NATIONAL CHAMPIONS! Times TWO! In the EIGHTS!
 
Saturday will go down in Canisius High School rowing history as the Crusaders won two national titles – including in the marquee event – at the Scholastic Rowing Association of America championships in Pennsauken Township, New Jersey.
 
Canisius won the championship in the Boys Senior Eight on Saturday afternoon on Cooper River, coming from behind and using a strong surge to the finish to prevail by more than a second.
 
The Senior Eight's title capped off a dominant display of the Crusader program's depth as Canisius also won the Boys Senior Second Eight earlier Saturday afternoon. It is the first time Canisius has won either event at the SRAAs.
 
"This is a monumental achievement to win both events for the first time," said CHS coach Jacob Filby '14.
 
"It is a testament to the focus of the oarsmen and their personal drive and desire to be the best, which they have demonstrated not only this year, but dating back to last year when both crews finished fifth at this regatta.
 
"I couldn't be more proud to see their hard work pay off in such a historical way with how they have attacked every aspect of training from the awesome sessions in the fall and spring to the seemingly never ending days on the rowing machines in the balcony of the Scaccia Auditorium."
 
The prestigious SRAAs have been run annually since 1935 and are unique in that all boats are from high school scholastic programs rather than club organizations.
 
"Thanks to the entire program and it's leaders, dating back to the dawn of CHS Rowing," said Filby, who heads the program with CHS President of Rowing Thomas Flaherty. "We stand on the shoulders of giants and I hope future crews will make today's results look ordinary in the years to come."
 
The CHS senior eight won in 4:22.92, ahead of New Trier of Chicago (4:24.12) and Montclair of New Jersey (4:26.03).
 
The top three, as well as fourth-place state rival Saratoga (4:26.52), were in a tight, strong pack for most of the 1,500-meter race until the final 250 meters, where Canisius powered past New Trier and sprinted to the title. 
  
The CHS Senior Eight was helmed by coxswain Noah Rajecki '25 of Buffalo and included senior captains Liam Feeney '25 of West Seneca and Isaiah Aljuwani '25 of Kenmore along with Meer Renschler Pandey '25 of Amherst, Ethan Pirigyi '26 of Buffalo, Trevor Wierzbowski '25 of Cheektowaga, Brodie Vitko '27 of Hamburg, Oliver Reynolds '26 of Buffalo and Kohler Stewart '25 of Amherst.
 
The Senior Eight finished fifth in last year's SRAA final, as did the Second Eight.



The Second Eight put on a dominant showing in its race, leading the entire way and winning by nearly a half-boat length.
 
Powering the Second Eight were Zack Benczkowski '26 of Orchard Park, Patrick Basil '26 of Orchard Park, Thomas Snyder '26 of Orchard Park, Thomas Skowron '25 of Buffalo, Von Kramer '27 of Darien Center, Evan Dahl '26 of Clarence, Zachary Bialkowski '27 of Williamsville, Stas Ryskin '27 of East Amherst and coxswain Leo Mertz '27 of Buffalo.
 
Snyder stepped into the lineup in place of Aydan Weese '25 of Lockport, who could not compete due to a medical issue. 
 
"I'd like to take a moment to also recognize senior Aydan Weese," said Filby. "His impact on the crew is impossible to overstate and we kept his spirit and energy with us all weekend."
 
Video of the races is at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SJ1hquo0P3o

The second senior eight's race starts at about 5:55; the varsity eight's race is at about 7:42.

The seniors in the boats graduated in our 155th Commencement Exercises in Scaccia Auditorium Thursday evening, then traveled to New Jersey to win a preliminary race on Friday and win its semifinal and championship races Saturday.
 
Last year marked the first time since 2014 that Canisius raced both the Varsity Eight and Second Varsity Eight – the two fastest events of the regatta – at the SRAAs. Last year's appearance by the CHS Senior Eight in the Grand Final was its first since 2011 and just third overall; before year, the crew's top finish was a bronze in 2009.
 
Both boats, by virtue of their performance at the state championships, had already qualified for the USRowing Youth National Championships in Sarasota, Fla. in June.
 
"We have challenges ahead of us at the Canadian national and Youth National Championships," Filby said. "This is more fuel to the fire to be not only the top scholastic program, but a top program across all of North America."
 
Young athletes looking to start a rewarding career in this great sport or hone their rowing skills can do so by learning from our championship program during our Best. Summer. Ever. camps via canisiushigh.org/bestsummerever
 
Families interested in the decades-long winning tradition of CHS Rowing and the excellence only found in a Jesuit education at Canisius – ranked as the Buffalo area's "Best Catholic School" by Business First – can learn more by arranging an on-campus experience via canisiushigh.org/visit
 
This place is special. Let us show you why.
 
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