Autumn 2021

PULLHARD THE

A COUGAR CREW PUBLICATION

Team History the Trailers 06 2 0 21 , I S S U E 2 AUTUMN

Alumni Spotlight Paul Enquist 20

Pull Hard Announcment Dave Arnold’s Book 28

INSIDE THE AUTUMN EDITION 02

THE PULL HARD

AUTUMN 2021

04

CCAA Update

28

Pull Hard Announcement

05

Coach Update

30

Planned Giving

06

Team History - The Trailers

32

Behind the Pull Hard

11

Herrick Send-off

12

New Officer Corps

14

Spring Racing Results

16

Inside Look - Ciara

18

Team Finances

19

Power10 Campaign

20

Alumni Spotlight - Paul Enquist

24

Congrats Cougs

27

Thank you - Devon & Milos

cougarcrew.com

03

CCAA UPDATE

A Note from Vice Chair Danny Brevick

Cougar Crew Days Greetings Cougar Crew Nation!

Nobody who has spent a season pulling an oar for the Cougar Crew is a stranger to hard work. But if I’m not mistaken, you’ve been working a little bit harder than usual navigating these ugly pandemic waters and all the weirdness they bring.

Last year, for the second year in a row, we postponed our 50-year bash. Many of you joined the virtual Class Day on Zoom. WSU President Schulz gave us a friendly nod and a pocketful of compliments, which was great. We raised enough cash to keep the team in the black and purchase the Dodge RAM one-ton diesel the team has been leasing from Motor Pool for years.

Sing hallelujah! We did as well or maybe better than expected, but it was still a bit…remote.

So, I am seriously happy to report Fort French has given us the green light, and we will be celebrating 50 years rowing the Snake, live and in person, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, March 18-20. Please mark your calendars now. Planning committees are once again warming up at a light paddle and heading out for the starting line. COVID-19 safety measures are a regular topic of conversation. None of us can predict the future, but we are preparing for the future we all want to see.

CCAA Treasurer Doug Engle has already negotiated a block room rate agreement at Residence Inn Marriott and Marriott Courtyard. Remember to say you are with Cougar Crew when booking your stay.

04 5

THE PULL HARD

AUTUMN 2021

I understand the sentimental marketing gurus are forecasting some seriously pent-up demand for bear hugs and high-fives. I know I am well under my preferred allotment of knuckle-cracking Cougar Crew handshakes. I can’t wait to see you all.

Go Cougs!

Inside Look: CCAA Vice Chair Danny rowed 2001-2005, graduating with a degree in Construction Management. He and spouse Rachel own and operate Gordon Construction in Fall City, WA. They share domestic arrangements with Logan (7), Olivia (5) and Cam (2).

A Note from Head Coach Peter Brevick Greetings to the Cougar Crew Nation!

I write from a Pullman campus in the full swing of fall semester. Students are everywhere, classrooms are full, dining halls are bustling, and the Cougar Crew is out rowing and working on the Snake. With campus full, last spring is both a distant memory and feels like yesterday.

In the spring the student-athletes did a terrific job being flexible with the ever changing pandemic landscape and shifting race dates. Though our race schedule was limited, it was great to finally get back to racing after such a long time away. We were able to have three dual races with Oregon, Washington, and Gonzaga. The team concluded the spring season racing Pac-12s at Lake Natoma in California. After losing by 1 point in 2019, Cougar Crew was able to reclaim the Enquist Cup! The cup is awarded to the top performing non-athletics team at Pac-12s. It is terrific to have the cup bearing an alumni’s name back in the possession of the team.

Summer was filled with the usual; equipment maintenance, summer training, and after two years away, some very limited recruiting. For the second year in a row the University hosted their summer ALIVE orientations entirely online. Coaches and officers were able to meet with a few incoming students who were in town of their own accord prior to August. Most of our in person recruiting was limited to the ten days before the first day of class. Led by senior Christian Rorie, the team did a terrific job capitalizing on move-in help, University activities, the one involvement fair, dining halls, and several other opportunities. After two years of limited classes of novice, it was terrific to have the erg room full as we introduced a new group of rowers and coxswains to the sport and team we all love.

This fall we are focused on three things; building the team, building our rowing, and building fitness. Thanks to the dedicated work last year, and diligence with summer training, the team was able to start the semester strong; literally. Though their strength led the way, they have also been performing well in their cross-training and on the ergometers. All welcomed the energy and

COACH UPDATE

space the fourth floor of Hollingbery Fieldhouse offers after training outside all last year. As is usual, much time has been spent in pairs working on boat feel and blade work. Weekly mixed eights rowing with the novice has provided great opportunities for inter team competition.

Building the team has perhaps been the most enjoyable of all. Having a large group of novices learning the sport is always energizing and after two years away it has been more welcome than ever. The returning rowers have also been deliberate in building out culture and camaraderie that sets an example for the novice of what rowing at Washington State truly is.

This fall the team also welcomed two new Graduate Assistant coaches to the staff. Daniella du Toit (UMass, ‘19) joins us after two years coaching at Adrian College and is pursuing an MS in Food Science. John Michael Najarian (WSU, ‘20) completed an internship with Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories this summer and is pursuing an MS in Civil Engineering. Both of them are doing well at coaching the team, and working to raise the high bar set by the previous assistant coaches.

I and the team owe tremendous thanks to our outgoing coaches Devon McCornack and Milos Aleksic. Their help to both the team and myself was invaluable.

Milos is working towards a second Master’s, this time in accounting, as a grad assistant at Kansas. Devon is continuing his research towards a Ph.D. here at Washington State. A hearty and heartfelt thank you to both for your service.

On behalf of the team, I would also like to thank the greater Cougar Crew Nation. The past few years entailed more challenges than I could count, and the team overcame many obstacles during that time.

None of it would have been possible without the encouragement, counsel, perspective, and financial support that was provided by the Cougar Crew Alumni Association board and so many of you. To all who supported the team over the past few years, and continue to do so, you have my deepest gratitude.

Looking forward, the team, officers, and coaching staff are filled with excitement. Fall racing, winter training, the 50th anniversary celebrations, and championship racing; the future awaits!

TEAM HISTORY THE TRAILERS

NIGHTMARES & DAYDREAMS: A Short Course in WSU Racing Shell Transport

A

rowing regatta is an organizational challenge involving coordination and cooperation between dozens of entities and hundreds, even thousands, of individuals. Done right, it rivals grand pageantry. On the To-Do list of race day operations, equipment handling and transport is absolutely crucial and borderline invisible. The team’s purchase of the 2009 Dodge 3500 one-ton diesel pickup, leased when needed from WSU Motor Pool for the past 10 years, inspired us to review the last half-century of Cougar Crew transport.

In the Begining For the first two years of competition, shells were borrowed. Jim Rudd (’75) wrote: WSU “…always rowed in somebody else’s boats. We didn’t have a trailer. The first away race we took our shells to was in Lewiston in the spring of 1975. At least I think that was the first time. I don’t know how we got them there. I will continue to drink beer and try to recall any additional specifics...”

