Pirates win twice at 2026 Crew Classic
SAN DIEGO -- It was another memorable year of rowing for the Orange Coast College men's crew as they earned four finals spots and won two events at the 2026 Crew Classic this past weekend down in Mission Bay.
One of the Pirates' two finals wins came in the Novice 8 race for the Derek Guelker Memorial Cup on Sunday. Taking on an elite field of four-year programs, the OCC "Giant Killers" topped them all, winning the 2,000-meter race with a time of 6:45.55, just under four seconds ahead of UCLA (6:49.35) and just over six seconds clear of the University of San Diego (6:51.62). UC Davis was a distant fourth with a time of 7:26.27, followed by San Diego State (7:26.69), UC Santa Barbara (8:02.00) and USC (8:19.54).
The Pirate eight and its coxswain who captured the Derek Guelker Memorial Cup included Linden Acevedo, Jose Vidal, Adam Schnore, Kade Oswald, Matthew Josephbek, Dominique Harrison, Jacob Lindley, Patrick Meesey and coxswain Lucas Astrachan.
OCC's next win came in the Second Novice 8, where it became a head-to-head battle with UCLA. In the end, it was no contest as the Pirate crew of Mission Schlegel, Santiago Trias, Alec Pinedjian, Brayden Jacobs, Adam Rea, Blake Rousset, Cole Sinclair, Hamza Kahn and Connor Krost (coxswain) left the Bruin boat in its wake with a winning time of 7:03.33, over 28 seconds ahead of the Bruins' time of 7:31.64.
In the Varsity 8 race, it was a battle of the best, which included the Pirates in the finals. In the end, UC Berkeley pulled ahead of the field and took home the Active&Fit Cal Cup with a time of 6:20.09, followed by Gonzaga (6:25.40), UC San Diego (6:27.63) and OCC (6:27.60). Trailing the Pirates were USD (6:29.65), Marietta College (6:35.85), Embry-Riddle (6:37.26) and UCLA (6:37.62).
For the Pirates in the Second Varsity 8 race, it was another solid fourth-place performance, less than 10 seconds behind the winning boat. In the end, it was the University of San Diego with the win (6:38.97), followed by UC San Diego (6:42.69), Gonzaga (6:44.24) and OCC (6:46.31). Marietta College finished fifth at 6:51.54), followed by UCLA (6:57.97), UC Davis (7:10.47) and UCSB (7:11.97).
Coast will return to action on Saturday, April 11 down on Newport Harbor as they take on UC Irvine for the 2026 Collins Cup, beginning at 7 a.m.
