The Canisius College rowing team continued their Fall schedule at the Challenge on the Canal along the Cayuga-Seneca Canal in Geneva, N.Y. on Saturday morning. In the four-kilometer head race, the Golden Griffins' varsity eight finished second in the race with host William Smith taking the top spot.

"We had a good, hard race today against great boats from Ithaca and William Smith," said head coach Joel Furtek. "It was some brutal racing down the Canal and we're certainly pleased with the race we put in. None of us is ever happy coming in second, but we're surrounding ourselves with speed and raising our sights each week."

The Golden Griffins finished the course in 17:30, as the reigning Liberty League champion William Smith secured the head of the race with a time of 17:03. The Griffs would finish ahead of Ithaca College, who posted a time of 17:31.

"We're happy to be in the mix," said Furtek of the level of competition the Griffs competed against. "Coaches Sandra Chu [of William Smith] and Becky Robinson [of Ithaca College] have been putting out fast crews for more than a decade and have repeated NCAA success."

The Griffs' varsity eight included sophomore Meagan Hayden, freshman Corrine Kickel, freshman Nora Kennon, senior Bridget Laszewski, senior Amanda Kelich, junior Lizabeth McKinney, junior Lynna Paradiso, senior Stephanie SanFilipo, and freshman coxswain Hannah Blum. 

"We're excited to race again tomorrow against our neighbors from D'Youville, and then to get into training for next week's Head of the Genesee, where we will see all the crews we've raced so far, and more," stated Furtek. "The dual format next week, with a head race and en a sprint, will be a great way to cap off our Fall season."

After competing on the road the past two weeks, the Blue and Gold return home to the Frank Lloyd Wright Fontana Boathouse on Sunday afternoon when they host D'Youville at 3 p.m.