WINDSOR TOWNSHIP, N.J. – The Wentworth Institute of Technology rowing team had an impressive showing at the Knecht Cup this weekend with both the varsity four boat and both of the Leopards' novice four boats reaching the finals.
Both of the boats in the novice four race competed on Saturday before racing was suspended due to strong winds which affected the course.
The novice four "A" boat, led by freshman coxswain Emily Seslar (Plymouth, Mass.), freshman Sepehr Khansalar (Cambridge, Mass.), junior Jacob L'Heureux (Sanford, Maine), freshman James Bednar (Kansas City, Mo.), and freshman Tyler Brinson (Lowell, Mass.) finished second in their heat with a time of 7:42.64, 16.65 seconds behind Bowdoin and 7.63 seconds ahead of Carnegie Mellon before racing was suspended. The Leopards picked up where they left off on Sunday, finishing second in their semifinal heat with a time of 7:28.94, just 1.57 seconds behind Lafayette. In the finals, the boat finished fourth of seven boats with a time of 7:27.49.
Wentworth's novice four "B" boat, led by sophomore coxswain Kristian Hosker (Nahant, Mass.), freshman Bohdan Ruehle (Kinnelon, N.J.), freshman Liam Jacques (Medford, Mass.), freshman Tyler Stowe (Attleboro, Mass.), and sophomore Conall Sullivan (Jacksonville, Vt.) finished second in its heat on Saturday with a time of 8:04.39 which was 15.40 seconds behind Villanova and 43.62 seconds ahead of Army West Point before racing was suspended. On Sunday, the boat finished third in its semifinal heat with a time of 7:32.16 with Penn State and Bowdoin finishing ahead of Wentworth. In the finals the boat finished right behind the Leopards' A boat with a time of 7:36.15.
The Division II/III varsity four race saw Wentworth finish second in its heat to advance to the finals. Freshman coxswain Sara Anderson (Manchester, N.H.), sophomore Karlis Kaza (Wayland, Mass.), junior Logan O'Donnell (Killingworth, Conn.), junior Alec Boyle (Shirley, Mass.), and junior Matt West Hingham, Mass.) crossed the line with a time of 7:17.25, 4.95 seconds behind Mercyhurst and just under 10 seconds ahead of the US Merchant Marine Academy. In the finals the boat finished with a time of 7:09.87 in a tightly contested race. The Black & Gold finished just 3.34 seconds behind Rollins, which was followed by Mercyhurst (7:08.01) and Bowdoin (7:08.56).
Wentworth's entry into the second varsity four race saw sophomore coxswain Leslie Vongphakdy (Riverside, R.I.) and crew members junior Padraic O'Sullivan (Upton, Mass.), junior Brian Downey (Merrick, N.Y.), sophomore Orion Hansen (Tampa, Fla.), and sophomore TJ Dion (Lincoln, R.I.) finish fifth with a time of 7:43.80 in their heat.
The Leopards will compete at the River Hawk Challenge on April 22.
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