Historically speaking, the Temple University Men’s Crew program is synonymous with success in the Varsity Heavyweight Eight Race at the Jefferson Dad Vail Regatta. Entering last year’s grand finale, the Owls tasted victory 22 times, including 13 in a row from 1989 – 2001. When Temple reached the Grand Finale last year, they entered the race hoping to end local rival Drexel’s four year run of winning the event. As Temple prepared for last year’s event, they knew the talk was about the newly forged rivalry between LaSalle and Drexel and who would emerge victorious. Playing the ‘underdog’ role, the Owls relished the opportunity to play spoiler. “The year was driven by a core group of athletes that made it very clear early in the season what they wanted and set forth the effort to get there,” said Brendan Cunningham, Temple Men’s Head Coach. “The previous year their season was cut short, and I believe they made it their goal to return to the IRAs as a team. There was a close race in the 2024 Dad Vail final and I believe it set the tone for the following year.” With one goal in mind, Temple set the pace early finishing first in their time trial with a time of 5:31. In their semi-final heat they controlled the race from the start eventually besting local rival St. Joseph’s finishing with the second fastest time thus setting up what would be a dramatic finish in the grand finale. As they had done in their preparation leading up to the finale, the Owls jumped out to an early eight-seat lead. As the race progressed LaSalle narrowed the gap to a one-seat lead with 500 meters remaining. That would be the closest the Explorers would get and Temple would hold on to win the Richard O’Brien - Jim Hanna Trophy for the 23rd time in school history. “The Owls did a great job of putting their bow in front and keeping it there,” Cunningham said. “The Owls rowed their race, and the coxswain executed the race plan. The crew did an outstanding job of staying within their gunnels and controlling the controllables. Credit to all nine athletes in the boat for going out and accomplishing what they set out to do.” At this year’s Jefferson Dad Vail Regatta, the Owls are hoping to duplicate last year’s success in the Heavyweight Varsity Eight, the Second Varsity Eight and Freshman 8 with their new system in place. Cunningham said, “We have one of the best coaching staffs in the country. It’s a team effort and we’ve implemented a development system to take a new group every year and get everyone on the same page by May. Credit to the assistants of the program, Coach Scott Waters, Coach Dan Goettner and Coach BJ Fox for contributing to the speed we saw through the fall in every boat. The fall and winter season has been productive in terms of teaching the rowing stroke and learning to race. We kicked off the season early with some side-by-side matchups. It was helpful for breaking up the fall training blocks and preparing the athletes for the side by side racing they will see this spring.” Great Day to be a Temple Owl as they capture Men’s Varsity Eight Race by Ed Levin
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