As Submitted to Florida Today

Mel Hi Crew finishes 6th in Nation at SRAA Scholastic Nationals

Camden, NJ –May 28,2011

 
The Mel Hi Crew Mens Junior 4+ , finished 6th in the Grand Final at SRAA Scholastic
Nationals at Cooper River in Camden NJ. This capped a great run which just started
4 weeks ago.  Having raced in the Varsity 8+ all season these three juniors Andrew
Stebbins, Nathan Esterline & Jake Combs along with one sophomore Zachary Bell,
with first year coxswain Marissa Chodorow started training in a 4 boat for the first
time together four weeks ago. They trained two weeks and went to Southeast
Youth Championship Regatta at Lake Lanier in Gainesville, GA (a 2000 meter race)
Racing mostly against larger clubs; finished 3rd in a qualifying heat then raced again
that day in a repechage which they won and  advanced them to a next day final
where they finished third and qualified for US Rowing Youth National Championships .
They bid for a spot in the SRAA Scholastic Nationals (1500 meter race) in an event with 32 entries,
With the successful bid secured they raced in Heat 6 on Friday May 27th, finishing
2nd in their heat with a time of 5:15.68 and moved on to the semifinals on Saturday
May 28th racing to a 2nd   place finish against the eventual Grand Champion
Saratoga, NY with a time of 5:03.03 earning a position in the Grand Final (The time of 5.03.03 remained the 3rd best time posted for the day the other two times were posted by Saratoga in both the Semi Final against Melbourne and the in the Grand Final Race).
Racing against  nationally ranked boats The Mel Hi Crew Men’s Junior 4+ finished sixth in the Grand Final with a time of  5:16.43.
It should be noted that this is the first time a Mel Hi Crew Sweep boat had qualified
for the Grand Final at the SRAA Nationals in the 34 year history of Mel Hi Crew. In
the past Mel Hi Crew has had Sculling boats in the Grand Finals earning National
Medals and recognition.
Coach Jon Lothian came to Mel Hi Crew in the fall of 2010 after a rowing
career at his home school in Gloucester, VA and with  Florida Tech . Coach
Lothian  also coached at Space Coast Crew prior to taking a position at Mel Hi Crew
qualifying boats to compete at the National level.  An interesting side note, Mel Hi
Crew had to compete against Coach Lothian’s home school to earn a spot in the
Semi Final race.
Mel Hi Crew  is a parent supported club sport of Melbourne High School,  100% of the funding of  the  club comes  through the parents of the rowers, community support through fund raisers  and the generous support of our business community and  Alumni. Donations are always welcome!
To learn more about Mel Hi Crew
Visit our website  www.melhicrew.com for more information.