(VERSION FRANÇAISE SUIT)
ST. CATHARINES, Ont. – The McGill Redbirds finished fifth of 13 teams in the men's team standings at the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) rowing championships, held Friday and Saturday at the Royal Canadian Henley course on Henley Island.
Queen's captured its first OUA men's title in 22 years, collecting 483 points to finish ahead of Western (422) and host Brock (421) in a tightly contested battle for the provincial title. Ottawa was fourth with 164 points, followed by McGill (111) and Trent (105).
The Gaels won four gold medals, three silver and two bronze to secure the championship, which remained undecided until the final races.
McGill's strongest performances included three fourth-place finishes in championship finals, along with a victory in the men's varsity coxed four B final. The Redbirds also captured gold in the novice double at Friday's OUA Development Regatta, a separate competition whose medals and points did not count toward the championship standings.
"Through challenging racing conditions today, our athletes showed tenacity and a pure desire to race and perform well, while enjoying every second of it," said McGill head coach Stéphanie Marchand following Friday's opening round races.
"It was amazing to see all the good results and races today after two months of fall training, especially with the OUAs being the last race of the season for all our athletes who are not travelling to the Canadian University Rowing Association (CURA) Championships next weekend. We go (into Saturday's races) with 10 A finals, and I cannot wait to see all the performances!"
Oliver Snoxell narrowly missed the podium in Saturday's varsity single, placing fourth in seven minutes, 38.63 seconds. Western's Oliver Baker won in 7:23.61, followed by Toronto's Jack Bon (7:29.83) and Queen's Peyton Williams (7:34.48).
Baker was named OUA men's athlete of the year after winning both the single and varsity eight with Western.
Thom Martens also finished fourth in the lightweight varsity single, clocking 7:22.53. Brock's Jonas Masys claimed gold in 7:15.09, ahead of Queen's Leo Biancaniello (7:17.79) and Trent's Owen Ingram (7:21.85). Martens missed the bronze medal by just 0.68 seconds.
McGill's third fourth-place result came in the lightweight varsity double, where Rand Ripple and Arthur Casalis finished in 7:08.08. Queen's won in 6:54.19, followed by Brock (6:59.87) and Western (7:00.89).
The Redbirds also won the varsity coxed four B final. Coxswain Naia Kolodziej guided Theo Pafitis, Jonathan Cucci, Tristan Boudreau and Taivan Everett to a time of 7:01.91, comfortably ahead of Guelph (7:19.84) and Waterloo (7:30.66).
In the varsity pair, Thomas Barcza and Edison Luke placed sixth in 7:12.72. Western won in 6:50.48, ahead of Queen's (6:55.96) and Ottawa (6:56.31).
McGill added a fifth-place finish in the lightweight varsity coxed four. Coxswain Zoe Halstead and Casalis, Clement Le Scellier de Chezelles, Ripple and Martens completed the course in 7:05.11. Queen's won in 6:45.27, followed by Brock (6:50.33) and Ottawa (6:56.72).
The Redbirds varsity eight also placed fifth. Kolodziej guided Luke, Everett, Kyler Bellamy, Pafitis, Boudreau, Cucci, Snoxell and Barcza to a time of 6:31.25. Western captured gold in 6:05.57, ahead of Brock (6:11.29) and Queen's (6:12.74).
Queen's head coach Stu Robinson was named the OUA men's team coach of the year after guiding the Gaels to their championship breakthrough.
All gold medallists at the championships also automatically earned OUA all-star honours.
Developmental regatta
McGill's novice crews also competed Friday in the OUA Development Regatta, held at the same venue. The competition featured 1,000-metre races for novices and 2,000-metre events for junior varsity crews, with results excluded from the OUA championship medal and points totals.
Justin Boulanger and Erik Hunter capped an undefeated season by winning the men's novice double in four minutes, 9.1 seconds. The McGill tandem finished more than five seconds ahead of Brock (4:14.5), with Nipissing third in 4:20.3.
The Redbirds novice eight also showed promise, winning its preliminary heat in 3:49.9, more than five seconds ahead of Waterloo (3:55.0).
Coxswain Jad Morin guided Ian Benkoczi, Jeremy Dube, Luka Hodgson, Patrick Hunter, Emma Broadbent, Alex Kerr, Shoham Zuker and James Escott.
McGill advanced to the A final but was excluded from the results, along with Ottawa, following a collision involving Trent.
The championships marked McGill's third competition of the fall season, following appearances at the Head of the Rideau in Ottawa and Head of the Trent in Peterborough. The CURA Championships are scheduled for Nov. 6-8 at Fanshawe Lake in London, Ont.
LINK TO WOMEN'S RECAP
COMPLETE RESULTS
OUA ROWING MAJOR AWARDS
Men's Athlete of the Year: Oliver Baker - Western
Men's Team Coach of the Year: Stu Robinson – Queen's
Final Standings
Men
1. Queen's – 483
2. Western – 422
3. Brock – 421
4. Ottawa – 164
5. McGill – 111
6. Trent – 105
7. Guelph – 95
8. Toronto – 85
9. Waterloo – 49
10.McMaster – 35
11.Carleton – 30
12.Ontario Tech – 16
13.Nipissing – 2
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SOURCE:
Earl Zukerman
Sports Information Officer
Athletics & Recreation
McGill University
CELL: 514-983-7012
E-MAIL:earl.zukerman@mcgill.ca
