MHS Crew Team Captures A Record Three Gold Medals Saturday

Squaring off against top crews from the United States and Canada, the Montclair High School crew team captured three gold medals on Saturday—as well as a silver and a bronze—at the 2012 Stotesbury Cup Regatta.

The annual oar-fest on the Schuylkill is cited as the oldest and largest high school regatta in the world, and last weekend’s victory gave the Montclair team a record number of medals.

"It's almost impossible for a small high school team like our team to do what we did but we did it," said head coach Jeremy Michalitsianos. "It's a dream come true."

He said that Montclair was the only American High School to win three gold medals at the regatta. In addition, 31 athletes won medals—more than the number achieved by any of the other 195 schools participating.

Michalitsianos, who is serving his fifth year as head coach, said the regatta included about 30 events contested between just under 6,000 boys and girls of various ages.

He said that nearly 80 Montclair High School students participated in crew the last several months, but added that not all of them participated on Saturday.

"We probably had about 60 or so race on Saturday as some of the younger freshmen don't race in this event," he said.

No doubt Michalitsianos, from London, knows his stuff. He was first selected to the Great Britain Junior National Team in 1983, and was a member of Great Britain's national team from 1985 to 1993.

On Wednesday, he praised the Montclair High School team for its commitment.

"They start their winter training on November 1st and they train nearly seven months for this past weekend's event," he said. "Once the spring season officially starts, the team members are up to [practicing] six or even sometimes seven days a week."

At last year's Stotesbury Cup Regatta, Michalitsianos said the Montclair team won two gold medals, as well as two silver and one bronze medals, which was a record for the school at the time.

"To win three gold medals is simply unbelievable," he said. "It's nearly impossible ... but we did it."

Congrats to the Montclair High School crew team!