NAC sparkles at Long Beach

LONG BEACH -- The Newport Aquatic Center Junior Crew team sprinted

to victory on Sunday at the annual Christmas Regatta hosted by the

Long Beach Rowing Association.

The men’s team, coached by Rachel Rose and Paul Prioleau, earned

five first-place finishes. In the team’s first event of the day,

varsity single sculer Jon Berg won, navigating the 900-meter course

in 3 minutes, 14 seconds.

The four-man team of Brandon Dillman, Mike Matthews, Graham

Brant-Zawadzki and Blake Lyon followed up with a championship run in

2:36.7.

The coxed quad boat (Clark Brooks, Kevin Song, Michael Dabney and

Bryan Hochwald with coxswain Taylor Decker) powered its way to a

first-place finish with a time of 2:48.3.

The men’s varsity eight “A” boat nosed out San Diego in an

exciting finish to earn the gold with a time of 2:10.0. The “A” boat

consisted of Greg Somers (bow), Greg Schneider, Brooks, Matt

Siemonsma, Ken Ito, Brant Zawadski, Lyon, Dillman (stroke) and

coxswain Elliott Thacker.

The men’s novice eight (Bow: Trey Lawren, Robin Thorley, Reid

Clark, Erik Oatman, Zack Buttolph, Josh Vann, Will Rhoton, stroke:

Ryan Stieve and coxswain Erika Gambill) also took first place with a

time of 2:45.6.

Both the women’s varsity and novice teams, coached by Christy

Shaver, raced to victory.

The women’s varsity eight of Sara Wales, Esther Lofgren, Jean

Geddes, Jessica Fritz, Anne Kircher, Jill Austin, Gaby Assayag and

Meredith Irby, coxed by Lauren Lorman, took home the gold with a time

of 2:41.6.

The women’s varsity four of Wales, Lofgren, Geddes and Fritz,

coxed by Lorman, won in 3:15.8.

Second in the women’s varsity quad event were Esther Lofgren, Dana

Hunt, Mitra Grubb and Claire McKay (3:11.5).

In the women’s varsity double event, Jessica Grubbs and Jean

Geddes snagged a second-place finish with a time of 3:09.6.

The women’s open lightweight eight of Jamie Horowitz, Jessica

Grubbs, Krista Redman, Marjon Bahremand, Raelyn Drury, Brittany

Early, Liz Conklin and Jamie Baratta, coxed by Jennifer Guess, took

second with a time of 3:03.5.

In the women’s novice division, two boats earned first-place

finishes.

The women’s eight of Jill Austin, Erica Van Steenis, Ashly Vale,

Nancy Balt, Marjon Bahremand, Krista Redman, Mia Ito, Tiffany Lucas,

coxed by Carly Dobson, won their event with a time of 2:40.5.

The novice four of Austin, Van Steenis, Vale and Balt, coxed by

Annika Overby, took the top spot with a time of 3:02.0.

Finishing second in the same event were Lucas, Melissa Tommarello,

Shelby McKenna and Ito, coxed by Kristin Contino, with a time of

3:07.0.

Also finishing in second place was the novice eight boat

(Tommarello, McKenna, Karie Decker, Christina Campbell, Anna Oatman,

Lauren Doyle, Nita Grubb and Izabella Elkis, coxed by Overby) with a

time of 2:49.4.

Thus ends the fall training season as the spring season awaits.