THE SUNSET OF CONIBEAR University of Pennsylvania Intercollegiate Athletics 1967 IRA Jayvee Race Onondaga Lake 1 Navy 17:28.2, 2 Penn 17:37.4, 3 Wisconsin 17:49.2 Reece: “After we settled in, after a mile or so I guess, we were out in front and pulling away, which was what this crew did for a living. It was the last race of the season! The sun was shining, the view was spectacular - and we had a couple lengths of open water on the fleet!”4381 If Only . . . If only that were the end of the story for the undefeated 1967 Penn Jayvee crew . . . Sports Illustrated: “Syracuse took an early lead with Wisconsin second. Shortly after the half-mile mark, Penn powered to the front at 35. Syracuse briefly regained the lead before Pennsylvania began pulling away by a third of a length, a full length, two lengths. Penn was ahead by two and a half and nearing the two-mile mark of the three-mile race when the thunderstorm finally hit them.”4382 The New York Times: “Although the skies were ominous as the junior varsity 4381 Reece, op. cit. 4382 Harold Peterson, Pennsylvania Pulls it Off, Sports Illustrated, June 26, 1967 event began, it seemed that the oarsmen would be able to beat the storm, which was coming up from below the finish line. The dark clouds moved much faster than anticipated, however, and caught the shells in mid-lake. “Dutch Schoch, the former Princeton coach, who was on an accompanying reporting launch, later said the storm was the severest one he had seen since the regatta’s earliest days in Poughkeepsie.”4383 The Penn Jayvee Crew had portentously drawn Lane 13, far out toward the middle of the lake, while their Navy counterparts had drawn Lane 4, with Wisconsin in Lane 1 along the southwest shore. The storm advanced up the outside lanes nearest the center of the lake like an impenetrable curtain of water pouring out of the blackness above. Reece: “Out of nowhere there came a cloud burst, a violent squall that not only filled our boat with water immediately, but also turned us sideways to the course and brought us to a complete stop.”4384 4383 Michael Strauss, Penn Crew Gains 2-Length Victory, The New York Times, June 18, 1967 4384 Reece, op. cit. 1203