06

THE PULL HARD

AUTUMN 2021

The first Cougar Crew equipment transporter (the memory of which Mr. Rudd has apparently suppressed) was the legendary “T-15,” an International Harvester 2-½ ton stakebed stock truck belonging to University Motorpool and typically used for the transport of livestock. According to Coach Struckmeyer: “We had such a long overhang on the front, we would pull up behind a stopped car and the red flag on the bow would dangle over their windshield. It was fun to watch the occupants jumping around trying to decipher the UFO above their car.” Assuming the truck was 25 feet bumper-to-bumper, the overhang on each end would have been around 18 feet. We did the math for you, and the T-15 hauling an eight was at least 10 feet beyond legal load length on both ends.

Had this rig ever caught the attention of a Whitman County Sheriff, the traffic stop might have gone something like this: “Driver’s license please? … Ohh-kaaay … Now. Tell me, son: just what in Sam Hell do you think you are doing?”

Shell Trailer I WSU’s first shot at a more satisfactory solution to the racing shell transport dilemma was based on a tandem-axle boat trailer, disused after Coach Struckmeyer’s second or third coaching launch, an 18- or 20-foot inboard-outboard his team dubbed “The Wakemaster” caught fire and went to Davy Jones’ Locker.

Early inquiries into who gave us Shell Trailer I yielded scant clues. The mystery builder seemed lost in the “dark backward and abysm of time,” although the evocative nom de guerre

WSU COUGAR CREW

“Mongo” flickered briefly in the fog. The mystery builder (identity to be disclosed in the fullness of time) fabricated from one-inch steel pipe and angle iron a superstructure composed of a pair of isosceles trapezoids running (and extending) the length, and joined across the width, of the trailer frame. Certain vital anglebracing may have been inadvertently omitted.

Unscientific road-tests raised doubts concerning possible engineering defects of a colorfully dramatic character. Ken and Marj, enroute to a regatta at American Lake, felt the precious shells begin “whipping back and forth” on WA-18, the steep and winding two-lane mountain road joining North Bend and Auburn. No longer a massive anchor slowing the van’s progress, the heavy, descending load became an active partner in the allimportant work of forward locomotion. The trailer lacked brakes, so Ken and the mighty Chevy Van were on their own for speed control. Soon enough, Shell Trailer I was rocking violently side-to side (two wheels up, two wheels down!) and the van was doing a fishtail shimmy. Time for Plan B.

Shell Trailer II Plan B hit the drawing boards in 1977. Future Olympic gold medalist Paul Enquist, rowing six in the Heavy 8 and completing his Senior year in Mechanical Engineering, received academic credit for the design. Steel was donated by a fabricator in Seattle’s Heavy Metal district, thanks to connections through Austin Construction Company, owned by the parents of 1974-75 Commodore Jim Austin. 1975-76 Commodore Mike Kimbrell’s

The Camper Special fuels up. On the hitch ball: Shell Trailer I.

cougarcrew.com

07

TEAM HISTORY: THE TRAILERS

This blue ½ ton Chevy pickup was owned by Chuck Purnell (’78) and boasted dual-fuel capability. Chuck could switch from gasoline to propane at the flip of a valve. father was then chair of the ME Department and introduced Paul to a friend on the Board of Regents who was an executive at Calkins Boat Trailer Company of Spokane. Calkins donated the original tandem axle set and hitch.

Building and rebuilding Shell Trailer II was a long-term pro bono undertaking by one of the most over-achieving, underappreciated backers WSU rowing will ever attract: compact, quiet, wavy-haired, thoughtful Bernard Ranten, fiercely proud papa of Steve, red-headed fireball two man in 1977’s JV8, the fun, funny and fearlessly competitive Buffalo Boat. Bernie coowned and operated a well-established heavy equipment repair and custom metal fabrication shop in Burlington, Washington. In the spring of 1978, Coach Struckmeyer was admitted to the inner sanctum as a witness: “Bernie didn’t say much. He would do some welding. Then he would stop and check his work. Maybe have a smoke. Maybe say something. Maybe not. Then he would start welding again.” Bernie drove the trailer through the night and delivered it on the morning of the Cougar-Husky Dual at Boyer Park. No doubt Bernie enjoyed the gratitude and enthusiasm of the team. But his big thrill was probably watching son Steve, now in the HV8, participate in the fourth achievement of the Cougs’ perennial implausible dream: defeating a Husky crew. (The first was the 1975 Light 8, the second and third the 1976 and 1977 Heavy 8s.) Upgrades to Shell Trailer II spanned a 32-year service life. Again and again, the trailer returned to Burlington.

Noteworthy mods: plywood decking, oar racks, axle and brake changes. The original Calkins axles were at midpoint to balance the load—correct design for the light tow vehicle and ball-type hitch. The hassle of getting over-length load permits for every

08

THE PULL HARD

AUTUMN 2021

trip (sometimes multi-state) could only be (and soon was) resolved by moving the axles to the rear. The hitch was now badly overloaded, so the rig went down the road with its nose in the air. Bernie installed load-leveler bars to redistribute the massive tongue weight. He also narrowed, then installed a set of mobile home transport axles. These were beefier than the Calkins originals and equipped with electric brakes, superior to the Calkins surgeactivated model.

Before Shell Trailer II retired, Motor Pool completed the ultimate upgrade: a goose-neck-type fifth-wheel hitch, transferring the entire tongue load to the bed of the truck—over, instead of behind, the axle. The new hitch mated Shell Trailer II to the Dodge 3500 1-ton diesel we now own.

Believe it or not, the Camper Special still roams the Palouse hills. Doug Engle (’79) took possession when the crew retired it, and has burdened it mercilessly with rock, building materials and firewood, thanks to its 10,000 pound licensed capacity.

In 2011, Shell Trailer II was replaced by the all-new, Pocockdesigned and built Shell Trailer III: significantly lighter, it consumes less energy, and built of galvanized steel, it needs no paint. Coach Brevick: “It can haul seven eights and six fours, or any of a broad combination of smaller boats.” Shell Trailer II was auctioned by University Surplus and has gone…who knows where?

Getting our equipment safely to regattas and back home again is no small task. That we have done it successfully on a shoestring budget for 50 years is a tribute to our great good fortune and several lifetimes of cooperative effort. As Marj Struckmeyer liked to remind us “Many hands make light work.”

WSU COUGAR CREW

Coach Struckmeyer: “At Ken’s Truckstop in North Bend we opened the hood and flames leapt from the engine block. Not quite high enough to ignite the wooden bows, thank goodness.”

The 1969 Chevy ¾ ton Camper Special with overload leaves added to the rear springs. The 350 cubic inch V8 was hardworking but overmatched. Cruise control was pedal to the metal. It required several rebuilds over the years (thanks again, Bernie!).

Oh yeah—the mystery builder of our tail-wags-dog prototype?

That was Bernie, too. He was still making final welds when Paul Enquist arrived in mid-summer 1977 to tow Shell Trailer I to Roosevelt, WA, where he would meet the crew involved in the first Rowathon. Two Rowathon participants, Struckmeyer and Chris Gulick (’79) departed with Paul for Donner Lake in Northern California, where National Team Coach Harry Parker was assembling his first candidates for the ill-starred 1980 Olympic

Olympic Games. Shell Trailer I, presumably, soon hauled its first Cougar load (the “Stager?”) from Vancouver to Boyer Park.

