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Albion handles rapids and rivals

October 12, 2008 12:17 am

Barrel straight ahead, or use a cautious approach to avoid pratfalls wherever possible?

Both strategies were evidenced in the first round of the American Canoe Association's collegiate canoe and kayak whitewater championships yesterday.

Twenty-nine paddlers representing five colleges and universities competed in the open canoe and kayak classes, which were followed by nine teams entered in the mixed canoe class.

The First Drop portion of the John Warner Rapids proved particularly challenging for the less experienced paddlers as they struggled to avoid getting snared on the rocks and maneuvered to avoid colliding with other entries.

"Not only did they have to paddle fast, but they had to be able to read the water and use more skills to effectively navigate versus just paddling straight through and hoping for the best," race official Chris Stec surmised.

Although defending champion Albion (Mich.) had a sizable lead over second-place Brevard (N.C.) in the team standings, ASA president Kirk Havens noted that today's team relay competition has the same level of scoring, and the overall title was still up for grabs should the Britons run into trouble.

Not hearing his uncle's comments, paddler Zane Havens indicated his team would hold nothing back today.

"We have two entries [six people per canoe]. We're going to go for it," the Albion freshman said. "For a lot of people, this was their first time on a whitewater river.

"There is a little bit of nerves going on, but we talked about strategy [on the 11-hour ride here], what we thought about the other teams. Mostly, we had a good time."

First-time entry Brevard did not arrive in town until midnight the night before, but neither the nine-hour trip nor lack of sleep had any ill effect on the Tornadoes' effort.

"This is our first competition, but Brevard is a paddling community and we get together and go out on the water whenever it rains," team captain Brian Randall said.

"We're going to use the event to launch our paddling club and get it out there," he added. "This is a big event. We're going to bring back that we have a national champion [in Rob Hurst]."

In fourth place after day one, Cameron John of the University of Mary Washington was nevertheless pleased with the Eagles' showing, considering the fact that the club came into existence only a month ago.

"Everyone finished and had a great time," the junior said. "For a club that has existed for only a month, that's as well as we can expect right now."

While nearly half of the UMW club elected to go home for fall-break weekend rather than compete, Ashley Coticchio of West Caldwell, N.J., stayed and was glad she did.

"I knew there were trouble spots where I normally get stuck in," the junior commented after finishing third in her two-mile race. "I just tried to keep that in mind. The big thing is reading the water. You've got to try to find the rocks in the water and avoid them. And steering."

Likewise, Maggie John of the University of Virginia enjoyed the outing and was glad Stec contacted her to tell her about the event.

"We're looking to have some fun with it," the freshman and member of Virginia's outdoors club said. "We haven't been paddling together, and some of them haven't been in boats before.

"We did an excellent job, nevertheless."

Individual results:

Kurt Nicoll: 540/374-5441
Email: knicoll@freelancestar.com