Galloway, N.J. — The Stockton University’s men’s rowing team ended its fall season with a historic performance at two regattas last weekend.

On Saturday, the club team brought home its first gold medal ever at the Philadelphia Frostbite Regatta by winning the Novice 4 race over NCAA Division I schools Binghamton, Maryland, Stony Brook and Lafayette. Stockton also took two second-place finishes and a third.

The 16-member team followed that performance with a gold-medal sweep of all four collegiate events at the Bill Braxton Memorial Regatta on Sunday. One of those wins was in the regatta’s most prestigious race — the Men’s Collegiate Varsity 4 — to claim the Bill Braxton Memorial Cup. Both regattas took place at Mercer County Park in West Windsor.

“I’m very proud of our athletes and the time and the dedication and the work that they put in,” Coach Joe Maguire said. “Their success is really a payoff of the work that they all put in. It’s great to see them overcome so many obstacles to be able to have a successful weekend like this.”

Three months ago, Christopher Faas, of Freehold, had never even stepped into a rowing shell before.

“I had no idea how to row, where to put my oar, what am I supposed to do,” said the first-year member of the Novice 4 boat that won twice last weekend. “But it’s like natural instinct now.”

Faas, along with Matthew Hough, of Howell; Vincent Perno, of Hazlet; Trenton Holden of Seaside Heights; and Steve Coyle of Haddon Township won the Novice 4 race at the Frostbite in a time of 7 minutes, 55.72 seconds, which was nearly 15 seconds ahead of second-place Binghamton. They then came back and beat Binghamton again on Sunday in the Bill Braxton in a time of 8 minutes, 3.72 seconds.

Faas played football for Freehold Boro High School, and when he came to Stockton he looked for some way to feed his competitive drive. After his first fall season rowing, he’s hooked.

“When I played high school football we never really won, and we weren’t the best, but to start my rowing career, first-time ever, instant success, it’s amazing,” said the Marine Science major. “Amazing team, amazing coach, amazing atmosphere overall.”

Maguire was especially excited about winning the Braxton Memorial Cup race. This was the 50th year for the regatta, which was founded by the Braxton family to honor its namesake, a rower at Marietta College who was killed in an auto accident in 1972.

“When I came in as coach three-and-a-half years ago, one of the goals I was given was to try and grow the team,” he said. “And now we have our name on that trophy two out of the last three years. When you look at the schools who are on that cup — Temple, Colgate, Ithaca, Marietta — all well-established varsity programs that have strong histories of rowing. So, for Stockton to get their name on that trophy, that’s a pretty impressive feat. Not just once, but twice in three years.”

For Angel Pena-Alvarez, the wins were a little bittersweet. The senior is graduating this fall with a degree in Business Administration and his races with the Varsity 4 and Varsity 8 were his last with the team.

“It meant so much to me because this team has been my life,” said the Northfield native. “As much as studies are the most important thing in the world, if it weren’t for this team, I probably wouldn’t have graduated because it’s what pushed me to keep going.”

He said the rowing team and the structure of practice kept him moving forward to finish his degree at Stockton.

“You aren’t at school for sports, but sports are kind of what pushes you to say, ‘Yeah, I’m going to stick through this because I have my team. I have a support system. I have a second family, almost,’” Pena-Alvarez said. “And to help win with them one more time and to help make the program better just means the world to me.”

Fellow senior and co-captain Liam Deibert, who’s the stroke for the Varsity 8 and Varsity 4 boats, said he hopes the team’s outstanding fall season will give the Ospreys momentum heading into its main spring season.

“This weekend was such a big stepping stone for us, and it just shows how far we’ve come since Coach Maguire first came to the program,” said the Visual Arts major from Galloway who’s been on Stockton’s team for three years and rowed for Absegami High School. “I’ve always had such trust in Coach Maguire and what he does because I know in the long run it’s going to turn out exactly how he plans. He’s such a smart coach, and he really knows how to build a program.”

The spring season begins on March 22 with the Washington College Invitational in Chestertown, Maryland.

Maguire said any student interested in joining the team for the spring can email him at joseph.maguire@stockton.edu. He emphasized that no experience is necessary. The team is also actively fundraising to help pay for expenses, such as transportation and uniforms. A donation can be made through the Stockton Foundation’s website.

Click here for Stockton’s results from the Frostbite Regatta.

Click here for Stockton’s results from the Bill Braxton Memorial Regatta.

-- Story by Mark Melhorn