with a time of 14:51. There were only 4 seconds separating RIT and Marietta's winning 8, and RIT was just 1 second off third place Hobart.

The varsity men gained additional race experience racing in fours. The "A" line-up of coxswain Knorr, stroke Macksamie, three seat #Andre Jarreau (Brentwood, TN/Brentwood)#, two seat Reid and bow Gallant finished seventh with a time of 16:30. The "B" boat was comprised of coxswain #Brendon Larrabee#, stroke Lawlor, three seat #Chris Guerra (West Seneca, NY/Canisius)#, two seat #Bryan Abbott (Simsbury, CT/Simsbury)# and bow #Bryce Salmi (Chelmsford, MA/Chelmsford)#, and finished with a time of 16:51.

RIT boated two novice boats on the day with successful results. The "A" boat of coxswain #Mike Graae#, stroke #Cameron Staunch (Fairport, NY/Fairport)#, seven seat #John Pagano (Philadelphia, PA/Roman Catholic)#, six seat #Evan Witek#, five seat #Dan Martin#, four seat #Mike Kitson#, three seat #Paul Fisher (Wyoming, OH/Wyoming)#, two seat #Murtaza Zavery# and bow #Anthony Castaneda (Fairfax, VA/Fairfax)# placed third behind Marietta's two novice boats in 15:19. RIT's "B" Novice 8, featuring  coxswain #Cole Bowden (Bradford, MA/Havemill)#, stroke #Evan Moreshead (Saco, ME/Tharntan)#, seven seat #Ben Kaiser (Medina, NY/Medina)#, six #George Spagins#, five seat #Jon Shannon (Lunenburg, MA/Lunenburg)#, four seat #Matt Hesselink#, three seat #Mark Menzenski (Ithaca, NY/Ithaca)#, two seat #Julian del Campo# and bow #Dave Sonneborn# raced the course in 16:47, finishing seventh of the 14 boats.

RIT's next race is held locally on the Genesee River in Genesee Valley Park on Sunday, October 12. The Head of the Genesee Regatta is the same weekend as RIT's Brick City Weekend this year, and RIT Crew will be celebrating the 15th anniversary of the program. Many members of the inaugural crews will be returning to campus for alumni events, and to race alumni boats in the Head of the Genesee.