Ridgewood NJ, Ridgewood Crew had a remarkably good start to the 2018 season. Several of our boats consistently took first, second and third place slots in numerous categories during the 3rd, 4th and 5th Manny Flicks at the Schuylkill River in Philadelphia.
The Manny Flicks act as brush ups for Ridgewood and many of the teams in the mid-Atlantic region before the championship season begins April 28.
Coach Boris Roque-Alvarez said the coaching staff was “extremely happy with the performance and results.” Weather conditions leading up to the Flicks proved frustrating. Snow and wind prevented rowers from getting in the water to hone their technique but strength training land practices proved successful.
The Girls Varsity 2x with Senior, Amanda Perez, and Junior, Alexandra Walton Roth held first place in all three regattas. The Boys JV 4x with Juniors, Alexander Melarti, Drew Johnson, Sebastian Rivero and Sophomore, Tommy Montgomery and the Boys Ltwt 2x with Seniors, Joe O’Keefe, and Spencer Campbell also hit the trifecta 1st place mark. The crew heads to the Cooper River for the Garden State Championships this weekend.
Ridgewood NJ, Ridgewood Crew sent two boats to Sarasota, Florida for the US Rowing Youth National Championship last weekend to close out a great crew season. The crews were eligible to compete against the fastest youth boats in the country because they placed in the top 3 in their Mid-Atlantic Regional qualifier at Mercer Lake in May.
Charles Koontz competed in the Men’s Varsity 1x and Sam Daspin and Spencer Campbell competed in the Men’s Lightweight 2x event. Both boats made the C Final for their fast events with Koontz coming in 4th in the C Final and the lightweight double coming in 4th as well.
Sending representatives from the team to US Rowing Youth Nationals tops off an impressive season for Ridgewood Crew. The championship racing season includes the Garden State Championship Regatta, City Championships, Mid-Atlantic Championships, Stotesbury Cup Regatta, SRAA National Championships, and the US Rowing Youth Nationals. The team qualified numerous boats into the finals and won many medals throughout the championship competitions.
Just to highlight some of the successes, Ridgewood Crew received 39 total medals at Garden State Championships, 22 medals at City Championships, 9 medals at the Mid-Atlantic Youth Championship, 4 medals at Stotesbury Cup, and 6 medals at the SRAA Nationals.
Of particular note was the Women’s Varsity 2x of Seniors Claire Callaghan and Jordan Wittmaack, who won Gold Medals at City Championships, Stotesbury Cup, and SRAA Nationals.
Ridgewood Crew is graduating 14 seniors this week. Of the 14, 8 student-athletes are planning to continue rowing as college athletes:
Claire Callaghan – University of Connecticut
Jordan Wittmaack – West Virginia University
Melissa Dexter – Univerversity of Massachusetts – Amherst
Isabella DeGregorio – Boston College
Erica Lehman – Philadelphia University
Charles Koontz – Trinity College
Patrick DuBois – Saint Joseph’s University
Ian Soderlund – Marist College
All the Ridgewood Crew seniors should be proud of what they have accomplished as rowers for Ridgewood Crew.
Next, many of the athletes will enter Summer and Fall Club Rowing for Maroon Blades Rowing Club.
Any student-athletes interested in joining the team and learning to row should visit www.ridgewoodcrew.com or email row@ridgewoodcrew.com for more information.
The annual crew banquet took place Saturday, June 17 at Park West Tavern Loft
Photos: Janice Soderland
Gold Medal and Lovey Farrell Cup Awardees Claire Callaghan and Jordan Wittmaack Girls Varsity Double Photo:Terry Wittmaack
May 24,2017
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, Ridgewood Crew girls dominate at Stotesbury, the largest high school rowing regatta in the world. Girls Varsity Double earned the Gold and the Lovey Farrell Cup, and the Girls Junior Varsity earned the Bronze.
This past weekend, Ridgewood Crew traveled to the Schuylkill River in Philadelphia for the legendary Stotesbury Cup Regatta. Stotesbury Cup is the largest scholastic regatta in the world and features approximately 5,000 high school athletes representing nearly 200 different schools in competition.
On Friday morning into the early afternoon, Ridgewood had 14 entries compete in time trials. Of the 14 crews, 11 advanced to the semi-final rounds held Friday afternoon and Saturday morning. To put the achievement in perspective, many crews were packing up their boats to leave after time trials on Friday.In the semi-final round, Ridgewood was able to advance 8 crews to the finals for Saturday afternoon.
