Mobjack Rowing Association’s summer competitive rowing program took gold in the women’s junior four and bronze in the women’s under 16 four at last weekend’s Independence Day Regatta in Philadelphia.
Two other MRA boats advanced to the finals in the international competition, with the men’s junior four placing fourth and the men’s open four finishing in sixth place.
Mobjack rowers competed in the 131st annual running of the largest summer regatta in the U.S., with 84 clubs participating, including team from Australia, Canada, Guatemala and Peru.
Mobjack entered events spanning from the under 16-year-old single, 18-year-old double and four, up to the open men’s four, where oldest member Drew Greve celebrated his 36th birthday.
The Mobjack women welcomed Great Bridge High School rower Chelsea Adams, who has opted to spend her summer training and racing out of Williams Wharf along with Kristen Hickman, Elaina Arsenovic, Kendall Worland, Taylor Williams and Madisson Haynes.
The women’s junior four team of Hickman, Adams, Arsenovic, Worland and coxswain Trevor Thomas posted the fastest of all times in both the preliminary heat and in the semifinals, continuing their dominance in the finals, beating Sagamore (New York) by nearly two seconds.
With less than 40 minutes to get back from the finish, change boats and swap Hickman and Adams out for Williams and Haynes for the under 16 four, the girls rushed back to the 2,000-meter start just in time to race to a bronze finish behind winner Sagamore and second place Essex (Mass.), but then had to scratch their entry in the junior quad because of the tight schedule.
Racing on the men’s side, Mobjack juniors Zach Payne, Andrew Merz, Cole Johnson, Phillip Machen, Jeremy Frush and coxswain Matthew Hendrix had the opportunity to train with two recent Naval Academy graduates, Tucker Witt and Julian Bowling, as well as local Ironman athlete Drew Greve and the highly experienced Matt Muffelman, MHS alum and longtime MRA member.
These four came together to compete in the open men’s four. Greve and Witt practiced at Williams Wharf for the two weeks leading up to the regatta; however, schedules and work kept Muffelman and Bowling away until the actual day Mobjack arrived in Philadelphia.
Merz, Payne, Johnson, Machen and Hendrix teamed up to race in the men’s junior four. The crew posted the eighth fastest time of 24 boats in the preliminary heat and third fastest time in the semis. In the finals, they finished in fourth place behind winner Old Dominion and two Penn AC boats.
"The team really put in a great performance for such a small group," MRA coach Tim Ulsaker said. "Anytime you can take six junior girls and seven junior boys and medal or make most of the finals in a strong international level regatta, you have done well.
"The open men put in a strong performance considering their age span (22, 24, 30 and 36) and almost no practice together," Ulsaker continued. "The strength and toughness our small group exhibited has become a long tradition that is known and respected wherever Mobjack goes."
Mobjack youth will continue to train the rest of the summer and will attend the Philadelphia Youth Regatta on July 15-16 and the Royal Canadian Henley, the largest regatta in North America, from July 31 to Aug. 7.