Pirates capture top team spot at Newport Regatta

NEWPORT BEACH -- It was a postcard-type day on the water of Newport Harbor as the Orange Coast College men's crew hosted some of the top four-year programs in the west at the 58th Annual Newport Regatta and in the end, it was the Pirates who kept the top trophy in their own collection for 2023.

With three wins (six points each) and two runner-ups (four points each), the Pirates won the P.A. Palmer Cup for overall top-team performance with 26 points, edging out four-year powerhouse UCLA, who finished with 23 points.

"I'm really proud of how the squad raced, from top to bottom," OCC head coach Cam Brown said. "The freshmen boats all stepped up to their first big collegiate race and were able to take away a lot from it - and for the freshmen to sweep their events was an added bonus. The varsity boats were really impressive although they didn't get the results they hoped for. To challenge and compete with one of the top rowing universities in the country (UCLA), and separate themselves from the rest of the field showed a lot of grit and fortitude. It was extra-impressive, given how young we are in the varsity boats. It was great for the team to be able to win back the Palmer Cup points trophy and excited for the rest of the season ahead."

In the first collegiate race of the morning -- the Novice Four -- it was the OCC boat of Patrick Hunter, Hank Liao, Cole Bain, Ethan Almarez and coxswain Brianna Eggers, who jumped out early on the competition and never looked back, winning the Frank Marscellas Cup with open water to spare. Coast finished the 2,000-meter race with a time of 7 minutes, 29.7 seconds, well ahead of runner-up University of San Diego (7:47.6) and third-place Arizona State (7:54.75).

For the Second Novice 8, the Pirates managed to retain the Norman E. Watson Cup as the group of William Womack, Alex Dilday, Ben Banner, Brock Preston, Torin Parsa, Gavin Hasenyager, A.J. Silva, Pierce Lusk and coxswain Nate Morelock clocked in with a solid time of 7:14.54.

In the Novice 8 race, the Larry M. Moore Cup came down to the top two programs of the regatta as OCC and UCLA pulled away from the field within the first 500 meters of the race. The OCC eight of Jimmy Curry, Talon Gutierrez, Caleb Alter, Thomas Norris, Johann Figueroa, Ethan Davidson, Nate Goodworth, Joshua Kyles and coxswain Mya Morris grabbed a lead on the Bruins near the 1,000-meter mark and maintained that advantage all the way to the finish line, winning the race with a time of 6:31.57, just ahead of the UCLA boat's time of 6:39.62. UC Santa Barbara (7:30.83) finished a distant third. 

In the Second Varsity Eight (Robert B. Moore Cup), just the Pirates and Bruins were racing and the two battled all the way down to the finish line, but in the end, the Pirate boat raced by Alex Roberts, Nate Hopkins, Ayden Brown, Sebastian Hasselquist, Tim Jagels, Vince Petokas, Will Giron, Ayden Davis and coxswain Spencer Ewertz came up less than four seconds short of UCLA, who won the race with a time of 6:28.3, followed by the Pirates at 6:31.82.

The final race of the after was the Varsity Eight, with the James C. Jorgensen Cup up for grabs. OCC's Cameron De Araujo, Dylan Good, Earl Marvin, Gage Saari, Davis Shroeder, Felipe Artia, Pierce Rands, Boet Arisz and coxswain Mo Guild took on last year's second-ranked Bruins' boat and battled them for the entire race. UCLA showed why its Varsity 8 boat earned such a high ranking in 2022, jumping out to the lead and never letting go of it with a winning time of 6:22.1, followed by the Pirates (6:27.17), UC Irvine (6:38.28), UCSB (6:44.35), ASU (6:50.53) and Loyola Marymount (6:55.57).

Complete results of the Newport Regatta can be found by clicking HERE.

The next big race for the Pirates will take place on Saturday, April 1 at the Crew Classic down at San Diego's Mission Bay, beginning at 7 a.m.