Novice Men Win Gold at 2009 NYS Championships

May 3: The St. Lawrence University men's novice eight demonstrated to the rest of New York State what they can expect from the Saints in years to come Sunday morning as the crew took home the gold medal in the Men's Novice Eight event at the New York State Championships in Whitney Point, NY.

In an exciting and tight race, St. Lawrence held off Marist in the Grand Final and clocked in with a time of 6:26.60, while Marist finished in a close second with a time of 6:26.93. Rochester Institute of Technology rounded out the top three with a time of 6:30.18, while Ithaca (6:31.25), Army (6:34.16) and Hobart (6:35.88) also competed. The Statesmen were the only other Liberty League entry in the event.

St. Lawrence's novice crew included first years Justin Painter (Kattskill Bay, NY/Northwood), Will Schrade (Slingerlands, NY/Christian Brothers Academy), Brent Underwood (Slovang, CA/Santa Ynez Valley Union), Jamie Cook (Madison, CT/The Williams School), Michael MacNeil (Milton, MA/Thayer Academy), Jon Williams (Higganum, CT/Kent School), Griffin Green (Buffalo, NY/Hutchinson Central Tech), Justin Raffaeli (Pound Ridge, CT/Kent School) and rookie coxswain Mike Cianca (Pittsford, NY/Pittsford-Southerland).

In the Men's Varsity 8 Petite Final, St. Lawrence's entry placed fourth behind Rochester (6:14.90), Union (6:24.26) and Vassar (6:28.80), with a time of 6:30.48. The Saints edged Hamilton (6:31.33) while RPI rounded out the event, finishing at 6:55.53.

The boat contained sophomore David MacClaren (Madison, CT/Stratton Mountain School), senior Andrew Kraus (Devon, PA/Westtown), senior Matt Sonagere (Auburn, ME/Edward Little), senior Seth Corliss (Castleton, VT/Fair Haven Union), senior Mike Syslo (Shrewsbury, MA/St. John's School), sophomore Nick Blum (Buffalo, NY/Williamsville East), senior Jullian Holland (Falls Village, CT/Housatonic Valley Regional), senior Liam Delahanty (Francestown, NH/Conval Regional) and sophomore coxswain Allison Webster (Lincoln, MA).

The men's varsity four crew from St. Lawrence, who competed yesterday and were to compete in the Petite Final of the event on Sunday, scratched the event.

St. Lawrence will compete next weekend in the ECAC Invitational in Worcester, MA.