—Steve Ranten (’78), Doug Engle (’79) & Rich Ray (’80)

cougarcrew.com

09

TEAM HISTORY: THE TRAILERS

Bonus Story

Shell Trailer Zero. In May 1977, Steve Ranten hitched this 1968 Oldsmobile Delta Custom to a trailer we borrowed from Western and towed two eights and a four to the inaugural Pac-8 Championships at Redwood Shores. At the time, only this machine, known to insiders as “The Beast,” had a power plant equal to the job. The 455 cubic inch V8 delivered a minimum 300hp and around 500ft lbs torque (says GM). The 2009 Dodge Ram 3500 is rated 350 and 650, respectively.

Lest We Forget Bernard Ranten (1922-1997) was born first of four brothers in Superior, Wisconsin. When he was growing up in rural Minnesota, the Great Depression and Second World War were enormous, inescapable realities. Income was survival, so Bernie, as friends and family called him, finished school early and started plowing fields: first driving teams of draft animals, later driving the earliest gasoline-powered tractors. When a tractor broke down, the driver was probably the mechanic. Bernie’s technical skills bloomed early.

Still a teenager when Germany invaded Poland, he was soon an enlisted Army mechanic in the Pacific Theater. The horrors of Iwo Jima, Okinawa, the firebombing of Tokyo, the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, were not pages in a history book for Bernie. Post-war, he was an Army civilian mechanic in Occupied Japan.

Bernard Ranten, around the time he built Shell Trailer II.

Back stateside in the 1950s and ’60s, Bernie worked for heavy construction companies building everything from highways to dams. Said son Steve (’78): “By this point in his life, my dad had probably forgotten more about diesel engines than most mechanics ever learn.” In the mid-1970s, Bernie and a partner started a heavyequipment repair business in Burlington, WA. From this small, busy shop the first fully-engineered Cougar Crew shell trailer sprang to life.

10

THE PULL HARD

AUTUMN 2021

HERRICK SEND-OFF THANK YOU, AND BEST OF LUCK!

DAVE HERRICK ‘14 Few phenomena track the development curve of competitive rowing in the US quite as dramatically as increasing demand for rowing coaches. The corollary rise in qualifications and responsibilities expected of rowing coaches has been equally dramatic.

Dave Herrick ‘14 rowed for three years under coach Arthur Ericsson, graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Psychology. In 2019, Dave completed his Masters of Education in Exercise Physiology at the University of Virginia. His thesis explored perceived exertion vs. heart rate as a training monitor system in collegiate female rowers.

From 2016 to the present, Dave served four seasons as Head Coach with the summer high school boy’s program out of Penn AC in Philadelphia. He has been a full-time Assistant Coach with the OSU Women’s Crew in Corvallis since 2019.

In August of this year, he was runner-up for an Assistant Coach opening on Boston University’s Men’s team, arguably one of the strongest programs in the country.

Take a look at the BU website if you suspect you just caught a whiff of superfluous exaggeration.

As if all this just wasn’t quite enough, Dave has devoted precious time and attention to re-building the Pull Hard, now in its third year under his editorship. Pull Hard readers and contributors alike have expressed well-earned enthusiasm and gratitude for his efforts.

Thanks to ever-increasing demands on his time, Dave will be stepping back from Editor in Chief, but plans to keep a seat on the Editorial Committee. Thank you, Dave!

There is only one sure way to honor Coach Herrick’s Pull Hard resurrection: let’s continue and improve it.

- Rich Ray ‘80

cougarcrew.com

11

THE 2021-2022 OFFICER CORPS

CIARA McCALL (‘22) Men’s Commodore Men’s Commodore,Ciara McCall, is a third-year coxswain.

She is a Senior from Olympia, Washington, expecting to graduate in the Spring of 2022, and is majoring in Biochemistry.

KAMIRA HAMILTON (‘22) Women’s Commodore Women’s Commodore, Kamira Hamilton, is a fourth-year coxswain. She is a Senior from Mount Vernon, Washington, expecting to graduate in the Fall of 2022, and is majoring in accounting with a minor in French.

MARK WALKER-RITTGERS (‘23) Men’s Vice Commodore Men’s Vice-Commodore, Mark Walker-Rittgers, is a thirdyear oarsman. He is a Junior from Everett, Washington, expecting to graduate in the Spring of 2023, and is majoring in Criminal Justice with a minor in Psychology.

JENALLE PANA (‘22) Women’s Vice Commodore The Women’s Vice-Commodore, Jenalle Pana, is a third-year oarswoman. She is a Senior from Espanola, New Mexico, expecting to graduate in the Fall of 2022, and is majoring in Biochemistry with a minor in chemistry and neuroscience.

12

THE PULL HARD

AUTUMN 2021

DON KELLY (‘23) Treasurer Treasurer, Don Kelly, is a third-year oarsman. He is a Junior from Spokane, Washington, expecting to graduate in the Spring of 2023, and is majoring in Kinesiology.

CHRISTIAN RORIE (‘22) Recruitment Coordinator Recruiting Coordinator, Christian Rorie, is a fourthyear oarsman. He is a Senior from Spokane, Washington, expecting to graduate in the Spring of 2022, and is majoring in Psychology with a minor in Human Development.

SEAN SWETT (‘23) University Recreation Liaison The UREC Liaison, Sean Swett, is a third-year oarsman. He is a Junior from Olympia, Washington, expecting to graduate in the Spring of 2023, and is majoring in Kinesiology with a minor in Strength and Conditioning.

CEDAR CUNNINGHAM (‘22) Webmaster/Historian Webmaster/Historian, Cedar Cunningham, is a second-year oarsman. He is a Senior from Spokane, Washington, expecting to graduate in the Spring of 2022, and is majoring in Finance.

cougarcrew.com

13

SPRING RACING

Dual with University of Oregon 4.11.21 | Maryhill Park, Columbia River Flight 1 – Club Women’s 4+’s 1. WSU Experienced 2. Oregon Experienced 3. Oregon Novice

Flight 2 – Men’s 4+’s

1. WSU A Varsity 2. Oregon A Varsity 3. WSU A Novice 4. Oregon A Novice

Flight 3 – Club Women’s 4+’s 1. WSU A Experienced 2. Oregon B Experienced 3. Oregon B Novice

Flight 4 – Men’s 4+’s

1. WSU B Varsity 2. WSU C Varsity 3. Oregon B Varsity 4. Oregon B Novice

Flight 5 – Women’s 1X

1 .Oregon A Experienced 2 .WSU A Experienced 3. Oregon A Novice

14

THE PULL HARD

7:57.5 8:52.4 8:53.5 6:31.2 6:42.1 7:08.0 7:16.0 7:41.1 8:08.8 8:30.9 6:33.0 6:57.6 7:11.2 8:57.7 9:47.1 10:03.4 11:53.6

AUTUMN 2021

Flight 6 – Men’s 2-/2X 1. WSU A 2- 2. WSU B 2- 3. Oregon A 2- 4. WSU C 2X 5. Oregon B 2X

