Brock has placed among the top in the world at an international regatta.

The Brock men’s rowing heavyweight 8+ crew have finished among the top eight crews in the world at the prestigious Royal Henley Regatta.

The Badgers captured their first two races against crews from Netherlands and USA before losing by less than a boat length in the quarter-finals against Queen’s University of Belfast last week.

“We are very pleased with our overall performance as a team,” rowing head coach Peter Somerwil said. “The team trained very hard prior to this event and their hard work paid off as they excelled at one of the prestigious rowing events in the world. The team put Brock University on the map in North America by winning the Dad Vail Regatta in Philadelphia earlier this spring. To finish in the top eight in the world at this major event is quite an accomplishment and shows Brock’s rowing excellence on the international scene.”

The Brock crew is comprised of coxswain Alexsia Dekaneas (Ancaster, Ont), stroke Ben Cushnie (Fonthill, Ont.), Brendan Coffey (Fonthill, Ont.), Keegan Drummond (Quispamsis, NB), Thomas Morley (St. Catharines, Ont.), Joshua Gracin (Welland, Ont.), Travis King (St.Catharines, Ont.), Corey Brunton (St. Catharines, Ont.), Sylas Coletto (Vineland, Ont.) and Patrick O’Connor (Toronto, Ont.).

The Temple Challenge Cup is a collegiate level event attended by the best collegiate crews from around the world, as well as in the United Kingdom. Crews compete down 2,100m in dual races (two boats side-by-side) with single elimination (instead of the six-boat racing as seen in the Olympics).