FAIRFAX STATION, Va. – The Maritime men's and women's rowing teams competed in the Head of the Occoquan in Northern Virginia this past weekend. With seven entries at the event, the team saw four of its entries record top-10 finishes at the event.
 
Maritime's top finish of the weekend came in the men's novice four race as the Privateers recorded a time of 19:14.78 and edged out the team representing Penn State University by two seconds. The women's novice four, the men's novice eight and the team's first entry in the men's varsity four all picked up top-10 finishes.
 
The weekend began with the men's varsity eight, which finished 19th overall in a field of 31. The team of senior Corey Toscano (Union Vale, N.Y./Our Lady Of Lourdes), senior Declan Albert (Danville, Ken./Canisius (N.Y.)), junior Quinlan McLoughlin (Valhalla, N.Y./Valhalla), senior Jeffrey Burgess (Sarasota, Fla./Sarasota Military Academy), sophomore Alex Miller (Centreville, Va./Westfield), senior Liam Gagliano (Oyster Bay, N.Y./Oyster Bay), senior Michael Kane Jr. (Lewes, Del./Salesianum), and junior Trevor Belson (Kings Park, N.Y./Kings Park) with coxswain senior Rachel DeFroda (Wilmington, Del./Delaware Military Academy) picked up a time of 16:57.24.
 
The men's novice four race was up next as the Privateers finished third overall behind Marietta and Franklin & Marshall. The team registered a time of 19:14.78, as freshmen John Woods (Worcester, Mass./St. John's), Zach Woolley (Poughkeepsie, N.Y./Poughkeepsie), Adam Durrua (Point Pleasant, N.J./Point Pleasant Beach) and Declan Conway (Ephratah, N.Y./Waldorf School of Saratoga Springs) pushed the team to its bronze medal. Sophomore Christopher Chilelli (Bordentown N.J./Bordentown Regional) served as coxswain.
 
The novice four on the women's side also put together a strong performance as the team finished seventh of 22 entries with a time of 22:16.42, just 12 seconds out of a top-five finish. Freshmen Haleigh Sammons (Fort Plain, N.Y./Fort Plain), and Gabriella Franco (East Setauket, N.Y./St. Anthony's), along with sophomores TinaMarie Haskell (Chestnut Ridge, N.Y./Clarkstown North), and Anneliese Selheim (Castle Rock, Colo./East Meadow (N.Y.)) and coxswain freshman Madison Burbol (Bellport, N.Y./Bellport) competed for the Privateers during the event.
 
Later in the day, the men's novice eight races took place as Durrua, Woolley, Woods and Conway were joined by sophomores Jake Taylor (Bohemia, N.Y./Connetquot), Justin Fitje (Bayport, N.Y./Bayport-Blue Point), and Scott Smith (Point Pleasant, N.J./Point Pleasant Beach) along with freshman Paul Gargiulo (Brooklyn, N.Y./Xavier), with Chilelli as coxswain again. The octet also took seventh place out of 20 boats as they finished with a time of 18:35.06, just three seconds behind Virginia Commonwealth.
 
With a time of 22:13.48, the women's novice eight squad took 17th place with Sammons, Franco, Haskell, and Selheim joined by freshmen Gabrielle Lindstrom (), Jennifer Buchner (Shoreham, N.Y./Shoreham-Wading River), Arina Suprunova (Brooklyn, N.Y./James Madison) and Elizabeth Payne (Cape May, N.J./Cape May Technical). Once again it was Burbol to serve as coxswain for the novice women's team.
 
Maritime's last top-10 finish was an eighth place time in the men's varsity four. Maritime's top entry of Toscano, Albert, Kane and Gagliano scored a 17:52.36, finishing between a pair of entries from George Mason University. DeFroda was the coxswain for the Privateers as she helped the team to its finish.
 
The second entry in the men's varsity fours saw the team of junior coxswain Kayla Nolan (Howard Beach, N.Y./Scholars' Academy) guide McLoughlin, Burgess, Miller and Belson to a time of 20:35.51 and a 29th place finish in the event.

The team will wrap up the fall season this coming weekend when the men's and women's rowing teams take part in the Frostbite Regatta on Saturday, followed by the Bill Braxton Memorial Regatta on Sunday. Both events will take place on Mercer Lake in Southern New Jersey.