Galloway, N.J. – Stockton University head women's rowing coach
Chris O'Brien was voted MARC Coach of the Year and seven Ospreys received postseason honors from the
Mid-Atlantic Rowing Conference for the 2023 season.
At yesterday's MARC Championships, Stockton won its first-ever gold medal in the varsity eight while the team finished second overall behind conference champion Washington College (Md.) by just one point. The runner-up finish tied Stockton's best, which came in 2021.
Hired in August 2022, O'Brien has made a huge impact in his first season as the head coach of the Ospreys. He steered a young Stockton team with only one senior to within one point of the program's first MARC title and NCAA Championship berth as well as leading his squad to the No. 2 ranking in the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Region.
O'Brien built a varsity eight crew that includes four freshmen and molded them into a group that has won at every regatta so far this spring, a run of five straight victories. The streak includes Stockton's first-ever gold medal at the MARC Championships and first gold at the Knecht Cup since 1999.
In addition to the unprecedented success of the varsity eight, O'Brien also quickly built a second varsity eight that has been competitive throughout the season with five freshmen and one sophomore manning the oars. The group earned the bronze medal at the MARC Championships and defeated Jefferson in a head-to-head race at the Battle at Brigantine.
Four Ospreys from the varsity eight received MARC all-conference honors, with each collecting the accolades for the first time in their career. Juniors
Amber Hartzell (Merchantville/Haddon Hts.),
Emily Latshaw (Toms River/TR South) and
Madelynn Schina (Somerdale/Highland) headlined the list with All-MARC First Team nods.
Freshman
Megan Baldwin (Brigantine/Holy Spirit) picked up a pair of kudos as she was named All-MARC Second Team and All-MARC Novice. Hartzell, Latshaw, Schina and Baldwin comprise half of a varsity eight that has won races at five consecutive events, highlighted by gold medals at the Knecht Cup and MARC Championships, and been chosen MARC Crew of the Week twice.
Along with the four all-conference honors, six Ospreys qualified for the MARC All-Academic Team. Latshaw, Schina and
Kelley Mason (Manhattan, N.Y./St. Vincent Ferrer) earned All-Academic spots for the second straight year.
The trio was joined by first-time MARC All-Academic qualifiers Hartzell,
Jordan Barikian (Cape May/Lower Cape May) and
Izabelle DelRoss (Egg Harbor City/Cedar Creek).
