Mount St. Joseph repeats in girls varsity eight at Stotesbury
As Mount St. Joseph coach Mike "Stubbs" McKenna walked toward the dock to celebrate with his triumphant varsity eight, he was asked by a spectator whether the repeat victory was less special.
As Mount St. Joseph coach Mike "Stubbs" McKenna walked toward the dock to celebrate with his triumphant varsity eight, he was asked by a spectator whether the repeat victory was less special.
"It never gets old," McKenna said Saturday after the conclusion of the 89th annual Stotesbury Cup Regatta. "If anything, it gets better. You get to see a different group of girls enjoy the moment."
After a solid and quick start, the Mount settled in at 34-36 strokes per minute and, with a clocking of 5 minutes, 16.17 seconds in the second lane, held off New York's Manhasset (5:18.74) for its fourth title in six years.
"I can't put the feeling into words," senior stroke Steph Eble said. "It's unreal. I can't wrap my head around it."
Eble, a Fort Washington resident who is bound for Harvard, was joined by coxswain Sabrina Ghantous (Syracuse recruit), Christina Knox, Olivia Tice-Carroll, Maddie Lauinger, Alaina Hunt (Penn), Maddie Carlton, Dana Mischler, and bow Alex Uzzo.
Eble, Knox, Lauinger, Hunt, and Carlton were part of last year's victory. "They expected to win it again, which is very difficult to do, and they went out and did it," McKenna said.
In the boys' varsity eight, St. Joseph's Prep opted not to compete in the final after it learned one of its rowers was suffering from concussion-like symptoms.
"It was something that happened while playing basketball at a family event last weekend," St. Joe's Prep coach Jim Glavin said. "He had a headache, blurred vision. He just didn't look good."
The Hawks, with permission from Stotsebury officials, instead casually rowed the course. "They wanted to be part of the regatta till the very end," Glavin said. Washington's Gonzaga defended its crown in 4:31.79.
St. Joe's Prep lessened that disappointment by winning the lightweight eight, junior eight, and freshman eight. Its varsity four placed second to Episcopal Academy.
Roman Catholic (Bill Schmidt, Joe Leyland, Anthony Panchella, and Ben Weaver) won its first varsity quad since 2006 in 4:53.02.
"We had started planning for Stotesbury a few weeks ago," Cahillites second-year coach Zack Coons said. "Our training was built around this event."
Schmidt and Weaver are both ticketed for Penn; Leyland is headed to Temple; and Panchella, an erstwhile basketball player, is a junior. "They got the lead at the start and opened it up from there," Coons said.
On the girls' side, Radnor and Conestoga won the senior four and senior quad, respectively. The Mount (5:22.28) nipped Absecon's Holy Spirit (5:23.81) for gold in the lightweight eight.
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