1fl Monday, June 18, 2012
The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
MEN'S ROWING
Former Wolverine rower headed to Summer Olympics
Monday, June 18, 2012
The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
13
By COLLEEN THOMAS
Daily Sports Editor
Usually, athletes train all their
life to go to the Olympics.
But Tom Peszek has only been
training eight years, and he's head-
ed to London this summer. With a
partner he's only been competing
with for a few months.
The former Michigan rower and
his partner, Silas Stafford, recently
won the men's pair event in West
Windsor, N.J. to qualify for the 2012
Summer Games.
"It's awesome, it's quite a thrill,"
Peszek said.
After starting out in second
place after a quick jump off the line,
Peszek and Stafford fought off a
tough headwind to take the lead.
"It was a pretty good race - it
was long," Peszek said. "We had a
strong headwind, so it was one of
the longest races I've ever had.
."(But) it was relatively simple,
we just went out, got up early, and
stayed ahead."
Peszek and Stafford beat out a few
other boats for the victory, which
clinched a spot on the national team
to represent the United States in
London in a couple'of months - but
their win didn't come that easy.
Peszek originally tried out for
national team's eight-man crew, but
things didn't work out in his favor.
That's how he and Stafford decided
to become partners.
"We were both the last guys not
selected, so pretty much right after
that, we went to the pair and picked
up right from there," Peszek said.
"Silas and I started rowing as a pair
a few months ago, but we've known
each other since 2007. We were on
the under-23 U.S. National Team, so
we go way back, but this is the first
time we've raced as a pair."
New things don't seem to be a
problem for Peszek, though - he
just started rowing when he came
to Michigan, after deciding to join
a club sports team to keep in shape.
He wasn't even sure that rowing
was a serious sport until he joined
the Wolverines' club team.
"It kinda just slowly took over my
life, in a good way," Peszek said. "I
really had no idea what I was get-
ting myself into."
Despite the club sport status
of the men's rowing team - the
women's squad is a varsity sport at
Michigan - they still take racing
very seriously.
During his time at Michigan,
Peszek mentioned that beating Wis-
consin and Cornell, two of the big-
ger varsity programs, were some of
the greatest moments of his career
at Michigan. He also said that the
squad competes against anybody
and everybody, from top varsity
teams to other club squads.
"It's run by the students, (so) you
have to pay dues and do all sorts of
fundraisers to keep the club alive
and kicking, but at the same time
we'll race anybody," Peszek said.
"We'll race better varsity programs,
other club programs - it doesn't
really matter. And I've always loved
the fact that being a club program
was never an excuse. We've never
walked away from anything."
That mentality has surely helped
Peszek get to where he is today. He
noted that all of his coaches have
helped him become a better rower
- especially his current coach, a
former Olympian.
"I'm fortunate enough to be
coached right now by Bryan Vol-
penhein, who won the Olympics
back in 2004 (and) set the world
record in the process," Peszek said.
"He knows what he's doing and he's
been a big help."
Does Peszek think being coached
by a former gold medalist comes
with high expectations?
"(Silas and I) don't really have
much for expectations," he said.
"We feel like we can go out and beat
anybody, just about. We're look-
ing forward to it because we don't
know how we're going to stack up,
so we're really excited to see what
we can get."
Camp Take Notice to close
Camp partnered ed prayers for the camp and a
moment of silence for the recent
with MISSION passing of Camp Take Notice
resident Terry Clark. Flyers with
forced to leave Republican Gov. Rick Snyder's
.contact information were given
current A2 location out to the audience as Reverand
Ian Reed Twiss of Holy Faith
By HO YIN CHOI Church in Saline persuaded par-
For the Daily ticipants to "keep calling" in an
effort for Camp Take Notice to
A candlelight vigil was held on stay open.
