The Mountain Lakes Crew Club
Is getting ready for the end-of-season events, the Row for the Cure in Poughkeepsie NY on Sunday, June 3rd and the US Rowing Youth National Championships in Oak Ridge Tennessee, June 8-10.
Coach Rob Welsh and Nyna Mund coming in to get a replacement oar.
I was able to catch a ride to watch an afternoon training session with Coach Robert Welsh and Nyna Mund, 17, of Mountain Lakes High School who happened to be returning to the dock to drop off a broken oar. From the docks at the Lee's Park Pavilion in Mt. Arlington, I jumped into the boat and we sped across the waves to bring the replacement oar to Justin Beckerman. Three crews were waiting for us across the lake in Ingram Cove. Varsity 4 Heavyweights Kristian Vyff , Sean O'Dowd, Alan Horst, Michael Gregory with Coxswain Jack Conlin, all of Mountain Lakes High School were taking a well-deserved rest when we reached them.
Justin Beckerman of Mountain Lakes High School and coxswain Ryan Oram
Varsity 4 Heavyweights Kristian Vyff , Sean O'Dowd, Alan Horst, Michael Gregory with Coxswain
Jack Conlin
Coach Rob put them through their paces doing sprint after sprint from Ingram Cove to Pickerel Point. "These guys can sprint 2,000 meters in about 6 to 7 minutes." said Coach Rob. He calls his seniors "a team about to explode".
Coach Rob Welsh of Hoboken learned to row at St. Joseph’s Prep, winning multiple league, city, Stotesbury, and National championships. He rowed three years in Yale University’s varsity 8, competing successfully in Canada, Great Britain, and China. After graduating in 2001 with a degree in English, he won two club national championships with the New York Athletic Club. Robert has six years of coaching experience, leading the Berkeley (CA) High School women’s crew to Youth Nationals and a silver medal in the varsity 8 at the Scholastic National Championships in 2006.
Varsity 4 Heavyweights
Varsity Light (front)
Brian Wilkins, Luke Graham, Daniel Admirand, Justin Beckerman, with coxswain, Ryan Oran
(back)
Scott Bouzane Kyle Lashman, Evan Watson,Matt Abate with coxswain Emily Oran, twin sister of
Ryan Oran
Back on shore the girls teams were getting ready to train.
Jessica Trevisan, 14, of Mendham High School, Christine Nauss, 16, Stefani Venturini,14, and
M.E. Roos,15, of Mountain Lakes High School, Talia Everett, 16, of Randolph High School, and Nyna Mund, 17, of Mountain Lakes High School
Nyna Mund and Kathryn Oram, one of 3 sisters in the MLCC. Kathryn will be rowing for Bucknell next fall.
We met up with assistant coach Dan Pennisi, a history teacher at MLHS and some of the Novice 4 team.
Coxswain, Mark Ferguson, 14, Dyan Conlin, 14, Coach Dan Pennisi, Tristan Orlofski. 15, and
Sam Albregts,15, all of Mountain Lakes High School.
Coach Pennisi:" This has been the most successful novice class and will become the backbone of the team" Coach Dan Pennisi of Mount Olive, teaches History @ Mountain Lakes High School, has coached the for the past 3 years and teaches history at Mountain Lakes High School. He has experience as a weight training and conditioning coach, has coached and instructed athletes in various sports, and has completed U.S. Rowing coaching training courses.
Along with the traditional crew spring season of training and regattas, a competitive fall season was started in 2009 that includes both training and regattas. The club has grown considerably from the first fall season and now has 28 students on the roster from Mountain Lakes, Boonton Township, Mendham, New Vernon, Summit and Randolph, NJ.
Ken Beckerman of Elba Point on Lake Hopatcong, father of Justin said, "The young men & women on this club work closely together and there is amazing teamwork and support for one another that is rarely seen at this age group! At MLCC, everyone feels like a rock star.”
Founded in 2007, the Mountain Lakes Crew Club (MLCC) is a rowing club available to all Morris County high school students.The athletes row in the winter at West Point, using their rowing tank facilities and train in the spring and fall on Lake Hopatcong.
