Dedication paying off for Miller
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By HUGH RIST
For the News & Messenger
Published: April 14, 2008
Miller, who calls Drewett “my good buddy” said he has gained muscle mass and dropped weight since the fall season and is “proud to have become the best rower at Gar-Field.”
“He is a great dude. We’re really tight-knit,” Miller said. “Rowing has totally changed my life. It got me in shape and has enabled me to blend both of the things I want to do in my life—row in crew and (serving in) the Marine Corps.”
Miller, who is captain of Gar-Field’s junior Reserve Officers Training Corps and earned an ROTC scholar-ship to the college of his choice, chose the University of Washington over universities such as Wisconsin and Virginia Military Academy, primarily because of the Huskies’ track record of rowing success. Washington’s men’s team won the Division 1 championship last season and is still ranked No. 1 in the US Rowing collegiate coaches’ poll.
Miller said he met longtime Washington men’s coach and current women’s coach Bob Ernst and the current men’s coach Mike Callahan when he visited the school.
“I watched their rowers and met the coaches and knew it was a good fit for me,” Miller said. “It went through my mind that it was a long way from home, but I figure the Marine Corps will send me to many places I have never been before for a long period of time, so I might as well get used to it. This way I can still partici-pate in ROTC and crew in college, which was a goal of mine.”
Gar-Field coach Jeanette Newman said the thing that sets Miller apart is his “incredible spirit and personal dedication.”
“His personal conditioning has been the biggest reason he has become the best technical rower we have at Gar-Field,” Newman said. “He gets up (early) to go to the gym every day, five or six days a week. To put (his performance) in perspective, we had an erg challenge in practice and C. J. set a goal for himself which I thought was to improve his best time. When he finished he said, ‘Coach, I’m sorry.’ When I asked him why he was apologizing when he improved his best time, he showed me that he missed his goal by .7 seconds. That’s the kind of person he is.”
Area boats shine at Smokey Jacobs Regatta
Boats from Hylton, Forest Park, and Woodbridge each managed top two finishes at Saturday’s Smokey Ja-cobs Regatta at Sandy Run Park. Among the local highlights was Hylton’s girls’ double of Kelly Bogart and Victoria Lazor, which finished first with a time of 7:05.2 and its light four of stroke Jill Williams, three-seat Allie Casillas, two-seat Aubrey Timmons, and bow Melissa Bearden, which placed second at 6:29.9.
Woodbridge’s girls’ light eight (6:09) and boys’ quad (5:21.2) each achieved second-place showings and its boys’ light eight won its heat (5:25.2). Forest Park’s girls’ quad (6:28.4) finished second, but took the first-place ribbon because Mathews was double-rowing. The Bruins’ boys second eight finished fifth and Potomac’s boys’ double was fourth.
It was also a big day for area novices as Hylton’s girls’ novice eight (6:11.8) finished first in its heat, while Forest Park’s girls’ novice eight placed second (6:26.0) in its heat and its boys’ novice four (6:13) took first place in its race. Woodbridge’s boys’ freshman eight (5:40.8) took second in its heat.
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