Mobjack Back On The Occoquan
Mobjack Rowing Association athletes, along with Head Coach Jon Lothian and Assistant Coach Christina Pope Tomcany, traveled to Fairfax Station, Virginia on Sunday, November 7th to compete at the Head of the Occoquan. Forty-six different teams with rowers of all ages showed up to conquer the five kilometer course. Mobjack rowers attended with a team of athletes ranging from seventh grade novices up to rowers in their late thirties with more experience under their belt. The team of novices, along with their experienced junior members, gained some much needed experience to fuel the team as they move forward into winter training.
The team had a great start to the day. The Men’s Club Double, consisting of rowers Matt Thomas at bow and Kyle Moran at stroke, took second place behind a composite boat of one rower each from the Occoquan Boat Club and the Hampton Roads Boat Club. Thomas and Moran came in with a time of 18:46.95- just five seconds behind the OBC/HRRC double.
Next up was the Men’s Junior Double with returning rower Matthew Morgan at bow and novice rower Sam Tomcany at stroke. Morgan and Tomcany came in 14th with a time of 23:20- knocking a whole minute off of their previous five kilometer time. The lineup also had the youngest average age of all boats entered- fourteen years old. All other entries in the race had an average age of sixteen to eighteen years old.
In the races that followed, returning rowers Lillian Copeland at bow and Savannah Hartlove at stroke competed in the Women’s Junior Double. The rowers finished the course with a time of 25:39. Soon after, returning rower Sandra Baer, at bow, competed with novice rowers Felicity Hartlove at two seat, Kayla Carr at three seat, and Annalise Morse at stroke in the Women’s Junior Quad. Much like the Men’s Junior Double, the quad had the youngest average age in the event. The Mobjack athletes crossed the finish line with a time of 24:59.
Finishing up the day, rowers Wood Hudson, David Bagby, Derrick Knauss, Joseph Fay along with coxswain Savannah Hartlove competed in the Men’s Club Four event. The four had not practiced together or competed in a race in three years, but trained on their own in order to meet and compete in this event. Unlike the other boats Mobjack raced that day, this line up had the oldest average age out of all boats entered in their event- in fact, 16 years older. After a little practice leading up to the starting line, the Mobjack athletes finished first with a time of 23:56.
After the day was over, Coach Lothian remarked that “This fall had really been a teaching season.” Back at the beginning of September, Mobjack welcomed ten novices who signed on to learn how to row. Returning athletes, Morgan, Baer, S. Hartlove, and Copeland were instrumental in helping to train up a new group of rowers who will continue to train to compete in the spring. Coach Tomcany agreed and added “I’m looking forward to a successful winter training period to springboard us into a fast spring season.”
Fall rowing ended last week for Mobjack Rowers and winter training started this past Monday. Mobjack is always looking to add new rowers to our ranks. For more information on programs MRA offers visit our website, www.mobjackrowing.org
