Bogalusa Crew 313 wins national championship

NORFORK, Ark. — Bogalusa Venturer Crew 313 won its 12th national championship here Saturday, winning three divisions and finishing second, third and fifth in another as the 45th National Invitational White River Canoe race came to a close.

The Crew, sponsored by the Bogalusa newspaper, is coached by Col. Robert Miller, United States Marine Corps (ret.) and left Bogalusa last Saturday, just hours after winning the Golden Anniversary 110-mile Bogue Chitto River Canoe Marathon.

Bogalusa took divisional titles in Open Cruising, Boys Aluminum-Advanced and Boys Aluminum-Novice and finished second, third and fifth in Boys Aluminum-Beginners.

In Open Cruising, Bogalusa finished the cumulative 120 miles in 11:49:33, edging Russellville, Ark. by 2:18 and beating New Brighton, Minn. by 16:39.

In Advanced, Bogalusa finished the race in 13:49:17, more than an hour better thn second place Little Rock, Ark., and 1:25.30 better than Bryan, Texas.

In Novice, Crew 313 finished in 14:15:53, claiming a victory of more than two hours over second-place Bryan. Bryan edged fellow Lone Star State entrant Fort Worth by 3:14.

In Beginners, Russellville, Ark. claimed the title and beat Crew 313's boat I4 by 20:32. Crew 313's boat I6 was another 13 minutes behind in third, while Little Rock was in fourth, just 24 seconds behind. Bogalusa's boat I5 was another nine minutes out.

(Published first at http://www.wpnewsblog.blogspot.com)

Bogalusa Crew 313 closing in on 12th national championship

After two days of competition in the 120-mile, 45^th annual White River National Invitational Canoe Race, Bogalusa’s Venturer Crew 313 continues to hold down first place in three categories, but slipped a bit in a fourth division, where it now has teams in and is second, third and fifth.

 

Should the crew, coached by Col. Robert Miller, maintain those positions it would seem to have an insurmountable lock on a 12^th national championship in the prestigious race. The crew is sponsored by the Bogalusa newspaper.

In Open Cruising, the most advanced paddlers, Crew 313 leads Russellville, Ark. by two minutes, 29 seconds — a tightening of 3:10 off the day one margin. In Boys Aluminum-Advanced, Crew 313 leads Little Rock, Ark. by 46:07  — adding more than 20 minutes to their day one lead. In Boys Aluminum-Novice, Crew 313 leads Bryan, Texas by 1:05.16 — stretching their day one advantage by 39:47.

The slippage came in Boys Aluminum-Beginners.

Russellville, Ark. continues to lead, stretching its margin over second place Crew 313 to 14:21 and 20:34 over Crew 313’s third place boat. Crew 313’s canoe that was in fourth place after day one slipped to fifth after day two, 36:01 off the lead. That canoe was passed in the standings by Little Rock.

Russellville’s open cruising team, which gained 3:10 on Crew 313 on Friday, had the highest average speed for the day at 10.12 miles per hour. Crew 313 maintained the highest cumulative average speed at 9.92 miles per hour. Russellville’s 10.22 miles per hour on leg one was the fastest of the day, followed by New Brighton, Minn. with 10.18 miles per hour on that same leg.

Paddlers start 75 minutes earlier on Saturday’s final day, with the first oars hitting the water at 6:45 a.m. instead of day one and two’s 8 a.m. beginning.

Leg 6 — the longest of the race at 21 miles — gets paddlers under way as they navigate the river from Allyson/Sylamore to Lock No. 3 in a clock out run. A second clock out leg, 12 miles from Lock No. 3 to Lock No. 2, gets paddlers to within seven miles of the finish line, and that comes on Leg 8, from Lock No. 2 to Batesville.

Following completion of the race, officials will tally the results to determine the team champion as well as the winners of the numerous awards presented to entrants.

A total of 25 teams from six states were listed on the Day Two leaderboard, with two teams — one from Batesville, Ark. in Boys Aluminum-Advanced and one from Little Rock in Coed Aluminum-Beginners — had to be towed in an incurred 10 minute penalties.

The awards ceremony will be held at 3 p.m. Saturday at the Pavilion near Norfork Dam.

(Published first at http://www.wpnewsblog.blogspot.com)

Bogalusa Crew 313 leads in three categories at 45th White River National Invitational Race

After the first day’s competition in the 120-mile, 45^th annual White River National Invitational Canoe Race, Bogalusa’s Venturer Crew holds down first place in three categories and is second, third and fourth in another.

 

The squad, winners of 11 national championships at the meet, lead by five minutes, 39 seconds in Open Cruising, by 25 minutes, 29 seconds in Boys Aluminum-Advanced and by 28 minutes, 39 seconds in Boys Aluminum-Novice.

Russelville, Ark. is in second in Open Cruising, while Little Rock, Ark. is in second in Boys Aluminum-Advanced and Bryan, Texas in second in Boys Aluminum-Novice.

In Boys Aluminum-Beginners, Crew 313 trails Crew 300 of Russellville, Ark. by five minutes, 49 seconds for second, seven minutes, 44 seconds for third and nine minutes, 52 seconds for fourth.

Bogalusa’s open cruising team had the highest average speed for the day at 10.6 miles per hour over the three legs. The team averaged 13.21 miles per hour on the 17-mile leg from Bull Shoals Dam to Cotter, 9.61 miles per hour on the 13.3 mile second leg from Cotter to Buffalo City and 8.98 miles per hour on the 12.3 mile third leg, which ran from Buffalo City to Norfork.

With 42.6 miles in the books, team rise early on Friday to have their canoes at the water by 7:45 to meet the 8 a.m. start. The first leg of the day, the second-longest of the entire race, is from Norfork to Callico Rock. After this 18-mile leg, crews may change paddlers in preparation for leg five, a 17-mile leg from Callico Rock to Allison/Sylamore.

At Sylamore, teams will have a cookout and a talent show prior to getting some sleep and rest for the championship push on Saturday.

Crew 313 is sponsored by the Bogalusa newspaper. A total of 24 teams from six states entered the race.

(Published first at www.wpnewsblog.blogspot.com)