Trent Excalibur Rowers Leave Competition in Their Wake
Men's heavyweight eight dominates at 46th Head of the Trent regatta
The Trent Excalibur men's heavyweight eight soundly beat the top Ontario University Athletics (OUA) rowing teams at the 46th Head of the Trent regatta on Saturday, October 1, 2016, putting an exclamation point on a strong day of performances by all Trent rowers.
The men's eight defeated runner-up Western by an impressive five seconds, a remarkable result considering that the team had only been together as a unit four times prior to the race - five of the team members had been away at the national rowing championships in British Columbia.
"We've been fortunate to bring together a number of strong rowers who have some national and international experience," said Jack Lapum, head coach of Trent University's rowing program, noting that the men's eight included four Canadian national team members: Alex Watson, Trevor Jones, Graham Peeters and Andrew Stewart-Jones.
James Dyer, Dan Bullock, Mark Moyer and Matt Seaby rounded out the men's eight, who were coxed by Abby Adair.
"It was a strong performance by the men's eight, against some very good competition," Mr. Lapum said. "But I think they have more to give and they're working hard to do that."
The men's heavyweight coxed four of Mr. Dyer, Mr. Bullock, Mr. Stewart-Jones, Mr. Watson and, and the men's heavyweight doubles of Mr. Jones and Mr. Peeters also earned gold medals. Mr. Seaby finished second in the men's heavyweight single. Overall, it was a day of solid performances by all of the men's and women's crews, most of whom finished in the top five.
"I'm very excited about our rowing program," Mr. Lapum said. "We've got a good group of talented rowers and a very deep program that has required people to work hard just to make the varsity team."
Mr. Lapum is optimistic that the team will bring home more medals later this year from the OUA and Canadian university championships, and he expects that the rowing program at Trent will build on its strengths and continue to grow.