Merion Mercy enjoyed a winning day at the Stotesbury Cup Regatta
The girls won two first-place trophies and tossed coxswain Cece Wendel into the Schuylkill.
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Celebrating the school's second first-place trophy and following a longtime tradition, the Merion Mercy girls tossed sophomore coxswain Cece Wendel into the Schuylkill.
Late Saturday afternoon in the 91st edition of the Stotesbury Cup Regatta, Wendel and Co. triumphed in the senior four in 5 minutes, 27.28 seconds.
"They got out of the gate well and then hung on," Merion Mercy coach Mike Brown said. "We were fortunate to have enough juice at the end to get it done."
Merion Mercy, which took home a pair of Stotesbury gold medals for the first time since 2012, held off Harriton (5:28.22) and Bishop Eustace (5:32.36).
About 90 minutes earlier on fairly calm water, Merion Mercy took first in the lightweight eight in 4:57.01. Mount St. Joseph (4:59.96) was second.
In addition to Wendel, Merion Mercy's senior four was made up of senior stroke Morgan Lamb, junior and No. 3 seat Emma Braun, senior and No. 2 seat Cate Schrieber, and senior bow Jeanne McGill.
Lamb is headed to Boston College. Schrieber is ticketed for Clemson, and McGill will stay close to home at Drexel.
Waiting at the dock to congratulate the victors were Brown, who was part of La Salle High's senior four in 1976 and went on to row at Villanova, and Merion Mercy's principal, Sister Barbara Buckley.
On Friday, Merion Mercy placed fifth in its heat in 5:58.70. They were first in Saturday morning's six-boat semifinal in 5:22.53.
"They're all experienced, mature kids," Brown said. "I knew, with the training they've done recently, they could win back-to-back races."
Malvern Prep, guided by 20th-year coach Craig Hoffman, won the senior quad with a clocking of 4:33.15.
"The hallmark of this crew is they all want to become better scullers," said Hoffman, whose focus now is on next weekend's SRAA National Championships Regatta on the Cooper River in Camden.
Haddon Township (4:40.92) and Conestoga (4:44.35) placed third and fourth, respectively, in the boys' senior quad.
The Conestoga girls won the senior quad in 5:09.50. The boat was made up of junior stroke Kate Concannon, senior and No. 3 seat Kate Hudson, sophomore and No. 2 seat Victoria Budike, and senior bow Laura Alcorn.
National Cathedral (D.C.) won the girls' senior eight in 4:55.78, with Mount St. Joseph taking third (5:00.00).
"They made a move right before the halfway mark," Mount senior coxswain Shannon-Nicole LoStracco said. "That gave them momentum."
The long day of rowing on the 1,500-meter course ended with Montclair (N.J.) winning the boys' senior eight in 4:14.44.
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