7:28.3 7:30.4 8:06.3 8:43.3 9:06.0

Apple Cup

4.25.21 | Wawawai Landing, Snake River Men’s 1V8

1. UW 2. WSU

Men’s 2V8

1. UW 2. WSU

Men’s V4

1. UW B 2. UW C 3. UW A

5:52.99 6:17.32 6:16.11 7:06.28 7:28.23 7:39.00 7:57.7

4. WSU A

8:19.2

5. WSU B

9:35.02

Varsity 8+ at PAC-12. Stern to bow; C. McCall, S. Swett, D. Moguel, R. Sander, C. Cunningham, C. Rorie, M. Walker-Rittgers, M. Essig, H. McRae

Fawley Cup

5.01.21 | Medical Lake, Spokane WA Men’s 1V8 1. Santa Clara 2. Gonzaga 3. WSU

6:03.56 6:08.46 6:18.72

Men’s 2V8 1. Santa Clara 2. Gonzaga 3. WSU

6:10.20 6:15.70 6:36.60

PAC12 Championships 5.01.21 | Lake Natoma, CA Men’s 1V8

1. Washington 5:46.10 2. California 5:50.64 3. Stanford 5:54.11 4. OSU 6:09.92 5. WSU 6:28.43 6. Oregon 6:43.03

Men’s 2V8

1. Washington 5:52.51 2. California 5:58.93 3. Stanford 6:07.26 4. OSU 6:25.17 5. WSU 6:42.50

cougarcrew.com

15

INSIDE LOOK

CIARA McCALL IN THE DRIVER’S SEAT An Inside Scoop on the First Coxswain and the First Woman Elected Commodore of the Men’s team.

‘22 CIARA McCALL semester off. The next fall she returned to Pullman and made another transition. She tried out for the men’s team. “My first day I knew I wouldn’t be leaving.

Everyone was so excited and genuine.” She wanted to share that excitement, which she hadn’t felt since high school.

Ciara’s first year on the team was cut short by the rapid spread of COVID-19, and her junior year was drastically modified by COVID-training: singles, doubles and pairs only. No coxing allowed. The squad did not get into team boats until the last few weeks of spring. Ciara and her fellow coxswains responded

16

THE PULL HARD

AUTUMN 2021

Y

oungest of seven in a soccer family, Ciara McCall learned to love competition early watching siblings’ games. She started kicking balls on the pitch at three years old and played through middle school. She would have played in high school, but a series of minor concussions intervened. She was looking for another sport when a friend took her to a local club, Olympia Area Rowing. Ciara’s mother had reservations; mom’s objections didn’t stop Ciara from joining OAR’s summer program before her junior year in high school. She started as a lightweight oar but began coxing towards the end of her first year. On her sixth day in the coxswain’s seat, she found herself steering the Husky Open.

An OAR teammate came to WSU and rowed for the varsity squad. One consequence was that Ciara was recruited to cox at WSU. Her first semester was much more difficult than expected, so she took a

with patience and creativity.

From the coaching launch, coxswains took hours of video, valuable for onshore review and critique.

She focused on developing her technical eye, taking advantage of the dramatically different perspective available outside the gunwales. As Treasurer, she assumed responsibility for Erg-O-Mania, and looked diligently for fresh sources of team income.

Ciara’s sharp focus, relentless dedication and energy did not go unnoticed. She is now Commodore of the men’s team: the first woman and the first coxswain elected to the office. Asked how it feels to be first

WSU COUGAR CREW

Ciara McCall Pictured as Cox. on two fronts, she said she has big shoes to fill, both literally and figuratively. She feels the weight of expectation; her own and that of her peers, and hopes to live up to the “Commodore status” set by her predecessors. She described past Commodores as among the best athletes on the team, never shy of an extra workout, unusually trustworthy, leaders by example. As coxswain, she is automatically in a leadership position, yet recognizes she isn’t “in the trenches” with the guys and must navigate that path without a clear example to follow.

As Cougar Crew, and the rest of the world, transition back to something approaching normal, Ciara is preparing to address both immediate and long-term challenges. Chief among them is recruiting. Covid has decimated two consecutive novice classes, something teams across the country have felt, but clubs especially have been impacted by. As a result, the team is small— the smallest it’s been in a long time. “Rebuilding to a competitive roster size will be a two-to-three year process.” According to Ciara, the usual methods will

be utilized, but more active recruitment of high school athletes is paramount. Back issues of The Pullhard have been sent to junior rowing programs on the west side.

Recruitment mailers are being drafted and the team is increasing outreach to high school athletic directors and coaches in various sports.

Ciara noted that the Officer Corps is young and most have not held a position until this year. This will require patience and education as each officer navigates the hurdles built into their role. She harbors some anxiety about the need for guidance and leadership in areas she lacks experience. She has never been to ACRA’s, and says she does not know what to expect.

Leadership, however, is not about having all the answers. Rather, it’s about finding the best answers available as quickly and painlessly as possible. Exactly the kind of cool, focused energy that has put Ciara in the driver’s seat.

- Dave Herrick ‘14

cougarcrew.com

17

TEAM FINANCES 2021 WSU Cougar Crew Endowment Performance Our Endowments

- WSU Crew Endowment - Meinhart Endowment - Struckmeyer-Burkhart Endowment - Tim Richards ‘80 Cougar Crew Endowment

$500,000

TOTA L E N D OWM E N A M O U N T

$450,000

$400,000

$350,000

$300,000

$250,000

2016

2017

2 018

YEAR

16 18

THE PULL HARD

AUTUMN 2021

2 019

2 02 0

2 021

COUGAR CREW POWER 10 CAMPAIGN DELIVERS! $17,000 in 2020/2021 Fiscal Year Thanks to the steadfast support from 76 standing members of the Power 10 Campaign, we have been able to deliver $17,000 in income to help offset team operating expenses in 2020/2021. Through modest recurring donations by a large portion of our active alumni base, this ongoing campaign has proven valuable in covering a significant portion of team expenses.

To join the Power 10 Campaign through the WSU Foundation, navigate to www.cougarcrew. com, click ‘Support’, and click the ‘Power 10’ button.

The Power 10 Regatta has revealed a new leader, where the 1980’s era have broken the dead heat and taken the lead over the 2010’s! Don’t sleep on the 1970’s and the 2000’s era’s, as they are making a move to stay in pack!

