By Chris Trujillo
Herald Writer
EVERETT – When the season started Holly Odell had 19 rowers on her Everett Community College crew team.
And then reality set in – 5 a.m. wakeup calls, five days a week under the usual cloudy Western Washington skies. Throw in a little snow and lots of rain and the once adequate numbered-squad dwindled by nearly half.
But for five of the 10 members that stuck around, there’s been a reward. That’s if you consider a 26-hour roundtrip van ride, two crowded hotel rooms and fast food a reward.
For rowers Jacob Pettit, Clinton Seal, Jeremy Burdge, Brian Jones and the team’s coxswain Ben Stine, rewards don’t get any sweeter.
On May 16, the dedicated group, along with third-year coach Odell and assistant Meagan Patey, will travel and compete in the Pacific Coast Rowing Championship held just outside Sacramento, Calif., on Lake Natoma. It will be EvCC’s third consecutive trip to the PCRC races.
“The team would love to have a good finish there,” Odell said. “But it is really just a reward for those who made it through the early practices, rain and snow. It’s a reward for their hard work and dedication.”
Besides EvCC, the field for the Pacific Coast Rowing Championship includes crews from UC-Davis, UC-San Diego, UC-Santa Barbara, UCLA, Loyola Marymount University, Stanford, St. Mary’s, Humboldt State University and San Diego State University. The Trojans will race in just the Novice Four event, where they finished seventh overall in 2000 and 10th in 2001.
“We are really excited, but you get nervous when you get down there and see all those teams,” EvCC sophomore and second-year rower Seal said. “If you go down there you want to give it your all. And we will at least do that.”
To prepare, the Trojans have implemented two-a-day practices three days a week on the Snohomish River. The focus of their training is on the final 250 meters of the 2,000-meter race. That’s where the sprint starts, Odell said.
“That’s where teams can get left behind,” Odell said. “It is the critical point so we’ve been working hard on that portion of the race. We’ve been practicing with an elite rowing boat. We should do pretty well.”
The trip to the championships will cost the team around $2,000, which includes gas for the 1,600 mile-jaunt, two hotel rooms for two nights, one modestly priced dinner and any extras that might accrue.
“That’s what it’s cost us in the past,” Odell said. “But we’ve been looking to cut costs anywhere possible. We are borrowing a boat from one of the schools down there, which saves us about $150. Last year, we paid Western Washington University $150 to borrow and trail one of their boats down there. This year, we are borrowing a boat for free.”
In an effort to pay for the trip, the team is holding a car wash 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday and noon-5 p.m. Sunday at the Everett Trust Bank on State Street in Marysville.
Fourth-place Trojans win 10th game: After dropping four consecutive baseball games midway through April, the Trojans bounced back to win three of their last four games and improve to 10-10 in the North Division. EvCC took a pair from Shoreline on Sunday, shutting out the Dolphins 7-0 in the first game of a doubleheader and then winning 8-6 in the second game. The Trojans split with first-place Bellevue, winning 4-3 in the first game and losing 4-3 in the second. Everett hosts Olympic College for a doubleheader Saturday beginning at noon at Everett Memorial Stadium.
EdCC women lose first games: North Division opponent Green River snapped EdCC’s 13-game winning streak on Wednesday, winning 5-1 and 3-2 to improve to 16-2. The losses dropped EdCC to 13-2 and into third place behind Green River. EdCC was coming off a pair of 8-0 victories over EvCC the day before. EvCC dropped to seventh place with a league record of 5-18. EvCC travels to Port Angeles on Saturday for a game against Peninsula College. EdCC will play a doubleheader today at Peninsula College.
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