Pirates edge UCLA to win P.A. Palmer Cup

NEWPORT BEACH -- The 61st Annual Newport Regatta came down to the final race of the morning on Sunday and in the end, it was the host Orange Coast College men's crew who showed the big boys who the "Giant Killers" really were.

In spite of competing in just 5-of-6 races, the Pirates earned enough points to edge out four-year powerhouse, UCLA, to win the P.A. Palmer Cup, awarded to the top point-producing school at the event.

Coast earned six first-place points in four of the races, including the big Varsity 8 showdown, and also finished third for three more points to earn 27 total points, one better than UCLA's 26.

UC Santa Barbara was a distant third overall with 12 points, followed by UC Davis (8 points), Loyola Marymount (6), San Diego State (5), Long Beach State (3) and USC (3).

"Days like (Sunday) are always fun to be a part of and credit to the whole team for the hard work that has gone into it," OCC head coach Cam Brown said. "It's where we want to be on March 15, but we have a long ways to go ... and this won't be our lone highlight for the season."

In the opening race -- The Novice 4 (Frank Marscellas Cup) -- UCLA won the race and earned six points without OCC collecting any because the Pirates did not compete in that event.

From there, the Pirates needed to win at least four of the five remaining races and remain within one spot of the Bruins in the other race to overtake them for the overall points lead.

In the Second Novice 8 race (Norman E. Watson Cup), the Pirates jumped out early and left UCLA and Long Beach State in their wake, placing first overall with a 2,000-meter time of 6 minutes, 29.8 seconds, nearly 20 seconds ahead of the runner-up Bruins (6:48.95). OCC rowers were Ezra Becksfort, Alec Pinedjian, Mission Schlegel, Brayden Jacobs, Adam Rea, Blake Rousett, Cole Sinclair, Hamza Kahn and Connor Krost (coxswain).

Up next, the Novice 8 race (Larry M. Moore Cup), it was more of the same as the Pirates pulled away from the Bruins and the rest of the boats over the final stages to take first overall with a time of 6:15.09, followed by UCLA (6:29.22), San Diego State (6:57.0) and UC Santa Barbara (7:07.6). OCC rowers were Linden Acevedo, Santiago Trias, Adam Schnore, Kade Oswold, Matthew Josephbek, Dominique Harrison, Jacob Lindley, Patrick Meesey and Lucas Astrachan (coxswain).

Loyola Marymount earned all six of its points by winning the Varsity 4 race (Condon Johnson Cup) with an impressive time of 7:06.5, with the Bruins taking second (7:14.41) and the Pirates placing third (7:30.59). 

After those three events, Coast HAD to win the final two races to earn the P.A. Palmer Cup. The dogfight of the morning came in the Second Varsity 8 race (Robert B. Moore Cup).

In spite of six boats in the race, it quickly became a two-boat showdown between the Pirates and Bruins. After the first 1,000 meters, it was neck and neck before the Pirates slowly eased themselves out in front of the Bruins before crossing the finish line just over six seconds in front with a winning time of 6:12.14. UCLA (6:18.49) took second, followed by UCSB (6:33.49), SDSU (6:41.63), UC Davis (6:46.06) and Long Beach State (6:51.63). OCC rowers were Lucien Strona, Jose Vidal, Ethan Puckett, Kellan Murphy, Blake Tarricone, Giaanjeet Kalsi, Tolya Delephine, Noah Thompson and Allegra Vidali (coxswain).

With one race remaining and the Bruins holding a 22-21 lead on the Pirates, it came down to the featured race of the morning ... the Varsity 8 (James C. Jorgensen Cup). After a restart, the six boats got realigned and once the flag went down, OCC took off and left all remaining boats behind. Coast never trailed and as the boats crossed the boathouse, the Pirates had an open-water edge on the rival Bruins. At the end, the Pirates took home the top race trophy as well as the team points trophy with a winning time of 6:03.7, followed by UCLA (6:16.17), UC Davis (6:17.75), UCSB (6:25.57), USC (6:33.25) and UC Irvine (6:40.1.). OCC rowers were Nigel Root, James Godinez, Umberto Vidali, Ryan Goertz, Dylan Davis, Aiden Cravens, Adrien Howe, Marlon Knecht and Cameron Charrette (coxswain). 

The six points earned for OCC and the four points earned by UCLA pushed the Pirates ahead after the final race, 27-26 to return the P.A. Palmer Cup back to the Pirates after it spent 2025 with the Bruins. 

Coast will return to action on Saturday and Sunday, March 28-29 down in San Diego for the 2026 Crew Classic, beginning at 7 a.m.