THANK YOU TO OUR GENEROUS POWER 10 MEMBERS! Alan Scott, Alexander Weatbrook, Allison Thomas, Andria Day, Ann Rorie, Ashley Vu, August Boyle, Blaine and Susan Beardsley, Brett R. Mitchell, Charles Remington, Colby Farvour, Colleen and Patrick Andreotti, Craig and Lisa Curtis, Curtis Treiber, Darrin and Lisa Clark, David and Arienne Arnold, David Herrick, Donald and Melinda Ernsdorff, Devon McCornack, Doug and Lori Wordell, Douglas and Carol Lindahl, Douglas and Renee Engle, Eric Zook, Dr. & Mrs. David Henry Reeder, Ernest and Alice Iseminger, Everett M. Schneider, Garrett Lyman, Gerard and Kristina Martin, Graham and Danielle Condit, Griffin Berger, Gunnar Newell, Guy Marden, Jacob Logar, James Flynn and Marcia Muto, Jeff and Samantha Olson, Jess and Victoria O’Dell, Jim and Vickie Rudd, Joe Sudar, Joey and Frankie Tennison, John and Bonnie Lafer, John and Kristie McBride, John and Shirley DeLong, John Gehring, John Sanders, Joshua Proctor, Kent and Rocio McLeary, Kerin McKellar, Kevin Snekvik and Kathleen McMenamin-Snekvik, Kimberly and Greg Miller, Kramer Wahlberg, Lori and Roeland Collet, Lucas Hunter, Lucas Jones, Marietta Hall, Mark Wascher, Mark Petrie, Mark Hoffman, Mitchell Williams, Patrick and Mary Pursley, Patrick Kvietkus, Peter Brevick, Philip and Pamela Sprute, Richard Ray and Kathleen Randall, Robert and Jeana Obom, Robin Brown, Ryan and Sarah Hui, Ryan Herrington, Ryan Krastins, Scott and Diana McCornack, Sean and Linda Gibson, Sean Martin, Steve and Kari Ranten, Steve Huhta, Thomas C. Anderson, Thomas Gould and Virginia McCabe, Vanessa Blake, Tim Richards, Tom Caudill, Vincent Xaudaro and Coleen Thompson, Weston Spivia, William Miedema,

ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT

PA U L E N Q U I ST ( ‘ 77 )

Paul Enquist (middle left) & Brad Allen Lewis (right)

PAUL ENQUIST EDITOR’S NOTE

DH: What was your initial experience like?

There is arguably no more esteemed alum of Cougar Crew than Paul Enquist. Paul rowed during the infancy of the team, but it was apparent that he had a talent for the sport, which was proven true when he became an Olympic Champion in the 1984 games. I have been eager to speak with Paul since reading Assault on Lake Casitas by his double partner Brad Alan Lewis. Paul’s journey from the Snake River to the highest echelon of our sport did not happen overnight, and I hope that this interview illuminates the way.

David Herrick ‘14

PE: WSU crew only had a few Spring racing seasons under their belt at that point. One of the mechanical engineering professors, Dave Pratt, was a Husky crew alumnus and was helping get the WSU crew started. He asked the professor that taught basic drawing to all the new engineering students to mention crew in class. He wrote “crew” on the chalk board and when class started he said “Anyone interested in crew come talk to me after class.” There were probably eight or ten of us that stayed behind. He sent us up to second floor Sloan to see Professor Pratt.

He told us where and when to meet for practice. My first practice was a Wednesday. By Saturday I was hooked.

DH: Any particularly memorable moments on the team? Either racing or practicing?

David Herrick: When did you row for WSU? Paul Enquist: Started in fall of ’73, graduated in June of ’77.

Four seasons.

DH: What was it that attracted you to rowing?

PE: I think I felt it was an intercollegiate sport that I could give a shot. I certainly wasn’t going to do it in basketball. Growing up in Seattle, Husky Crew was a big deal. I thought I could do well, so I stuck with it.

20

THE PULL HARD

AUTUMN 2021

PE: The most memorable was probably when I was a senior.

There were five or six of us who had stuck it out since freshman year.

Every year we got a little better. Not great, but better. Around the first week in April was spring break, but we stayed back to train.

At the end of Spring Break, WWU would host a regatta on Lake Samish. It was us, OSU, UW, Western, maybe someone else. We came in third. OSU had a good boat that year. Washington might have won it, but they didn’t send their first boat, I don’t think. We came in third, and we certainly weren’t out of it. Got a nice write up in the Seattle Times that said we were “coming of age.”

WSU COUGAR CREW DH: What motivated you to keep rowing after college?

PE: Summer before my senior year, Bob Ernst, the Husky freshman coach, held an informal rowing camp at UW all summer, two days a week in the morning. There were 15 of us maybe, both men and women. He had us all start sculling in these old fiberglass singles that weighed probably 80 pounds. We would also go out in a pair or a double on occasion. When I got home after my senior year I went to the UW and talked to Head Coach Dick Erickson and said “I want to keep rowing”. Erickson told me to be at the boathouse at 6:00 am. I get there and he has a V8, JV8, and V4 training for their trip to Henley. He needed four guys to fill out an eight to keep the boats together at practice. It was me, Bruce Ibbetson (he stroked the US 8+ in 1983 and 1984), Tom Woodman from OSU, and I forget who else plus the Husky rowers out of the four. We were out on Lake Washington doing pieces of some sort. We were beating the JV and were right next to the V8. They had to struggle to beat us. After the first piece went well, we were all hyped up and looking to beat them. That gave me the feeling “maybe I can pursue this a little.” In September I was invited to a training camp in Squaw Valley, California. It was called an Olympic Development Camp. After that I kept rowing my single in the mornings in Seattle.

DH: Where were you training primarily? Elite rowers in the US can be somewhat nomadic.

PE: Trained in Seattle mostly but went East in the summer.

I went to Philly in ’78 and slept in Undine Boat Club. Raced in the Independence Day Regatta in Philly. Nationals were held in Camden NJ, right across the river from Philly. After Nationals we raced at St. Catharines in Canada, then went home. The next summer a UW oarsman convinced me to go to Boston. I used a borrowed Pocock single for a few months in Boston. Raced in the Pan Am trials. Then one day I was rowing out of Harvard. Harry Parker, the Harvard coach, told me the coach at Dartmouth needed a few guys to make an 8+ for Nationals. I hopped on a Greyhound bus up to Dartmouth. After that I was invited to the sweep camp for the 8+ and 4+. Got cut right before the final cuts.

Took a break for about eight months. I was still rowing for fun in my single, and I hadn’t gotten any slower, still doing ok. Then I started thinking “I’m not too old for 84” and got back into training.

Decided to stick with the sculling DH: Where was your first international race? How did you do?

PE: 1983 World Championships. Brad and I were in the double. I had never been on the National Team before, or been to Europe. We were in Duisburg, Germany. We came in 2nd or 3rd in the heat, well enough to go to the semi’s directly. We had a good race then, came in 2nd. The final was bad though. The winners were the East Germans by quite a bit. They were right next to us. The course was man made and very shallow, so even if an 8+ went by you felt like you would tip over. The East Germans had open water on us by the 1000. We picked up their wake and it pushed us around. I felt like I was steering for the last 600, it was horrible. Finished 6th in that one.

DH: What was the hardest lesson in your elite career?

PE: Probably when you get beat really badly to not get frustrated and give up. I’ve known really good oarsmen who would lose, then quit. The hardest thing to do is to stay with it.

DH: Any major lightbulb moments?

DR: At the 1983 camp we were doing 4 or 5 minute pieces in doubles. Harry Parker was running the camp. Brad and I were together. We were last by open water in the first piece. Harry came over and was pissed, yelled “I can’t tell what you’re capable of if you’re rowing four beats lower than everyone else.” Then we rowed away and I told Brad “Ok, I need to shorten up a bit if we want to raise the rate higher.” So I did, and it clicked. We went from last to first. I mean we won by open water. Harry was happy with that because it was a moment that made us look capable.

That’s always been the lightbulb moment to me.

DH: I must admit I read Brad’s book several years ago, and while I know the result, I am curious, what was your overall experience like at the Olympic sculling selection camp? It was run by Harry Parker, correct? For the quad and double?

