During its June 25 meeting held at Montclair Town Hall, the Essex County Board of Chosen Freeholders honored the Montclair High School Crew Team for the third consecutive year, and for its outstanding 2014 season. The Board’s Commendations were sponsored and presented to members of the team and their coaches by District 5 Freeholder Brendan Gill of Montclair.
“Tonight’s presentation has become an annual affair. For the third year in a row, it is my pleasure to acknowledge the success of one of the newest sports at the high school”, said Freeholder Gill, “but one that has already established itself as one of the most successful in the Montclair tradition; and that is the Crew Team”, adding “and it’s always special when I’m able to honor student-athletes from my alma mater, Montclair High School.”
The team’s successful season was highlighted by great results at four prestigious competitions: the Garden State Championships, held on April 26th on the Cooper River in Camden; the Philadelphia Championships, held on May 18th on the Schuylkill River in Philadelphia; the Stotesbury Cup, held on May 16th-17th, also on the Schuylkill River; and the National Championships, held on May 23rd-24th, also on the Cooper River. At the Garden State Championships, MHS crews won four gold, two silver and four bronze medals, qualifying seven crews to compete at the National Championships; won three gold, two silver and one bronze medal at the Philadelphia Championships; won two silver and two bronze medals at the Stotesbury Cup; and won a silver and bronze medal at the National Championships.
While the Board’s Commendation applauded the success of the entire 85-member team, the presentations at Montclair Town Hall highlighted the exceptional accomplishments of seven crews in particular:
- The Boys Varsity 8 Crew won silver medals at the Garden State and Philadelphia championships and a bronze medal at the Stotesbury Cup Regatta, becoming the first Northern New Jersey Boys Varsity 8 to qualify for a Stotesbury Cup final and the first to win a medal. The crew was comprised of Abe Kolko, Matias Hahn, Nathan Pollack, Janek Bielski, James Wisniewski, Eli Pimpao, Jonathan Silverman, Joe Michalitsianos and Isabella Corriere (Coxswain).
- The Girls Varsity Lightweight 4 Crew won gold medals at the Garden State and Philadelphia championships, and a bronze medal at the National Championships. The crew was comprised of Rachel Rosenberg, Glynnis Harvey, Emily Schnittman, Nina Alvarado-Silverman and Hallie Meisler (Coxswain).
- The Boys Varsity Lightweight Double Crew won gold medals at the Garden State and Philadelphia championships, and a silver medal at the Stotesbury Cup, and was comprised of Max Kim and Teddy Cahill.
- The Girls Junior Varsity 8 Crew won gold medals at the Garden State and Philadelphia championships, and a Bronze medal at the Stotesbury Cup Regatta. The crew was comprised of Tyler Nedzi, Allison Connors, Kelly Freedman, Caton Day, Jenna Walpole, Danique van Winden, Caroline Kelly, Elizabeth Levendosky and Sophia Corriere (Coxswain).
- The Boys Junior Varsity Quad Crew won a gold medal at the Garden State Championships and silver medals at the Philadelphia Championships, Stotesbury Cup and National Championships, and were the fastest American crew in all these events. The crew was comprised of James Pew, Owen Daly-Smith, Adam Pollack and Ethan St. John.
- The Girls Freshman 8 Crew won a bronze medal at the Garden State Championships, which qualified them for the National Championships. The crew was comprised of Emery Bergmann, Chista Behbin-Guirand, Dominique Harb, Grace Barnett, Lily Kuhn, Maya Stepansky, Cara Meyer, Gabrielle Aase-Remedios and Tuesday Carson (Coxswain).
- The Girls Novice 4 Crew won a gold medal at the Garden State Championships and was comprised of Jenna Zucker, Josie Cerbone, Camilla Zivari, Juliet Traylor and Cayley Montoya (Coxswain).
The full roster of the 2014 team is:
Senior Girls
Chantal Naegeli, Christy Rose, Jordan Sabourin, Emily Schnittman and Courtney Stith
Senior Boys
Sasha Baker, Janek Bielski, Teddy Cahill, Matias Hahn, Dylan Lewis, Max Kim, Abush Kolko, Joseph Michalitsianos, Eli Pimpao, Nathan Pollack, Jonathan Silverman and James Wisniewski
Junior Girls
Nina Alvarado-Silverman, Julia Burstein, Isabella Corriere, Teddi Mattox, Christina Sokolic, Danique van Winden and Jenna Walpole; Junior Boys Owen Daly-Smith, James Pew, Adam Pollack and Ethan St. John
Sophomore Girls
Emma Arian, Rachael Brown, Neave Burton, Josie Cerbone, Allison Connors, Sophia Corriere, Caton Day, Kelly Freedman, Glynnis Harvey, Caroline Kelly, Elizabeth Levendovsky, Anastasiya May, Cayley Montoya, Hallie Meisler, Tyler Nedzi, Rachel Rosenberg, Elisabeth Schifrin, Tori Schoen and Camilla Zavari
Sophomore Boys
Ian Barnes, Caleb DeSmith, Christopher Fabian, Jack Gonzales-Randall, Edward Michalitsianos, John Moore, Jacob Morello, Henry Pew, Natan Schattner-Elmaleh and Alexander Zincani
Freshman Girls
Juliet Traylor, Maya Stepansky, Grace Barnett, Lily Kuhn, Gabrielle Aase-Remedios, Cara Meyer, Nicole Iziollo, Dominique Harb, Jenna Zucker, Lucy Aley, Emery Bergmann, Deja Santana, Ketyann Salem Rosario and Chista Behbin-Guirand
Freshman Boys
Christopher Kaloudis, Zach Schuman, James MacCallum, Patrick King, Aaron Segal, Daniel Velez, Joshua Tapper, Ben Feltz, Devin Murphy, Liam DeLaight, Miles Lansing and Ben Plawker.
The team was coached by Head Coach Jeremy Michalitsianos, Coach Lorna Rundle and Assistant Coaches Reuben Man, Steve McNeilly, Julian Canha and Veli Etropolski.
Assistant Coach Julian Canha, representing Head Coach Jeremy Michalitsianos who is in England with the Boys Varsity 8 Crew as it prepares to compete in the Henley Royal Regatta, said, “There’s no other public school in the country that gets the results we do; we don’t have weak crews, and that’s a big tribute to community support and the support we get from the town, and we wouldn’t be in the position we’re in without it.” He added, “Thank you, Freeholder Gill, for recognizing us. It means a lot to us.”