NUTLEY, NJ — The Nutley High School boys junior 4 crew team continued its historic season as they earned a bronze medal at the highly regarded Stotesbury Cup Regatta in Philadelphia on Saturday, May 20. Stotesbury is the largest high school rowing event in the country, this year hosting 185 schools, almost 900 crews and over 4,200 athletes from all over the Midwest and eastern seaboard.
The boys faced a field of 52 junior 4 crews, and quickly showed them all that Nutley was fast, as they finished second overall in the initial time trial. The top 18 crews in the time trial advanced to traditional semifinal races. The Raiders took control of their semifinal from the top-seeded lane three position and easily won their semi to catapult them into the grand final. The crew of Vincent Lubowiecki, Ryan McNamara, Max Bednarz, Alex Irwin and Lena Fukuoka-Schreiber was eager for a rematch with local rival Montclair in the final. Montclair and Nutley did battle it out once again going stroke-for-stroke down the course, but it was a team from Norfolk Academy in Virginia that took the gold, with Montclair second and Nutley third, followed by The Hun School of New Jersey, The Haverford School of Pennsylvania, and Bethesda Chevy Chase High School from Maryland.
By claiming the bronze, the boys crew has accomplished a remarkable feat, one that is unprecedented in Nutley rowing. They have medaled in the championship trifecta of races: Silver at State Championships, Gold at PSRA league championships, and Bronze at Stotesbury. The boys were scheduled to be back on the race course one last time as they headed down to Oakridge Tenn. for the Scholastic Rowing Association of America National Championships, where they looked to add yet another medal to their very impressive season.
In other Stotesbury Cup Regatta action, the girls senior 4 of Alex Timchak, Erin Kirby, Nadia Nole, Gianna Masters, and Katie O’Connor had a strong time trial finishing 18th in the field of 46 crews to earn a place in the semifinals. The girls ended up finishing 17th overall.
The boys lightweight double of Paul Ziek and Patrick Mastandrea also made the semifinals placing 10th in their time trial out of 21. They rowed a great semifinal race, but narrowly missed the grand final, just one second out of the third-place qualifying spot.
The girls junior 8 had the best non-seminal finish – 23 out of 41 crews, 5 seconds off of qualifying. The boys junior 8 finished 32 out of 48 and the girls junior 4 placed 36 out of 56.
The NHS rowing team participated in the New Jersey State Championships at Cooper River in Pennsauken on Saturday, April 29, sending seven different crews into competition. Five of the seven crews entered. The boys Lightweight 2x, Junior 8, and Junior 4, and Girls Junior 8 and Novice 8 all reached the finals.
The much-anticipated boys Junior 4 race was an epic battle between No. 1 seed Nutley and No. 2 seed Montclair. After each crew easily won their opening heats, the final race was full of excitement. The two crews raced stroke-for-stroke down the 1,500-meter course leaving the other four crews in their wake. Neither crew was able to open up any kind of lead over the other as they were bow ball-to-bow ball all the way. It took a photo finish to reveal that Montclair had edged Nutley by under three-tenths of a second, essentially a dead heat. While the team was devastated that they had come so very close to a state championship, their performance was still inspiring and rewarding. The crew of Ryan McNamara, Vincent Lubowiecki, Max Bednarz, Alex Irwin and Lena Fukuoka-Schreiber earned a silver medal and an automatic bid to the National Championship Regatta in Oakridge, Tennessee, Memorial Day weekend.
The girls Novice 8 consisting of Sofia Candia, Briahana DiMatteo, Martyna Kolakowski, Breanna Fernandez, Jayla Figueroa, Katelyn McNamara, Isabella Hosseiny, Lyla Sacchetti, and Brooke Kaliko went into the day with a strong No. 4 ranking. The girls had their best performance of the year, turning in a race that catapulted them past the No. 3 and No. 2 ranked teams to earn a solid second place and silver medal at state championships. The girls were moving so well, with so much speed at the end of the race, that another 100 meters may have given them the championship.
The Lightweight 2x of Patrick Mastandrea and Paul Ziek, which was seeded No. 10, had a great early row to win their opening heat and advance to the six-boat final, placing fourth overall. The boys Junior 8, which was seeded No. 4 overall, placed second in their opening heat to advance to their six-boat final, finishing fifth.
Aside from the great performance by the Novice 8, the girls’ day did not go as planned. The No. 4-ranked Junior 8 sustained damage to their boat on the way to the starting line for their final. The crew hit a submerged log, which rendered their boat inoperable for the competition. The No. 4-seeded Senior 4 and No. 12 Junior 4 were unable to reach the finals.
The boys team participated in the Philadelphia Scholastic Rowing Association (PSRA) City Championships on Saturday and Sunday. May 6-7, sending eight crews into competition. City championships are a two-day culminating event after a series of five “Many-Flick” races throughout the spring and serve as the league championship.
On Saturday, May 6, all crews in events with more than six entries row in time trials, and depending upon the event classification and the total number of entries, must finish in either the top 12 to move onto semifinals or the top six to advance directly to finals.
The coaches noted that all Nutley’s crews rowed really well. The results are as follows: Boys: Junior 4 finished second out of 20 advancing to semifinals, Junior 8 placed eighth out of 15 narrowly missing finals, and Lt Wt 2x placed an even closer seventh out of 11 to also just miss the finals. Girls: Senior 4 had their best row of the year, bouncing back from a disappointing State Championships to place sixth out of 21 and advance to semifinals, Novice 4 finished sixth out of 10 to make the finals, Freshman 4 went directly to finals, Junior 8 finished 9/12, a good row but not enough to advance and the Junior 4 placed 11 out of 17.
Day two of racing on Sunday, May 7, saw four Nutley crews still alive, and was highlighted by another fantastic showdown between Nutley and Montclair in the Junior 4 championship. After each team easily won their semifinal, the two crews squared off again in a rematch of last week’s State Championship final. Another edge-of-your-seat race transpired with neither crew ever gaining more than a few feet advantage. Nutley held the lead the majority of the race, but Montclair consistently cut into the lead to draw even. Nutley would inch out, and Montclair would draw even. At the line, it was another photo finish (seven-tenths of a second) but this time Nutley came across first. The crew of Lena Fuluoka-Schreiber, Ryan McNamara, Vinny Lubowiecki, Max Bednarz and Alex Irwin won their long-anticipated championship. “The win means so much to the team in general as the entirety of Nutley Crew is on the rise,” according to a statement from the Nutley Athletics website. “The crew has worked very hard since the fall and it’s satisfying to see all of their hard work pay off. The two teams will battle it out again in two weeks at Stotesbury.”
In another exciting final the girls freshmen crew of Sofia Candia, Isabella Hosseiny, Katelyn McNamara, Martyna Kolakowski and Briahna DiMatteo regrouped after a difficult start, to overcome a significantly large deficit and place third overall to earn a bronze medal. “The discipline and composure that such a young crew was able to maintain was remarkable,” in a statement from NHS Athletics. “Almost any other crew would have conceded the race, but the Nutley freshmen crew rowed a heroic race, never giving up and eventually making their way all the way back into the bronze medal spot. Just amazing to watch.”
Two other Nutley crews also raced on Sunday. The girls novice 4 crew of Brooke Kaliko, Genesis Eljarrah, Lyla Sacchetti, Jayla Figueroa and Breanna Fernandez placed sixth in their final. The senior 4 crew of Katie O’Connor, Alexandria Timchak, Erin Kirby, Nadia Nole and Gianna Masters was edged out of the top three spots in their semifinal and therefore was unable to advance to the grand final.
Photos Courtesy of NHS Athletics
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