Pirates take runner-up at the 57th Annual Newport Regatta

NEWPORT BEACH -- The young and inexperienced Orange Coast College men's crew grew up fast on Sunday against some of the best four-year programs in the region at the 57th Annual Newport Regatta.

Going up against UCLA, UC Irvine, Arizona State, Long Beach State, UC Santa Barbara and Loyola Marymount -- teams with rowers in the fourth, fifth and sixth years due to COVID eligibility rules -- the freshman-heavy Pirates more than held their own, winning a pair of races and finishing second overall in the point standings, just behind UCLA. Coast finished with 16 total points, just four points behind the champion Bruins (20) for the P.A. Palmer Cup. 

"It was great to be out racing again after a two-year break," OCC head coach Cam Brown said, referring to the COVID pandemic which halted crew races in 2020 and 2021. "Today was all about the athletes getting race experience and for the vast majority ... their first race ever! The whole team did an excellent job holding their own against the experience and strength of some of the older teams we raced against and I know we will continue to get faster as the season continues. 

Under windy conditions at the OCC Boathouse, Coast hosted five races and opened things with the Men's Novice 4 competition for the Frank Marscellas Cup. It was a two-boat battle between UCLA and UC Irvine, with the Anteaters grabbing the lead through the first half of the race. In the final 500 meters both boats went back and forth before the Bruins picked up the win by three seconds over the Anteaters with a 2000-meter tailwind time of 7 minutes, 17.4 seconds, with UCI second at 7:20.4 and OCC (7:44.0) third.

Up next was the Second Novice 8 race (Norman E. Watson Cup) that featured OCC, UCLA and UCSB and this race was won by the Pirates right from the start, jumping out to a boat-length lead through the first 500 meters. That boat-length lead only grew as the Pirates turned up the pace over the final 500 meters and picked up a winning time of 6:32.9, ahead of the runner-up Bruins, (6:39.1) and the third-place Gauchos (7:24.5). Winning Coast rowers for the Second Novice 8 race were Vince Petokas, Jason Vozovoy, Benjamin Morris, Tim Jagels, Sawyer Yendes, Dylan Dunnigan, Jacob Queen, Will Giron and coxswain Joseph Basalone.

The first-year rowers for the Pirates again showed their stuff in their premiere race, the Novice 8 (Larry M. Moore Cup) that featured all seven schools. Much like the Second Novice 8 race, the Pirates jumped out fast in the opening few hundred meters and grabbed a sizable lead over the Bruins and Anteaters. Racing side by side, the Bruins stayed close to the Pirates and pulled to within half of a boat length, but Orange Coast managed to hold them off down the stretch and posted a winning time of 6:15.7, just ahead of UCLA's runner-up time of 6:16.9, with the UCI (6:41.9) a distant third. The victorious Pirates Novice 8 boat included Ayden Davis, Ayden Brown, Jake Buscaglio, Pierce Rands, Gage Saari, Troy Shair, Zach Fraser, Alex Roberts and coxswain Mo Guild.

In the Varsity 4 (Condon Johnson Cup) and the Varsity 8 (James C. Jorgensen Cup) races, the Pirates picked up knowledge in both events, with seven of the nine members of the Varsity 8 boat competing in their first-ever 2000-meter race for OCC. The Pirate four finished fourth with a time of 7:37, while the Varsity 8 took fourth as well with a time of 6:16.3. 

"To place second in the points trophy speaks to the depth of our squad and the amount of hard work all of the athletes have put in. I'm looking forward to the rest of the season and getting back out on the race course again next week."

The Pirates will take their act on the road and take part in the Crew Classic down in San Diego on Saturday, beginning at 7 a.m.