PE: The sculling camp in ’84 was frustrating. I spent all fall, winter, and early spring rowing with John Biglow in Seattle. We spent every practice but one each week in a double. We went up to Elk Lake near Victoria in late March. The Canadian double that had been in the finals at the World Championships for the last few years was training there. John and I went there to practice with them. Practice was 3 x 1500m. The Canadian coach told us to hold the rate to 32 or lower. First piece we won by a length, second as well. We were under-stroking them too. Third one I bumped it from a 28 to a 32 and we flew away. Their coach was yelling at us to drop the rate, saying we were too high. We won that piece by couple lengths.

cougarcrew.com

21

ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT We were thinking after that Harry might give us a shot as a double.

Brad really wanted to be the single. It didn’t end up that way since John Biglow entered the single and won. Brad had to go to the camp and his head wasn’t in it.

DH: So you’ve just been cut from camp, headspace is probably not the best, what motivated you to keep going? Did you reach out to Brad or did he reach out to you?

PE: We’re up at camp in Dartmouth. Then one day I’m partnered with Tiff Wood. It was rough. We’re leaning to port so hard it feels like my rigger is underwater. That caused a pulled a muscle in my left forearm. It would cause my hand to go numb after a couple minutes if I squeezed the grip too tight. That contributed to my being let go, I think. I was cut about a week ahead of Brad. The time off gave my arm a chance to heal, not perfect, but better.

Rowing with Brad the boat felt really level, so I didn’t have to grip too hard, which was good for my forearm. Brad reached out to me. He was offered a spot as a spare for the Olympics. Decided to give the double trials a shot with me. I had been hanging around Dartmouth to see who would get cut and pick me up as a double partner for the trials.

DH: Where did you train? I remember Assault mentioned Ithaca at one point.

PE: It was a Friday afternoon when we decided to go for it.

The Harvard Frosh were going to race at Henley. The Freshman coach at Harvard was loading boats and asked us to go with him to Squam Lake in New Hampshire for the weekend. A quad from Boston was going there also. One of the guys in the quad was from Cornell, and says “They have this camp at Cornell, maybe you can go there and train with them.” They were putting 4’s together to give college rowers racing experience at Trials. So, we called the Cornell coach Monday morning, he invites us out.

We rented a car and stole a boat and some oars from Harvard, it belonged to the Olympic Committee so they wouldn’t notice, then left for Cornell in Ithaca, New York.

That’s where we trained for two and a half weeks. We trained with a lightweight men’s straight four. The first time we raced them they went by us like we were going backwards, so we decided to step up. I don’t think we could have beaten them over 2k, but over 500’s we could get them, just because we could accelerate faster.

They pushed us every day. The college 4+s were slower than the 4-, but not by much. We were pretty even with them. Definitely couldn’t take a stroke off.

DH: Was there anyone coaching you at this point or was it entirely self-guided?

PE:There were two coaches, Tony Johnson from Yale, and Finley Meislahn from Cornell. Finley was there a long, long time. Really nice guy. They welcomed us with open arms into the boathouse.

22

THE PULL HARD

AUTUMN 2021

PA U L E N Q U I ST ( ‘ 77 )

They had money from the Olympic Committee and conveniently also hated Harvard, and knew we were racing Harry’s guys, so they fed us at the dining hall and took care of us to help out.

DH: This is a complete sidenote, but I recently listened to your interview with Matt Rung. You can imagine my frustration when I saw he beat me to the punch [laughs], but I really enjoyed your story about the rough riding quad doing pieces up at Dartmouth.

Can you describe that practice for our readers?

PE: [Laughs] It was really something. The boats had been selected at this point, single, double, and quad. The 8+ was without challenge, Kris Korzenowski was the 8+ coach. We were up at Dartmouth. One day Harry says “You guys want to try a quad and race against the 8+ for a practice? Change of pace, mix it up.” We said sure, rigged up a quad, took it out for a try the afternoon before. It sucked, so we adjusted the rigging before the next morning. We’re rowing up to the start and John Biglow and Brad start arguing. I was in between them in three seat. Eventually they figured it out, so we started the pieces. They gave us 8-10 seconds lead over the 8+. Our total experience together was maybe four miles and now we’re racing. Water is flying but we’re way ahead of the other quad. The trials winning quad. Then we focused on holding off the 8+. By the 3rd piece Tiff Wood, in bow, is screaming his head off to keep us ahead, and we managed to hold off the 8+. That was something. I know the coxswain in the eight was pissed.

DH: So back to the double. What were you feeling as you entered the Olympic trials? Remind me, who was the camp selected double?

PE: Joe Bouscaren and Charlie Altakruse, Yale and Harvard guys, respectively. They had raced in Lucerne, Switzerland while we were in Ithaca and did well, placing 4th or 5th. They came back and had about two weeks to the trials. But they still had to prove themselves at Trials.

DH: What do you remember most strongly from that race?

PE: Brad and I raced them at camp over five- or six-minute pieces. We lost to them by maybe half a length. We figured we need a length over 2k to beat them. Which isn’t easy to do, but that was our goal. We got to the starting line. They false started so we had to turn around. Then we jumped the gun and false started. The third time we took off and expected them to jump ahead, so we would have to row them down. But we were with them for about 30 strokes, then pulled away. We beat them by six seconds, or three lengths. Another boat out of Philly challenged us until the last 500.

DH: First thought when you crossed the line at trials?

PE: Really happy, “Wow we’re going to the Olympics.”

WSU COUGAR CREW DH: Tell me about the LA games themselves. What was the village like? What were you feeling? How long was the regatta?

PE: We stayed at UCSB in the dorms. The entire men’s team was on the 2nd floor in one dorm. We took a bus to the course, but it took forever, maybe an hour and 20 minutes. So, the coaches rented 12 passenger vans, took about 40 minutes instead, so we stuck with that. Finals were on a Sunday. We had to leave UCSB on Monday morning. We could fly home, or stay in the main Olympic Village in LA, which was what I wanted to do. They stuck us in a Frat House on the USC campus. It was a great week for those who stayed, great food, and a free movie theater. Best of all, free tickets to other events. Every morning I would go over and get tickets to track and field. There was a section near the finish line for athletes. Watched a lot of great athletes. Carl Lewis won four gold medals.

DH: For our readers who aren’t as familiar with the race, can you walk me through it?

PE: We pushed off from the dock and usually tie in. But I realized my oars were backwards. So, I loosened both gates on the oarlocks. Brad didn’t know. I thought we were gonna tip over.

Then, when we were warming up, we almost collided head-on with the Canadians during a power piece. Luckily, we just crossed oars.

It was hazy. We got to the start, we had a plan we had practiced before. It appeared if the rate stayed above 35 we were fast, so Harry was adamant about it. I knew for me it meant not getting too long otherwise Brad couldn’t match up. Keep it short, it felt like ¾ slide. We took our start and settled 20 strokes off the line. Then I we realized we were a length down. They had just come out with a stroke coach then, so I was using that. Our course was good, so I thought “we’re doing what we planned, I’m gonna stick to it.” At the 700 or so we started to move back on people. At the 1000 we were catching up. I told Brad “We’re moving”. The plan was to keep the pace, no 10’s or anything, until the 1200. From there it was about 100 strokes to the line. I counted 20 out to myself, and at 100 to go I would call out the 10’s to Brad. Just to make sure we were on the same page, and he was expecting it. With 40 to go we jumped the rate to 38 rowed right through the lead crew.