Bronze Medalists Maddie Gibson and Alexandra Walton Roth Girls JV Double Photo: Nicole Gibson
Crews that made semi-finals and finals are listed below:
Girls Junior Double: Alexandra Walton Roth,Maddie Gibson – Semi-finals,
Finals (3rd) Boys Junior Double: Drew Johnson, Alex Melarti – Semi-finals
Boys Freshman Quad: Tommy Montgomery, Gabe Martinez, David Yang, Dylan Park
– Semi-finals, Finals (6th) Girls Varsity Lightweight Double: Maddy
Phillips, Emily Gilman – Semi-finals, Finals (5th) Boys Varsity Lightweight
Double: Sam Daspin, Spencer Campbell – Semi-finals, Finals (5th) Boys Junior
Quad: Ed Hida, Alex Saladucha, Joe O’Keefe, Henry Koontz – Semi-finals,
Finals (4th) Girls Varsity Double: Claire Callaghan, Jordan Wittmaack –
Semi-finals, Finals (1st) Boys Varsity Double: Patrick DuBois, Ian Soderlund
– Semi-finals Boys Varsity Single: Charlie Koontz – Semi-finals, Finals
(5th) Girls Varsity Quad: Isabella DeGregorio, Chloe Young, Amanda Perez,
Melissa Dexter – Semi-finals, Finals (4th) Boys Varsity Quad: Sebastian
Rivero, Andrew Felix, Matt Seiter, Walter Friedrich – Semi-finals
On Saturday afternoon showcased the fastest scholastic rowers from places as far away as Florida, Texas, and Canada. Ridgewood was able to place two boats in medaling position. Ridgewood started off their first final with the Girls Junior Double with Alexandra Walton Roth and Maddie Gibson getting bronze medals. They showed true grit in the last 300 meters of the race to pass a hard charging Springside-Chestnut Hill crew.
Later on Saturday, the Girls Varsity Double of Claire Callaghan and Jordan Wittmaack blitzed the final 500 meters of the race going from 3rd or 4th place to first place for a gold medal finish. Seniors, both girls hadm received silver medals at Stotesbury Cup as Freshman and Sophomores, and were ecstatic to stand on the medal dock to receive their gold medals and the Lovey Farrell Cup Award for the category. Bridget Callaghan, Claire Callaghan’s older sister won the same award two years ago with her partner, Julia Hefferon.
In all, Ridgewood Crew posted excellent results. As Head Coach Boris Roque-Alvarez said, “It was amazing that we were able to get so many crews into the semi-finals and finals, and we are proud of all of our athletes.”
Photo by Terry Wittmaack Gold Medalists Girls Varsity 2x Claire Callaghan, Jordan Wittmaack Coaches: Bob O’Conner ,Boris Roque Alvarez
May 9,2017
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, Ridgewood Crew had another great weekend of racing as the boys and girls traveled down to Philadelpihia for the City Championship, a regional championship that includes high school teams from the mid-Atlantic region. Against a competitive field, Ridgewood was able to come away with many excellent results in this two day event.
The first day served as a qualifying round for crews to advance to semi-finals and finals on Sunday. 11 of the 15 entries advanced to Sunday’s racing.
Sunday featured racing that matched the intensity of the rapidly changing weather. Ridgewood rowers battled both the other crews and gusting winds down the race course.
Sunday morning, the boys junior varsity doubles rowed by Drew Johnson and Alex Melarti; and Sebastian Rivero and Walter Friedrich qualified for their finals by finishing in the top three in their respective semi-final heats.
Sunday afternoon the finals started and Ridgewood did not disappoint regardless of the conditions. Ridgewood carried 11 crews into finals in 10 events. Of the crews in finals, 8 came away with medals; 4 crews came away with bronze medals, 3 crews received silver medals, and the varsity girls double of Claire Callaghan and Jordan Wittmaack came away with gold.
