McMaster rowing heads to nationals after earning medals at OUA championships
For current fifth year student Sarah Cushnie, the rowing team is not where her McMaster athletic career began. Cushnie began as a cross country athlete, but two seasons ago she made the transition to the rowing team, and has since become the captain of the women's team.
“The transition was actually pretty smooth. So the reason I initially switched is because I was having a lot of injuries as a runner. So one of my forms of cross training was to get on the rowing machine on the erg. I really loved it and I also excelled at it,” said Cushnie.
As captain, her focus has been on making the entire rowing program a more cohesive one and bridging the gaps between the novice, junior varsity and varsity teams within the program.
A more cohesive environment seems to have helped the team excel this season. From the novice level to the varsity level, the rowing team achieved great results throughout the regular season, building momentum ahead of the Ontario University Athletics championships.
This year’s OUA championships were hosted in St. Catharines on Oct. 24. And Oct. 25. The competition saw the Marauders women's team capture multiple medals. Sarah Oresnik and Brooke McCoy earned a bronze medal in the lightweight women's pair event. Cushnie and Nathalie Hilbert won a silver medal in the open women's double event.
These impressive results set the Marauders up for a great push at this year’s Canadian University Rowing Championships on Nov 2. and Nov 3. in Victoria, BC. While the event may be a source of pressure, Cushnie sees it as a way to celebrate.
“Nationals is more just a celebration and it's normally like a bonus, but it's about kind of admiring the hard work and using that to appreciate the fun and the joy of the sport in a competitive environment,” said Cushnie.
Nationals is more just a celebration and it's normally like a bonus, but it's about kind of admiring the hard work and, and using that to appreciate the fun and the joy of the sport in a competitive environment
Sarah Cushnie, Women's Team Captain
McMaster Rowing Team.
The exciting weekend at nationals was also a busy one for the team. But despite the busyness of the weekend and the travel, the women's rowing team continued with their mindset of viewing being at nationals as a bonus. Cushnie recalled the gratitude she felt being able to spend her time with her soon-to-be-graduating teammates.
"I was sharing a hotel room with Kate [Panzica] and Natalie [Hilbert] because it was just like the open-weight women in one room and both of them are graduating this year. So for me it was really nice to have that opportunity to really connect with them on a formal trip one last time before they leave," said Cushnie.
As Cushnie took to the first race of the weekend with her partner, she did not fell much external pressure on herself, being already happy with the results of the season. Though with this being Cushnie and Hilbert’s final race weekend, a sense of optimism filled Cushnie.
“It was just like me and Natalie knew that we were fit. We knew that we rowed well together and that we looked at it like it was our last chance to compete because she’s leaving [Hilbert]. But we also kind of treated it more as like we're doing this for us, not for anyone else,” said Cushnie
It was just like me and Natalie knew that we were fit. We knew that we rowed well together and that we looked at it like it was our last chance to compete because she’s leaving [Hilbert]. But we also kind of treated it more as like we're doing this for us, not for anyone else.
Sarah Cushnie, Women's Team Captain
McMaster Rowing Team.
After this race, the 2024 season came to an end for Cushnie and the rest of the rowing team. But the growth of the rowing team is something Cushnie is determined to continue through the off season. She’s aiming to build an eight person boat team to race in competitions.
After a successful season, the growth of the women’s rowing team will be one to keep an eye on. Cushnie’s work will hopefully bring the team to the next level come next season, continuing the team's pattern of success this year.
The Marauders row row row their boat all the way to the podium, securing the first gold medal for the rowing team in 20 years 🚣
The McMaster University rowing team competed at the Ontario University Athletics rowing championships on Oct. 29, capturing three medals in a historic team performance. The Marauders earned podium spots in the women’s double and lightweight fours and men’s lightweight double events. For the day, the men’s and women’s teams placed ninth and eighth respectively.
A day before the championships, the novice and junior varsity rowing crews also secured two medals in the Development Regatta on Oct. 28.
Sonia Odutola and Hayley Monson placed third in the women’s JV double with a time of 8:55.3. Members of the women’s novice fours, Rachel Caruk, Alexandra Wu, Erika Bullen, Victoria Epshtein and Annika Culhane won the gold medal for the maroon and grey.
Against 13 other schools, McMaster looked to improve on their two medal performance at last season’s championships. Due to the foggy conditions, the regatta took on a modified schedule where rowers competed for the podium in heats as opposed to needing to qualify through time trials.
On the women’s team, Amanda Ciezki and Nathalie Hilbert took home gold medals in their doubles event. Their time of 7:44.40 was more than three seconds ahead of the second placing duo of Ainsley Salmon and Rosemary O’Brien from Carleton. The medal marks a significant milestone for the rowing program, coming as their first OUA gold in two decades of competition.
“Everything that could’ve lined up for us did . . . We left it out there and I don’t think we could’ve done any better and I think the gold medal reflects that,” said Ciezki.
"Everything that could’ve lined up for us did . . . We left it out there and I don’t think we could’ve done any better and I think the gold medal reflects that."
Amanda Ciezki, women's Rowing Team
Ciezki, who started on the novice team in 2021, provides an outstanding example of the program and coaching staff’s ability to develop their student athletes. This is a major factor towards sustainable success in any sport at the school.
Competing in the lightweight women’s fours, Heidi Akot, Vivian Lee, Sarah Oresnik, Brianna Fournier and coxswain Jacqueline Huo placed third with a time of 8:24.30. Rounding out the podium, the rowers from Guelph took home silver after completing the race in 8:19.81. The Western Mustangs would go on to grab the top spot with an outstanding time of 7:53.08.
Members of last year’s bronze medalist group in the men’s lightweight fours Alex Cowman and Alex Barnes earned a silver medal for their efforts in the lightweight pairs. Their time of 7:41.13 was just 74 milliseconds ahead of third place rowers Maddox Harrison and Ethan Mason from Brock.
With only three varsity men competing for McMaster, the team was able to make the most of their limited roster size and add on another medal to the day’s total.
“It’s good to be up there and pushing ourselves and showing what we’re capable of doing. I think it’s really great to see the change in the team to become more of a winning team and hopefully it can continue in the future and maybe also get bigger,” said Cowman.
"It’s good to be up there and pushing ourselves and showing what we’re capable of doing. I think it’s really great to see the change in the team to become more of a winning team and hopefully it can continue in the future and maybe also get bigger."
Alex Cowman, Men's Rowing Team
The men finished in ninth with 61 points in the contest and the women placed eighth with 132 points. The hometown Badgers placed first in the men’s standings while seven medals from the Mustangs helped propel their women to team gold.
The team ended their season following their run at the Canadian University Rowing Championships on Nov. 5 and Nov. 6.
Top finishers for the Marauders, Cowman and Barnes placed eighth in the time trials and second in the B finals for the men’s lightweight double. Taking on the lightweight single a few races later, Cowman recorded a time of 7:29.22 to place third in the B finals.
In the women’s lightweight fours, McMaster finished sixth in both the time trials and A finals. Competing in the lightweight doubles, the pair of Lee and Oresnik finished tenth in their qualifiers and fourth in the B finals, missing the top three by 40 milliseconds with a time of 7:32.55.
Despite the lack of hardware at nationals, the success at OUAs indicates great potential for both the men’s and women’s team next season. Continuing their novice recruitment and athlete development will help the rowing program to grow the roster’s depth and flourish for years to come.
