Courageous Crusaders
are a worthy crew

By Melissa Yerkov
Times Sports Editor

Last year was certainly one to remember for Father Judge High School’s Christopher Lutz.
As a junior on the Crusaders’ crew team, Lutz — alongside his teammates — helped bring home both the Catholic League and city titles. The conquering crew went on to compete in the Stotesbury Cup Regatta, which brought more than 5,000 athletes from 177 schools to the Schuylkill River.
The elite race was no sweat for the Crusaders — they were crowned champions once again.
This year, Lutz is back on the water. And it looks like history may be repeating itself.
The Crusaders again claimed the Catholic League championship on April 27. The Varsity 4 squad — composed of seniors Bob Reifsnyder, Lutz, Kevin Judge, Joe Mortimer and junior Corey Mee — finished in first place with a time of 4:52:90. The JV 4 squad also got a championship title, finishing 5:02:00.
"It felt real good to win the Catholic League championship," said Lutz, now a senior. "It feels good to leave here as champions."
Now the squad is headed back to the big time — racing in the prestigious 82nd annual Stotesbury Cup Regatta, which will be held May 16-17.
"We’ve been practicing a lot," said Lutz. "So far, so good. It’s always nerve-wracking, because everyone has a chance to win. But I know we have a good shot."
The Father Judge crew team has maintained a reputation for excellence for the better part of the last decade. The Crusaders have brought home six Catholic League championship crowns in the past eight years, along with five city championship titles.
Lutz joined the Crusaders’ winning streak during his freshman year, and has been rowing to success ever since. His skills on the Schuylkill have opened many doors for Lutz, who competed with the 2007 Junior National Team that raced at the FISA World Junior Championships last summer in Beijing, China.
"It was a lot different than rowing over here," said Lutz, who earned fifth place in the tournament. "There’s a lot more competition. It’s crazy."
Lutz took part in the competition after turning quite a few heads at the Junior Olympics invitational camp, held in Princeton last June.
"My coach got me involved with it," Lutz recalled. "They select you based on your performance and times, and I was chosen to try out."
The rest is history. Lutz joined Michael Gennaro, Ian Winthrop, Nareg Guregian, Theodore Laher, Nick Jordan, Chris Bowman, Ian Silveira and Anthony Altimari to form the USA squad.
The dream team arrived in beautiful China eager to get in the water and start rowing. Their boat, however, was another story.
"Our boats were in an accident on the way over. They had to send them over by ship, so we had the first two days to ourselves," said Lutz. "We went to the Great Wall of China. It worked out really well. We ran in the morning, then we had afternoons to ourselves. It was very difficult to get used to it there. It’s very humid and dry and hot. But China is breathtaking."
Lutz returned home to America and quickly got back to business.
"I’m going for it again this year," said Lutz. "Tryouts start in June and the championships are in Austria this year. I’m nervous, but really excited — pretty much how I felt last year at this point."
With the prospect of another global journey to face some of the best rowers in the world, Lutz — a Northeast native who now lives in Fairless Hills — also is making plans to move to New York State to attend Syracuse University. He has received a full athletic scholarship for crew.
"I’m really excited for college," said Lutz, who plans to study electrical engineering. "I know I’ll miss the river, the teammates, the coaches, and it’ll be a lot different. But I’m looking forward to it."
The 18-year-old has come a long way since first picking up an oar four years ago. He’s particularly excited to see what the future holds, but he’s also appreciating the time that’s left in the City of Brotherly Love with his fellow Crusaders.
"It’s awesome rowing here. It’s a historic rowing site," Lutz said of the Schuylkill River. "It’s funny, I thought making the varsity team my sophomore year was a big thing. I thought it was a highlight of my career. I never expected all of this." ••
Father Judge High School will hold a May 15 fund-raiser at the Texas Roadhouse, 1545 Street Road, in Bensalem. Texas Roadhouse will donate 10 percent of meal purchases to the Father Judge crew team. Dinner will be served from 4 to 10 p.m. The Crusaders’ crew team will be arriving after practice, at about 7 p.m. For more information, call 215-639-7132.
Sports editor Melissa Yerkov can be reached at 215-354-3035 or myerkov@phillynews.com