VICTORIA, B.C. – A very young University of Victoria Vikes men's rowing program outputted a commanding performance on Oct. 17 sweeping all men's events in the Western Canadian University Championships regatta schedule. The Burnaby Lake hosted event featured Vikes crews winning the overall title after sweeping the open eight, heavy and light coxed fours, heavy pair, light double, heavy and light singles.  The Vikes reserve crews also took gold in the JV eight and coxed four.  

FULL RESULTS
 
"Western's is an early regatta so we won't invest too much in what it means," said a modest Vikes men's rowing head coach Aalbert Van Schothorst. "It was really satisfying to see the training pay off we are a fairly young program. Also, we try to keep the focus on the process rather than the outcomes and that seems to have paid off here."
 
The tightest race of the day, the men's single, came down to a photo finish, which placed Brett Larson just 0.2 seconds ahead of his competition Ray Bell from UBC. Vikes Mathew Szymanoski, Mark Davies and David Nicmans took third, fourth and fifth spots in the A final.  
 
Christopher Marshall with new partner Adam Donaldson earned a solid first place in the men's 2- which is a notable step towards the upcoming Canadian University Rowing Championships (CURC's).
 
Donaldson and Marshall were joined by Daan Arscott and Elyas Forstbauer in the coxed four piloted by 2014 Under 23 champion and 2015 Pan American champion Jacob Koudys. The crew crossed the line 6.9 seconds ahead of their rivals UBC, who won the event last year. 
 
Veteran Alex Walker won the lightweight single by 5.8 seconds over UBC rival Aaron Lattimer. Freshman Patrick Keane, who just returned from a third place finish at RCA National Rowing Championship's came, took third by 0.1 of a second. 
 
Walker and Keane then joined in the light men's double, where they dominated the field by 13.1 seconds. 
 
Keane and Walker were joined by Andrew Hendrickson and Freshman Graham Connell in the light men's four.  Connell was a replacement for Andy Muth, who was injured earlier in the month.
 
The Vikes four, coxed by Bailey Kulman, came through the line ahead of the UBC crew by 6.5 seconds, taking gold  in the last event eligible for points.   
 
The Vikes reserve crew also went to the line to represent in the JV eight and coxed fours. The JV eight placed first by 7.4 seconds and the JV four won gold by one second. 
 
"The freshmen coming into the program will be able to learn a lot from the process we have been focusing on and hopefully that will help them mature more rapidly," add Van Schothorst.
 
Up next the Vikes gear up for their first home event of the fall season, the Head and Tail of the Gorge, hosted at the Gorge Waterway in Victoria on Oct. 24-25. Just two days following that event the varsity crews will head to Antigonish, N.S. for CURC's. The men's eight will defend their gold medal from 2014, while the Vikes reserve crews will head to Washington to compete in the Head of the Lake event.
 
Western Canadian University Rowing Championships
Vikes Medal Results
 
Men's varsity 1x
Brett Larson – GOLD (7:21.020)
Mathew Szymanowski –BRONZE 7:21.218)
 
Men's varsity 2-
Adam Donaldson, Christopher Marshall – GOLD (7:11.686)
 
Men's varsity 4+
Adam Donaldson, Christopher Marshall, Daan Arscott,  Elyas Forstbauer, coxie Jacob Koudys – GOLD (6:34.847)
 
Men's varsity 8+
Adam Donaldson, Christopher Marshall, Mark Davies, Elyas Forstbauer, Eric Daan Arscott, Mathew Szymanowski, Brett Larson, Sam Horn, coxie Jacob Koudys – GOLD (6:02.041)
 
Men's Ltwt 1x
Alex Walker – GOLD (7:14.430)
Patrick Keane — BRONZE (7:20.39)
 
Men's Ltwt 2x
Alex Walker, Patrick Keane - GOLD (6:52.327)
 
Men's Ltwt 4+
Andrew Hendrickson, Patrick Keane, Alex Walker, Graham Connell, coxie Bailey Kulman – GOLD (6:38.178)