SACRAMENTO — San Diego men's rowing traveled up to Sacramento this weekend to race in the Head of the American, a 5000-meter head race held on Lake Natoma.

The team had strong performances in all three events it entered, highlighted by wins in the Men's Open 4+ and Men's Collegiate Novice 8+ event, as well as a 3rd-place finish in the Men's Open 8+.

The Men's Open 4+ event featured two entries. The "A" entry was the same lineup (Derek Hissong, Jacob Zelenko, Jack Giebler, Gavin McLaren, and Kaleb Griffin) that medaled at last week's Head of the Charles. 

The group continued its winning ways, finishing 1st out of 17 entries, with a time of 17:51. Orange Coast College finished 2nd in a time of 18:02.

The "B" entry was composed mainly of first year novice rowers. This lineup (Jacob Corfey, Kosta Selk Anagnos, Cullen Pow, Sean Hudson, and Julian Fairbanks) finished 12th out of the 17 in a time of 20:58.

"We were glad to see our Varsity Four hit their potential and win the race," said head coach Bart Thompson. "It was also great to see the Novice Four perform well in their first fall regatta. Special recognition goes to a couple of our experienced guys for stepping in when we had some illness in the crew."

Next up was the Collegiate Men's Novice 8+. USD's crew won the event, finishing 1st of the 4 entries in a time of 16:51.5. The crew was composed of Conor Fox, Garrett Brown, Quinn Schweitzer, Sam Pigott, Aidan Andrzejewski, Rex Bales, Michael Muncey, Bradan O'Loughlin, and Kacen Hamada. Finishing in 2nd place was Orange Coast College, with a time of 17:58.

"It was great to watch this talented freshman class get to row together for this race," said Thompson. "We expected them to dominate the event, and they delivered on that expectation."

The last race of the day was the Men's Open 8+. The USD entry (Kaleb Griffin, Derek Hissong, Jacob Zelenko, Jack Giebler, Garrett Brown, Jacob Corfey, Julian Fairbanks, Aidan Andrzejewski, and Gavin McLaren) finished 3rd in the event in 16:19, with Gonzaga winning the event in 15:49.

"Our guys doubled up at the regatta, so we were glad to see their effort against the fresh Gonzaga crew," said Thompson. "Credit to Gonzaga for a well-rowed race; we look forward to seeing them in the spring."

Crew Lineup for Head of the American
Men's Open 4+, "A" Entry: Kaleb Griffin (coxswain), Derek Hissong, Jacob Zelenko, Jack Giebler, Gavin McLaren

Men's Open 4+, "B" Entry: Julian Fairbanks (coxswain), Jacob Corfey, Kosta Selk Anagnos, Cullen Pow, Sean Hudson

Men's Collegiate Novice 8+: Conor Fox (coxswain), Garrett Brown, Quinn Schweitzer, Sam Pigott, Aidan Andrzejewski, Rex Bales, Michael Muncey, Bradan O'Loughlin, Kacen Hamada

Men's Open 8+: Kaleb Griffin (coxswain), Derek Hissong, Jacob Zelenko, Jack Giebler, Garrett Brown, Jacob Corfey, Julian Fairbanks, Aidan Andrzejewski, Gavin McLaren