As temperatures dipped below 5°C, the Brock Badgers rowing team took to their home course on Henley Island for the Brock Invitational regatta.
The regatta, which is used as a seeding regatta for the OUA Championships taking place two weeks from now, brought schools from around Ontario to Port Dalhousie. There were many highlights for Brock at the regatta, including three gold medals. However, the big event of the day was the food donations collected for 'Community Cares'. A rough estimate suggests that anywhere from 1,200-1,500 pounds of food was collected. The food drive, which was organized by head coach
Peter Somerwil, will give families in need much needed help at Thanksgiving. Most athletes at the regatta will eat more in one day than some families will eat for Thanksgiving dinner.
Winning gold for Brock were the Lightweight Men's 4+, the Heavyweight Men's 4+, and the Lightweight Men's 8+. The lightweight Men's 4+, consisting of
James Myers,
Grayson Gray,
James Potts,
Taylor Ashwood, and Amy MacLean, held off the Western Mustangs crew by two seconds, finishing in a time of 6:19.03. Myers, Potts, Ashwood, and MacLean teamed up with
Bryan Haakman,
Eric Buchanan,
Michael Brunton,
Connor Pepper, and
Austin Cameron. The crew defeated second place Western by just over a second, completing the race in 5:50.62 seconds. The last gold medal for Brock came from the Heavyweight Men's 4+, who remained undefeated on the season.
David De Groot, Matt Finley,
Will Bryden, Matt Wortley, and
Earl Cabaluna finished in front of second place Western by 4 seconds. Through 1000 metres both crews were very close, but in the last half of the race the Badgers crew made a strong push and opening the lead.
There were several other crews who medaled on Saturday. Finishing second was the Men's Lightweight 1x, the Women's Lightweight 1x, the Men's Heavy 2x, the Women's Lightweight 2x, and the Men's Heavyweight 8+. Coming third was the Women's Lightweight 8+, with all members of the crew in their first year of varsity rowing. With the OUA Championships just two weeks away, it appears that Brock is in a strong position to win championships banners.
There will be four crews in Boston, Massachusetts next weekend to race the famous Head of the Charles Regatta. The Men's Heavyweight 8+, the Women's Heavyweight 4+, the Women's Lightweight 4+, and the Men's Lightweight 4+ will all be participating in one of the largest regattas in the world. The rest of the team will be racing in Guelph next weekend, with all crews preparing for the OUA Championships and OUA Development Regatta on the 24th and 25th of October.