DH: So now you’re an Olympic champion. Did you end your career then and there or did you continue after?

PE: No I was done. I was tired of my legs always hurting, I was ready to move on and do something else in life. I just didn’t want to have any regrets on the racecourse.

DH: I’m curious, what lessons from your rowing career have spilled over into other areas of your life?

PE: It taught me perseverance. Don’t get too excited at setbacks because they happen. You can always do it better next time.

PAUL ENQUIST & KARL HUHTA PE: My dad was waiting to retire, so I took over his fishing business. I spent 11 years in southeast Alaska chasing salmon.

Then in ’95 I joined the Seattle Longshore Union which was better pay, medical benefits, all that. I had two kids at this point and could spend more time at home. I did that until 2018 when I retired.

DH: What do you enjoy doing in your spare time?

DR: Lots of fishing on the Puget Sound. We have a summer place on the Columbia River near Wenatchee. A teammate from WSU, Ray Wittmier, got me involved in cycling. I’ve done the Seattle-to-Portland ride six or seven times. I like the riding part, not the training part. STP is 15 hours, so you need to train for that. I still ski. My two boys that are both married now, I’ve been knitting too, it keeps my hands busy. Ken Struckmeyer hats and mittens for the Crew auction.

DH: Any chance we’ll see you at Cougar Crew Days next spring?

PE: Oh yeah, absolutely.

Thanks for taking the time Paul, it’s been great. For those interested in reading about Paul’s journey in greater detail, I highly recommend both Assault on Lake Casitas by Brad Alan Lewis, and The Amateurs by David Halberstam. I also highly recommend listening to a more in-depth interview with Paul by Matt Rung in “The Rowing Podcast.” Go Cougs

-David Herrick ‘14

DH: Where did life take you after rowing?

cougarcrew.com

23

CONGRATS COUGS ‘21 HENRY McRAE ‘21

DANIEL MOGUEL ‘21

JOHN MICHAEL NAJARIAN ‘20

Henry will be getting a master’s degree in Sport Leadership from Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) this upcoming fall. In addition to the degree, he will also be serving as a Graduate Assistant in the athletic department, specifically the IMG department within athletics. As a GA he will be helping coordinate sponsorship opportunities for the 13 sports teams within the athletic department.

Daniel was accepted to Purdue University where he will be pursuing a PhD in Mechanical Engineering. He intends to research heat transfer, with hopes of eventually working in the aerospace industry.

John Michael will be attending graduate school at WSU this coming fall. He will be pursuing a master’s in civil engineering while researching global groundwater management strategies.

24

THE PULL HARD

AUTUMN 2020

WSU COUGAR CREW

JARON LINDBOM ‘10

SHAWN BAGNALL ‘99

Jaron became an MBA graduate from the University of North Carolina.

Editor’s Note: Shawn is Head Coach of the Lightweight Men at the Naval Academy. This spring the Midshipmen showed speed top to bottom by sweeping the IRA National Championships.

“Yes, the new national lightweight championship format (that was actually supposed to start in spring 2020) is the 1V, 2V, and V4-. Some of this was in an effort to align our championship format closer to the NCAA Women’s model, but largely to continue to advance lightweight rowing and opportunities for athletes.

In regard to the IRA Championship this year, we fully acknowledged it was a blessing just to get a chance to line up with multiple crews across and compete. We had been training to win since we got back to campus in August 2020, regardless of COVID hurdles. We wanted to be sure that whether there was an IRA Championship this year or not, we left everything on the table in the way of preparation. Princeton and Penn had last finished 2nd and 3rd in 2019 and we knew they would be formidable opponents. That said, the relentlessness that our guys showed in each race, and the joy with which they approached their training was awesome to watch.

It was also our 2nd consecutive Academic Dean’s Award for our team this year, achieving the highest GPA of all 33 sports at Navy (3.54 avg GPA for 60 athletes). In 2020 it was our only win, but this year it was a cherry on top of the IRA efforts.”

CONGRATS COUGS ‘21 DOUG ENGLE ‘79

Doug Engle

At the end of June, Doug Engle (’79) hung up his hat (for real this time) as Chief Cook and Bottle Washer at the US Department of Agriculture’s Western Wheat Quality Laboratory in Pullman. In 1981, flashing his fresh-minted Master’s degree in Environmental Science, Doug was posted to the Federal Register and might have been grabbed by any among many federal research labs around the country. Thanks to Lady Luck (and a bit of the old Cougar Crew soft shoe) Doug’s first offer came from the USDA lab in Pullman. Needless to say, the team has enjoyed spectacular dividends from this (somewhat?) unlikely outcome.

To the overly-sensitive or too-literal-minded, Chief Cook and Bottle Washer might seem pejorative. Nothing of it. Anyone who has worked in a legitimate scientific laboratory knows there’s lots of cooking to do, and lots of bottles to wash. Doug started as a Physical Science Technician and finished as a Food Technologist and Manager of the Cultivar Development Program overseeing all laboratory operations. He planned to retire in 2019 and did in fact retire from the federal service. WSU picked up the tab to keep him on in a ¾ time position for another two years, in order to train his USDA replacement.

And should you have the mistaken impression that laboratory scientists sit in ivory towers working on problems that bear little relation to the everyday working world, you should know that managing a USDA lab put Doug at a unique node of overlapping and very large economic interests. In addition to his lab duties, Doug is a principal in three regional wheat development and promotion initiatives: the Washington State University Variety Release Committee, the Pacific Northwest Wheat Quality Council and the Genotype & Environment study funded by the wheat and grain commissions of Washington, Oregon and Idaho. He has lived and worked at the fulcrum point between wheat producers and (industrial) wheat consumers—carefully and constantly monitoring and metering the changes in wheat quality and characteristics from the production side and the ever-fluid requirements of the global grain market on the consumption side.

As to the Cougar Crew soft shoe? Doug learned from his boss ten years after he was hired that one of Doug’s references gave him a glowing sales pitch well above anything he had heard before or since. The reference? Ken Abbey. Go figure.

26

THE PULL HARD

AUTUMN 2020

THANK YOU COACHES FAREWELL DEVON & MILOS

DEVON McCORNACK

After a difficult year full of challenges and creative solutions, Cougar Crew wants to take the time to thank both of our Graduate Assistant Coaches, Devon McCornack and Miloš Aleksić as they move on after the close of the 2021 season.

Devon McCornack has served as the men’s novice coach for Cougar Crew since the start of Fall 2019, immediately following his tenure as a two-year men’s Commodore and four-year oarsman.

Devon’s coaching style emulated the values of Cougar Crew, teaching his athletes to trust the process, utilize every opportunity, and to demand excellence from both yourself and your teammates.

A small 2019 novice class did not deter Devon from believing in his team from the start, reminding them of the value in quality over quantity and encouraging a strong culture that would pick up likeminded individuals. Besides influencing his athletes directly, Devon also served as a huge asset to the Officer Corps where he was able to be a vault of experience while allowing the incoming officers to find their own style and flourish in their positions.

