HOME OF THE OCEAN CITY HIGH SCHOOL CREW TEAM
IN THE NEWS
Written by Columb Higgins
Sunday, June 29, 2014 12:00 pm
Ocean City High School crew champions honored
PETERSBURG – Upper Township Committee honored the Ocean City High School JV8 boys crew team Monday for winning the 2014 Scholastic Rowing Association of America Regatta.
The regatta was held at Mercer Lake on May 24. The Ocean City High School team beat 17 other boats from across the country.
Chase Devlin, Nicolas DiMarco, Evan Nathan, Christian McDermott, Christian Baumgardner, Colin Stewart, Michael Daddi, Erik Lam and Ryan Fisher received proclamations from the Upper Township Committee.
The team dedicated their victory to Tara Miller, a girl suffering from cancer.
Ocean City celebrates its athletes
Written by Opinion
Tuesday, June 03, 2014 12:00 am
To the editor:
If you were in Ocean City around 5 p.m. on a recent Saturday you probably heard the horns of the fire truck and the sirens of the police car as they escorted a bus full of our high school athletes through the town.
Mayor Jay Gillian and Councilman Mike DeVlieger met them as they proudly piled off the bus after an exciting three days. Gov. Christie was in town and was trying to work a visit in but missed it by 20 minutes.
Ocean City's Crew Team received a well-deserved parade after competing in the nationals at Mercer Lake in Princeton.
At nationals there are no losers. The competition to enter is staggering and the athletes who participate are the cream of the crop, it is an honor to be included. Ocean City had seven boats racing.
While there are no losers, there certainly are winners.
After two qualifying heats, Ocean City's Boys Junior Varsity 8 boat took first place to earn a Gold Medal!
Coxswain Chase Devlin, rowers Nick DiMarco, Evan Nathan, Christian McDermott, Christian Baumgardner, Colin Stewart, Michael Daddi, Eric Lam, and Ryan Fisher brought the coveted plaque of national winner to our school. It was a truly amazing feat!
Those familiar with crew know the immense amount of teamwork it takes to move those boats. There are no grandstanders, everyone must learn to work as a unit. While each member of the team trains to their personal best they must also be acutely aware of their teammates' every move. They learn to take direction from the coxswain and trust that as a team everyone is in sync at peak performance. On race day they must wait patiently, sometimes for long hours in the rain, the cold or the heat, for their turn to compete. They train daily for months ...all for a 5-minute race where they glide along the water like a thing of beauty!
Crew also demands a lot of dedicated parent involvement. Crew parents are like a big family, supplying a big family picnic at every event. Long weekends, weekly team pasta dinners at rotating houses, lots of fundraising, lots of behind the scenes support from many, many people. Crew truly creates community.
While we are delighted about our Junior Varsity winning a Gold Medal at Nationals, we are equally proud of each of the team members who participate in this fine sport.
Gov. Christie missed meeting some amazing young people.
Holly Devlin Ocean City
Posted: Wednesday, July 3, 2013 12:01 am
By ELISA LALA, Staff Writer
Press of Atlantic City
The Ocean City Board of Education during its June 26 meeting recognized the Ocean City High School Freshman Eight boys crew team for its historic Stotesbury Regatta victory May 18 in Philadelphia.
This was first time in Stotesbury Regatta history that an Ocean City team has won gold at this event, defeating 44 other boats.
"The Stotesbury Regatta is one the largest high school regattas in the country, and maybe one of the oldest in the country, and our boys took the gold," said Ocean City School District Superintendent Kathleen Taylor. "These are guys that make us proud both on and off the water."
The Freshman Eight boat members are Chase Devlin, 15, of Ocean City, Colin Stewart, 15, of Upper Township, Christopher Delgrande, 15, of Upper Township, Ryan Fisher, 15, of Upper Township, Roman LaRosa, 15, of Sea Isle City, Evan Nathan, 15, of Upper Township, Brendan McClure, 15, of Margate, Nic DiMarco, 15, of Ocean City, and Christian Baumgardener, 15, of Longport. Their coaches are John Millar, Ryan Huck and Evan Ryan.
Their boat was named the Brian T. Fitzpatrick in honor of a 17-year-old Ocean City crew member who died in a car crash and to whom they dedicated their win.
"Brian was one of the top rowers in the beginning crew program back in 2004 and 2005 when he died," Taylor said. The Freshman Eight dedicated their win to him, so Brian also got this medal."
Millar said he is especially proud of the boys' commitment throughout the season.
"Three weeks before the Stotesbury, we entered the state championships, and we came in fifth. Right then, I turned to the guys and I said, 'Do you want to give up?' Well, obviously they made the right choice. The four teams that beat us in the states didn't even make it to the finals. So that's the kind of character these guys have," Millar said. "So I just want to congratulate them again for all of their hard work and dedication, especially as I remember all of the cold days of the season."
On behalf of the Board of Education, Taylor then presented each of the students with an award and wished them luck in their future years on the water.
"We look forward to following your future successes over the next few years," she said.
Contact Elisa Lala:
609-463-6713
Freshman 8 Wins
2013 Stotesbury!