Photo by Claus Melarti Bronze Medalists Boys JV 2x Drew Johnson, Alex Melarti, Coach Boris Roque Alvarez
Bronze
Girls Freshman 4x (Nicole Kye, Holly Sisco, Khushi Patel, and Anna Soderlund)
Boys Junior Varsity 2x (Drew Johnson and Alex Melarti)
Girls Varsity Lightweight 2x (Maddy Phillips and Emily Gilman)
Boys Varsity Lightweight 2x (Sam Daspin and Spencer Campbell)
Silver
Girls Junior Varsity 2x (Alexandra Walton Roth and Maddie Gibson)
Boys Junior Varsity 4x (Edward Hida, Alex Saladucha, Joe O’Keefe, and Henry Koontz)
Girls Varsity 2x (Claire Callaghan and Jordan Wittmaack)
In the girls varsity double, the crew had to fight back from behind to secure the victory. According to Senior gold medalist Claire Callaghan, “the other crews went out quickly in the first 500 meters” of the 1500 meter competition, but the double “stuck to and executed our race plan and were able to move through the competition.”
“I have great memories from racing at City’s and have won 3 golds and a silver in my four years of competing here,” says Callaghan.
Select crews will travel to Lake Mercer next weekend for the USRowing Mid-Atlantic Youth Championship. There, crews will attempt to qualify for the USRowing Youth National Championship Regatta held in Sarasota, Florida this June.
Ridgewood Nj, It is literally freezing outside today and Ridgewood Crew is having their annual row-a-thon in Van Neste Square from 10-3. Brrrrr….If you happen to be in town, please stop by to give these kids a boost and maybe buy a few things from the bake sale. This will keep their spirits up and it will help them raise desperately needed cash for their team.
Thanks SO much and spread the word
Ridgewood NJ, Join Ridgewood Crew/Maroon Blades in Van Neste Square from 10-2 to experience the thrill and learn the benefits of rowing. National Learn to Row Day is today Saturday, June 4.
According to Ridgewood Crew the Top 10 Benefits of Rowing:
Promotes healthy body composition: Rowing can help maintain a healthy balance of fat mass and fat-free mass in your body. If an analysis of your body composition indicates that your body fat is high, rowing can be a good way to burn off fat, as it is predominantly an aerobic sport. In fact, you can easily burn up to 600 calories per hour.
Enhances cardio-respiratory system: Rowing enhances your lung’s ability to provide oxygen to the blood, heart and the rest of your body. A lack of cardio-respiratory fitness is closely linked to heart disease. The good news is that improving your aerobic fitness can be done in short intervals, so it does not take too much time out of your day. All you need is 30 minutes of steady state exercise – or 10 minutes of high intensity intervals – in the boat or on the rowing machine.
Offers low impact exercise with high results: Both competitive and recreational rowing are unique in comparison to most sports because they exercise all of your major muscle groups. Everything from your legs, back and arms are engaged while rowing. In addition, rowing is a low-impact sport. When executed properly, the rowing stroke is a fairly safe motion, providing little room for the serious injury often found in contact and high-impact sports.
Promotes weight loss: Competitive rowers expend almost twice the number of calories on a 2,000-meter course as a runner in a 3,000-meter steeplechase. However, since rowing is low impact, you will not experience the same wear and tear on your body and joints as you would if you were a runner. Plus, you build strength in your upper body and core.
Helps the heart: Cardiovascular training involves any activity that requires the use of the large muscle groups of the body in a regular and uninterrupted manner. Rowing is one of the few non-weight bearing sports that exercises all the major muscle groups.
Builds muscle strength: The primary muscles that rowers work are the quadriceps, the large muscles in front of your thighs. These muscles are necessary for extending the knee, and they also serve as hip flexors, which allow you to make powerful leg movements. As your quadriceps become stronger, activities and exercises such as walking, jogging, lunges and squats can be done more efficiently and with greater strength.
Reduces stress: The consistent and rhythmic activity associated with rowing, combined with being outdoors on the water, has an unparalleled impact on reducing stress.
Stabilizes the body: Rowing in a boat requires the stabilizer and neutralizer muscles to fire up. Those same muscles might help to avoid a fall or help keep you from hurting your back when lifting a child or a heavy box awkwardly. Your core, or trunk, becomes stronger and better prepared to handle off-balanced movement.
Improves muscle and joint mobility: Rowing conditions many different muscles and joints without straining them, making this exercise ideal for those with arthritis or osteoporosis. The muscles and joints experience a wide range of movement during rowing, which will eventually minimize stiffness and increase flexibility. If you live a sedentary lifestyle or become stiff after long periods of inactivity, loosen your muscles and joints by rowing at a moderate pace for 20 to 30 minutes.