Miloš Aleksić has served as the women’s coach since the beginning of Fall 2019. Miloš came from the Oklahoma City University men’s rowing team, where he served as team captain during the ‘16-’17 and ‘17-’18 seasons. Miloš has brought many years of rowing experience to Cougar Crew, as he began his rowing career in Serbia in 2006.

Miloš has instilled perseverance, consistency, and work-ethic into his team. Miloš embraced the challenge that the pandemic brought along, including low numbers and limited training opportunities. He didn’t let the pandemic inhibit his athletes from growing as a team and individually, both on the water and in the classroom.

MILOS ALEKSIC

Devon instilled confidence in each of his athletes, trusting us while we learned to trust ourselves. He took the time to highlight progress and use every mistake as a learning opportunity. Devon knew what it meant to be a Cougar Crew athlete and instilled the same pride in each of his athletes. Each day he encouraged both his novice athletes and the varsity team members. He was a resource for both new and seasoned athletes as they developed training and race plans, from reviewing splits and pacing to leading warmups before weight training. Miloš understood his team immediately and built a strong culture of excellence and hard work, elevating the team to new heights. He took the time to edit athlete resumes, review team budgets, and help establish treasurer protocols to further the team. His finance background was indispensable in understanding the team budget and forecasting the team’s future after the pandemic.

Both Miloš and Devon were essential in the survival and success of the team through the pandemic, from creative workouts to jumping into boats for seat racing. Their infectious energy, both from the launch, in the boat, and on the erg, provided an example of strength and persistence through difficult conditions. We cannot thank them enough for their hard work and commitment through the past two years. We wish you the best of luck in your future endeavors and hope to see you back to visit often!

Thank you for everything, Ciara McCall and Kamira Hamilton

cougarcrew.com

27

PULL HARD ANNOUNCMENT D AV E A R N O L D

28

THE PULL HARD

AUTUMN 2021

WSU COUGAR CREW

MY BOOK, PULL HARD! FINDING GRIT AND PURPOSE ON COUGAR CREW, 1970-2020, WAS PUBLISHED IN OCTOBER Pull Hard! is the work of our entire Cougar Crew community. I am so grateful to everyone who shared their stories with me and helped me understand the history of Cougar Crew. During the tumultuous year of 2020, amidst a global pandemic and a chaotic presidential election, it was truly a blessing to interview over ninety current and former WSU rowers, coaches, and administrators. Their stories saved me. Each interview renewed my faith in humanity, reminding me what diverse humans can achieve working together toward collective goals.

Each interview and every story sent to me by former rowers conveyed the passion, commitment, grit, and humor of fifty years of Cougar Crew—a reservoir of memory and experience so deep it could fill the Snake River Canyon. I was delighted at how eager former rowers were to talk about their time in Cougar Crew, but I was never surprised. Each interview confirmed my thesis that Cougar Crew was, for most of us, the central experience of our college education. I was always struck by the commonalities in that experience, no matter the era in which we rowed: friendship, community, shared sacrifice, personal growth, resilience, and the powerful natural backdrop of the Snake River Canyon.

The themes that anchor the book are what one might expect from a sport that prides itself on the absence of notoriety and an abundance of pain: grit, hardship, resilience, volunteerism, sacrifice, failure, transformation, and triumph. Underneath these themes, there is one overarching through line: the exhausting democratic process of building and maintaining a community of students and alumni bound together by the love of something shared. If this sounds corny, like the generic corporate posters of a rowing squad touting “teamwork,” my answer is twofold: first, the corny stuff is most often the good stuff when it comes to education, athletics, and perhaps life itself; second, this history of Cougar Crew gives depth and humanity to the corporate clichés about teamwork and sacrifice.

It is the real thing—even if the words used are the same ones that populate our clichés.

I truly hope that the republic of Cougar Crew embraces the book, but inevitably there will be many who disagree with my interpretations and conclusions.

And that is ok! My book is not a definitive history of Cougar Crew—it is an interpretive history that uses some stories and individuals as emblematic of a larger narrative. Dave Emigh suggests that my book is like a “crazy quilt,” where I took small, irregular pieces of our individual and shared experiences and knitted them together into a cohesive whole that reflects the artistry of the quilt maker as much as the raw materials used to create it. I think that’s accurate. My only regret is that I did not have a shard of cloth from every current and former WSU rower to knit into the story, but I hope my narrative is representative enough that every former rower will see their own experiences reflected in the finished product.

Whatever people think of the book, I am confident that it will provide grist for the never-ending debates that animate our tribe, while also serving to remind us that we are indeed a tribe with a shared history, a common experience, and a commitment to spreading that experience to more WSU students in the coming years.

I encourage you to buy the book, because all profits go to Cougar Crew!

- Dave Arnold ‘88

You can purchse Dave’s Cook “Pull Hard1” online at https://wsupress.wsu.edu/product/pull-hard/

cougarcrew.com

29

PLANNED GIVING You Have the Power to Change Cougs’ Lives

30

THE PULL HARD

AUTUMN 2021

WSU COUGAR CREW We know how proud you are of being a Washington State University Coug. Not only that, you’re part of a special breed of Cougs—crew alumni! Did you know that you can use your commitment to WSU to change the life of a student? After you turn 70 ½, you’re required to withdraw annually from your IRA, however, if you transfer those funds directly to the WSU Foundation, you can support the areas you care about and avoid paying income tax. When you make a gift through your will, revocable living trust, or beneficiary designation in support of WSU, you can maintain your current lifestyle and commitments while supporting the next generation of Cougs. It’s a winwin. Learn more about how you can change lives and make a tax-smart decision at the same time by visiting giftplanning.wsu.edu, calling 800-448-2978 or emailing gpoffice@wsu.edu.

cougarcrew.com

31

BEHIND THE PULLHARD 32

THE PULL HARD

AUTUMN 2021

WSU COUGAR CREW EDITOR | DAVID HERRICK pullhard@cougarcrew.com David Herrick is the primary editor for The Pullhard, and rowed from 2010-2014. He is currently an assistant coach for the women’s team at Oregon State.

DESIGNER & PUBLISHER | EZEKIEL NELSON zeke.nelson@outlook.com Ezekiel Nelson has been the layout and graphic designer for The Pullhard for the past two years. He started this position in his senior year as the team publisher. Recently, Zeke has received his Master’s of Architecture and now works for an architecture firm in Wyoming.

TEAM PUBLISHER | STEVE COLLET steve.collet@wsu.edu Stephen Collet (‘24) is a current sophomore from Olympia WA studying mechanical engineering.

He has previously rowed for four years at Olympia Area Rowing.

EDITOR EMERITUS |RICH RAY rich_ray@earthlink.net Rich “Flip” Ray (’80) values most that which can be neither bought nor sold: the friends and experiences of a lifetime; is keenly aware of the limits of reason and the destructive power of capital; writes sporadically on topics political; cultivates a proletarian optimism in the decency and wisdom of ordinary people. He lives happily with Kathleen Randall (’81) in Manhattanville, West Harlem, NYC.

cougarcrew.com

33

THE

PULLHARD @WSU_CougarCrew

@wsucougarcrew

WSU Men’s Crew

cougarcrew.com