Ocean City Girls JV 8 Win National Crew Title

OCEAN CITY, NJ — The Ocean City High School girls rowing team earned a national title at the Scholastic Rowing Association’s National Championship Regatta at Dillon Lake in Ohio.

The Girls JV 8+ coxswain boat earned first place Saturday in the national competition. A week prior, the Red Raiders took the gold medal the Stotesbury Regatta in Philadelphia.

The crew returned to Ocean City past midnight, receiving a late-night police escort with the rest of their teammates.

Members of the national champion JV8+ included McKenzie Thurlow (coxswain), Ryleigh Mack, Alexis O’Keefe, Venessa Karayiannis, Michaela Carroll, Julianna Giardina, Maggie Clunn Carly Dougherty and Alexia Schmidt.

They won with a time of 5 minutes, 7.25 seconds in the final — all races were 1,500 meters. Mount Saint Joseph, of Flourtown, Pennsylvania, finished second in 5:13.53. The OCHS girls second 8+ also finished fourth nationally this weekend.

Click here to get Patch email notifications on this or other local news articles or get Patch breaking news alerts sent right to your phone with our app. Download here. Follow Ocean City Patch on Facebook. Have a news tip? Email josh.bakan@patch.com.