Offers a full-body exercise: A rowing machine works the lower and middle back, hamstrings, calves, gluteal muscles and biceps. Rowing works more body parts than most cardiovascular machines, and it provides a low-impact exercise that people of various fitness levels can complete comfortably.
Come take a spin on an erg and get THE BEST WORKOUT of your life!
When: Today, June 4
Stop in anytime between 10-2
Where: Van Neste Square
See you there!!!
Sponsored by Ridgewood Crew/Maroon Blades
Ridgewood NJ, 10 crews earned the opportunity to row in the Scholastic Rowing Association of America (SRAA) National Championship in Dillon, Ohio over Memorial Day Weekend.
2 Crews, the Boys and Girls JV Doubles, brought home Bronze Medals.
Bronze Medalists:
Girls JV Double Georgia Hefferon and Chloe Young
Bronze Medalists:
Boys JV Double Ed Hida and Charlie Koontz
The Learn to Row Program begins June 4 and the summer rowing program begins June 6. For more information please contact: https://www.ridgewoodcrew.com
Ridgewood NJ, The Stotesbury Cup Regatta is the largest high school rowing regatta in the world. Since 1927 exceptionally fine crews from all part of the United States and Canada travel to the Schuylkill River in Philadelphia to participate in the Stotesbury Cup Regatta. Over 5,000 competitors meet at the Athletes Village to experience both the spirit of rowing competition as well as the physical challenge of pitting themselves against the very finest crews rowing at the high school level. Their achievements draw a crowd of nearly 10,000 spectators.
Teams compete for trophies in 31 events. Ridgewood is sending 50 of its best athletes who are expected to do very well in their respective categories. Ridgewood Crew has had an extraordinary season so far. They brought in a record setting number of medals (8) at the Cities Championship on the Schuylkill River, May 1. Cities is a qualifier for the Scholastic Rowing
Association of America (SRAA) Championships race in Ohio, which will be held May 27 &28.
The US Rowing Mid-Atlantic Youth Championships was held May 7-8 and is a qualifier for Youth Nationals. 4 Ridgewood boats earned a slot in the prestigious Youth Nationals race which will be held June 10-12 in West Windsor, New Jersey. Go RW Crew!!!!
CITY CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS –
Girls Freshman 4x – GOLD MEDAL
o Alexandra Walton Roth
o Claudia Ricatto
o Hayley Jubitz
o Ainsley Wilkinson
Girls JV 2x – GOLD MEDAL
o Isabella DeGregorio
o Claire Callaghan
Boys JV 2x – GOLD MEDAL
o Edward Hida
o Charles Koontz
Boys Ltwt 2x – BRONZE MEDAL
o Spencer Campbell
o Sam Daspin
Girls Varsity 1x – BRONZE MEDAL
o Julia Randall
Boys Varsity 1x – GOLD MEDAL
o Brendan Caltavuturo
Girls Varsity 2x – BRONZE MEDAL
o Caroline Lampone
o Erin Dwyer
Mid-Atlantic Youth Championship – RESULTS
Mens Youth 1x – Brendan Caltavuturo – GOLD MEDAL
Ridgewood Nj, The Ridgewood Crew team kicked off its season on April 10. The team raced the Schuylkill River in Philadelphia. Overall the team took in seven First place victories, five Second place finishes, and two Third place wins.
Ridgewood Crew introduces Ridgewood, NJ high school-aged youth to the traditions, athleticism, sportsmanship, techniques and camaraderie of the sport of rowing. Founded in 2004, the team rows on the Passaic River in northern NJ and competes in the sport’s premier regattas held throughout the Northeast.
On the river, Ridgewood Crew athletes collected the most single-season medals in program history. Several boats added hardware to Ridgewood Crew’s ever-increasing showcase, achieving top three finishes across several divisions at the highly competitive: SRAA Nationals, Stotesbury Cup Regatta, Philadelphia City Championships, Passaic River Northern NJ Championships and Garden State Championships. Additionally, the team’s overall performance continued to attract interest from top rowing colleges and universities including: Bucknell, Boston University, Drexel, Duke, Fordham, Fairfield, Georgetown, George Mason, Harvard, Holy Cross, Lehigh, Syracuse, Marist, Williams and others. The program also celebrated its first female athlete to receive a full, four-year rowing scholarship.
