Varsity 8 makes school history for Pirates at WIRAs
SACRAMENTO -- For the first time in school history, the Orange Coast College women's crew Varsity 8 earned medals at the Western Intercollegiate Rowing Association (WIRA) Championships this past weekend at Lake Natoma.
Racing against some of the top four-year schools in the region, the Pirates battled Western Washington University and UC Santa Barbara the entire length of the 2,000-meter course as the three boats began to pull away from the rest of the field.
In the end, WWU took the top spot with a time of 6 minutes, 54 seconds, but the Pirates earned second place with a time of 6:56.1, edging out UCSB's time of 6:58.6. It was the first time the Pirates reached the awards podium of a WIRA event at the varsity level in the history of the program. That Varsity 8 crew consisted of Sophie Blair (coxswain), Tess Burney, Claireliece Kennedy, Maya Takeuchi, Elery Bermudez, Marissa Bonnefin, Kristen Klein, Abigail Daniels and Danielle Dubois.
"I'm so proud of the girls," OCC head coach Behr said. "They've worked so hard all season long for this opportunity and for them to come through was awesome. They deserve to have those medals around their necks and now they will be a part of this program's history forever."
In the Women's Novice 8 race, Coast advanced to the grand final and there, the Pirates finished seventh with a time of 7:36.3.
Up next for the Pirates is a trip to Georgia for the ACRA National Championships, set for May 28-29.
