CAMBRIDGE, MA – The Stetson Men's rowing teams competed in the Head of the Charles event this weekend with the men's 4 earning a first-place finish.

On Sunday, Oct 21^st, the Stetson men took to the Charles with their Four-man shell and earned a 1st place finish, which was the best in team history at the event. In the boat for the Hatters were Sacha Roiena, Endrik Brettmann, Lukasz Bajorek, Matthew Franks and Bennett Rossell (Coxswain). They finished in a time of 17:08.23, which was over six seconds faster than the second-place finisher University of San Diego. The Hatters first place finish was out of a total of 44 entries in the Collegiate Men's 4 Event. 

During the 2023 race, the rest of the team was back home watching the Live Stream presented by The Rowing Channel. "We were on the edge of our seats", one of the other Varsity rowers said. "We could see that they were rowing very well, and were passing boats, but we didn't know they were winning it". Stetson kept getting mentioned by the various announcers at how well they were doing, adding more anticipation to finding out the pending and final result. 

During the race, Coach Anthony Chacon was perched on a rock in front of Cambridge Boat Club, just downstream from the final turn and an infamous bridge where many collisions happen each year. "When they got to my spot on the river I cheered as loud as I could because at that point, I knew the medal was in the bag. The last 500 meters they would only go faster so there was no way anyone starting ahead would be able to best that", said Coach Chacon. 

Head Coach Jamie Francis was at the dock when the team pulled up, exhausted from their race. "They were just grinning. They knew they did what needed to be done", Coach Francis said. When they walked their Rowing Shell, The Brick By Brick, to the team trailer, it was a walk of victory. "There were tears and a lot of hugs once the final result came in and we were still on top", Coach Chacon said.

The team finished putting the boat away and got an extra layer of clothes, Boston is not exactly Florida weather, and walked to ATTAGER ROW (that is Regatta spelled backwards). ATTAGER is where the awards ceremony would take place. 

"When we got to the podium, we found out that the ceremony was not going to be till 5pm, and we had to load yet and had a flight out back to Florida, so we couldn't wait around. But we did manage to take some pictures on the podium before we left", said Coach Francis. The men proceeded back to the trailer to load and get on the road. Somehow just as the van carrying the team was about to get on the Mass. turnpike, Coach Francis was able to get the medals. "I turned that van around, I was not going to let the guys leave Boston without a medal around their neck", said Coach Chacon. They sent a fast runner to meet Coach Francis halfway and obtain the hardware. "Back at the van we did our own little ceremony on the move, and still had time to get dinner at the airport", said Coach Chacon.

So just what goes into training for this kind of result?

Bennett Rossell: "Our race went really well. We all had been putting a lot of trust in each other knowing how crucial it was going to be given the nature of that race. In terms of preparation, Sacha (my co-captain) and myself have been really focusing on the quality of our training leading up to the race, not only for the 5 of us in our boat but for the entire team. We know that to be in the top 1%, you have to train like the top 1%. So seeing that mentality and attitude towards training pay off was a wonderfully rewarding experience, especially for myself and Matthew franks (the other senior on the boat) since our 4 years here have been full of extreme ups and downs."

Lukasz Bajorek: "Last week before race gave us a lot of self-confidence and each of us know what he has to do. We were like a tank going through the water, no one could stop us."

Endrik Brettmann: "Commitment from everyone during training and the race helped me immensely. Knowing that four people trust in me, and that I can unconditionally trust in their will to perform is a great feeling, essential to good training. Something driving me, to achieve together, and give them reason for their confidence in me."

Sacha Roiena: "Two weeks before the race everyone improved their PR on the 6k erg test, and this brought us some much confidence. All the team was mentally in the right place and, going to Boston, we knew that we could do something big."

Matthew Franks: "It was a triumphant result and an awesome race. As a senior, it meant a lot personally because of the hardships this team has faced in my time here. The underclassmen have contributed a lot to this program so far and I think this result shows the growth and upwards trajectory of the team. Of course, the men could not be where we are without our women's teammates or our coaches, so I am grateful to them. The men are looking forward to a great spring season and I am super pumped for the future of Stetson Rowing in all."

Coach Francis adds: "Recruiting, development and sticking to a training plan is what every team out there does, we just have to try and do better and let the results speak for how well we did".

Coach Chacon added: "We must have discipline, in how we train, how we recover, and balance that with good grades.

"...And Nobody ever majored in Rowing or became a professional rower", Coach Francis added.

"Of the top finishers in rowing, the difference between is less than 1%, we finished .5% ahead of the competition. That is a razor thin margin per stroke over 4550 meters, even if we finished 6 seconds ahead. It very easily could have been a different result, but they kept their heads together, executed the race plan, and Bennett steered a great course", said Coach Anthony Chacon.

"We're beginning to see what this program can become", said Head Coach Francis.

The final word belongs to Stetson Alumni and former rower, Coach Andrew Rouse. "This was historic for the school and rowing program. This was a great day for Stetson Rowing, this shows how far we have come since our founding in 1989. Not only was it an honor to be able to attend but also win the event. History was made here with an inaugural Men's Alumni 8 entry [Rouse stroked the Inaugural Stetson Alumni men's 8 entry], a women's entry that achieved an AQ, and we left with a Gold for the Men. I am proud to be a Hatter."

 About Stetson University Athletics: Stetson University's Athletics Program is driven by a shared purpose. It is what inspires, motivates and binds us together. More than a task, a reason for being. THE HATTER PURPOSE is to create and provide an experience of a lifetime through teamwork and relationships to achieve excellence. This purpose is achieved through five Core Values: Communication, Integrity, Excellence, Value People and Commitment. To learn more about the HATS program and our Core Values, visit GoHatters.com/HATS.

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