PHOTOS COURTESY OF GENE CALLAGHAN The Ridgewood Crew girls varsity double of seniors Bridget Callaghan, left, and Julia Hefferon captured a gold medal at the Stotesbury Cup Regatta to qualify for the SRAA National Championships.
JUNE 12, 2015 LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, JUNE 12, 2015, 12:31 AM
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
Ridgewood Crew concluded its 2015 season by sending five boats to the Scholastic Rowing Association of America (SRAA) National Championships, held on the Cooper River in Camden over Memorial Day weekend.
The quintet qualified for Nationals by virtue of their finishes at the Stotesbury Cup Regatta, held May 15-16 on the Schuylkill River in Philadelphia. There, 16 Ridgewood rowers earned medals out of the 5,672 athletes to participate from the U.S. and Canada.
Out of the 31 event classes — which feature 1,000 boats and 93 medals – less than 10 percent of all boats get a medal, and Ridgewood collected four.
Cousins Bridget Callaghan and Julia Hefferon garnered gold in the girls varsity double, while both Ridgewood JV quads secured silver — the boys boat featuring Brendan Caltavuturo, Charlie Koontz, Will Creedon and Colin Wilkinson, and the girls boat featuring Melissa Dexter, Isabella DeGregorio, Jordan Wittmaack and Claire Callaghan.
The freshman boys quad of Zach Seibold, William Karanikolas, Joe O’Keefe and Ed Hida brought home a bronze medal.
Ridgewood NJ, Open to the Community! Support the Crew team at “An Evening with Kevin Zraly,” a world-renowned sommelier & author, on Monday, June 1 from 6:30-9:30 p.m. at Chakra Restaurant, 144 West Route 4, Paramus. Explore new wines, sample delicious hors d’oeuvres, mingle with supporters of Ridgewood Crew, as well as fellow wine and food enthusiasts. Tickets are $100 per person. Seating is limited and all tickets are sold in advance. Please reserve early.Proceeds support Ridgewood Crew, a team comprised of 67 RHS students. For any questions, comments, or to order tickets personally, contact: Odila Galer-Noel at odilagalernoel@gmail.com or Liz Lavin at lizlavin@verizon.net.
JUNE 6, 2014 LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, JUNE 6, 2014, 12:31 AM
Ridgewood Crew wrapped up another winning season with one gold medal, two silver medals and one bronze medal at the Scholastic Rowing Association of America (SRAA) National Championships, held at Mercer Lake in West Windsor over Memorial Day weekend.
The Ridgewood Crew women’s varsity 4X boat captured silver medals at the SRAA National Championships and Stotesbury Cup Regatta. From left: juniors Bridget Callaghan and Julia Hefferon and seniors Emma Brickfield and Amanda Criscitiello.
Remarkably, this final regatta for Ridgewood High School seniors Maeve Cannon and Sophie Noel capped a two-year win streak in the women’s lightweight double for this dynamic duo — a feat virtually unheard of in the rowing community.
Illness and poor weather conditions prevented senior Joseph Criscitiello, who rows the men’s 1X scull, from participating in the last three regattas. His sister Amanda, a triplet, rows in the women’s varsity 4X boat and captured silver at Nationals and the Stotesbury Cup Regatta, as well as a bronze at the Philadelphia City championships (a.k.a. “Cities”).
Ridgewood Crew collects seven Garden State gold medals
May 16, 2014 Last updated: Friday, May 16, 2014, 12:31 AM
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Ridgewood Crew had nine boats row to medals at the April 26 Garden State Scholastic Championships, including seven gold-medal winners in the event held on the Cooper River in Camden.
The Garden State regatta features 1,500-meter sprint races and is the New Jersey qualifier for the Scholastic Rowing Association of America (SRAA) Championships later this month.
Under the direction of head coach Boris Roque Alvarez, Ridgewood finished strong in almost every category, placing in early heats and successfully advancing to the finals.
Ridgewood Crew is an independent, privately-funded club not affiliated with Ridgewood High School, though its 70-rower roster is comprised almost entirely of RHS students. The club, now in its 11th season of operation, is structured similar to that of most high school-sanctioned sports in that it is split up into varsity, junior varsity and novice levels.
– See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/sports/high-school-sports/ridgewood-crew-team-collects-seven-garden-state-gold-medals-1.1017389#sthash.c8AMIkh6.dpuf