Thursday, June 14 at St. Mary's The mass then proceeded to
Student Parish on East Williams Liberty Plaza where they contin-
Street as faith-based communi- ued to sing and pray. Residents of
ties came together in support of the camp expressed their grati-
Camp Take Notice - a self-gov- tude toward the camp and its sup-
erning community for homeless porters.
people in Ann Arbor set to close Also shown at the parish on
June 22, as ordered by the Michi- that day was a letter signed by 48
gan Department of Transporta- persons of faith from 30 different
tion. faith communities in protest of
Camp Take Notice provides MDOT's decision to close down
shelter and resources to the home- the camp.
less in partnership with Michigan Rock Collins, pastoral coun-
Itinerant Shelter System-Inter- cilmember of the Ann Arbor-
dependent Out of Necessity, based St. Francis of Assisi
which aims to help facilitate tent Parish, recalled the camp being
communities for the homeless, "extremely organized." Collins'
according to their website. They said he thinks a 60-day period
are being forced to relocate after is needed for camp residents to
being cited trespassing notices by arrange for other means of hous-
MDOT. ing and added that'eviction on
Highlights of the vigil includ- June 22 would not allow people
to do so.
Collins said if necessary, "there
is going to be resistance" on the
day of eviction, even if some
residents and supporters will be
arrested.
Brian Durrance, secretary of
MISSION, wrote in an e-mail
to The Michigan Daily that the
Sherriff's department "will begin
to denude the site on (June 19),"
meaning the residents may have
to leave the site earlier than
expected.
Alonzo Young, the first gradu-
ate of Camp Take Notice, heard of
the camp through word of mouth
and pursued his associate's
degree at Washtenaw Communi-
ty College during his stay. Young
referred to the camp as a "family."
Anthony Ramirez, a Camp
Take Notice resident, said he
went down to the camp because
he could not stay at a shelter due
to not being a resident of Washt-
enaw County.
Ramirez expressed the same
"family" mentality as Young, say-
ing the camp provided him with
heaters, blankets and safety.
"Everybody looks after every-
body," he said.
MARATHON
From Page 1A
national companies like Macy's.
Currently, the marathon's web-
site has released times for 580 peo-
ple in the full marathon and 1,211
people in the half marathon. Run-
ning store chain Running Fit pro-
vided timing services for the event.
Finishing first in the marathon
was 39-year-old Marco Capelli with
a time of 2:48:02. The first woman
to finish was 24-year-old Allyson
Weimer, who had a time of 3:11:36.
In the half marathon, 20-year-old
Toledo native Trevin Flickinger
finished first with a time of 1:18:40.
29-year-old Denver native Sarah
Pizzo was the first female to finish
with a time of 1:27:10.
Among the marathon's organiz-
ers were Michael Highfield, found-
er of Champions for Charity, and his
wife Andrea Highfield.
In an interview after the mara-
thon started, Andrea Highfield
said she was thankful for the gentle
weather, adding that she and her
husband had been concerned the
morning would be ruined with rain
and storms.
The night before the race, the
website for the marathon noted that
there was a planned procedure of
postponing the race or pausing the
race's timing if lightning was spot-
ted before or during the race.
"So thankful," Highfield said.
"We were both up all night just
making arrangements for if we had
to switch times."
Water stations were set up at
every mile, and stations providing
GU energy gel were set up at miles
12,18 and 22.5.
At the beginning of the mara-
thon, Highfield told runners they.
could to vote for the best, most
enthusiastic water station when
they finished the race. Highfield
explained the best-voted station
would receive prizes such as a Veri-
zon tablet and $250 in cash.
Highfield added that volunteers
came from places including Ann
Arbor Public Schools.
Highfield also said her husband's
committee, the Ann Arbor Mara-
thon Committee, had researched
the best course for Ann Arbor.
"My husband and his commit-
tee wanted to show off all of Ann
Arbor," Highfield said.
Though the inaugural marathon
started outside Michigan Stadium,
Highfield said future events could
try finishing there.
"It would be nice to be able to
finish (in the Big House) - and
maybe we'll get to that someday,"
Highfield said.
Standing on the corner of East
Madison and State streets, North-
ville resident Sarah Hendricks
waited to cheer on Rackham stu-
dent Clarissa Freeman, who ran the
half marathon after suffering from
prolonged paralysis due to a debili-
tating condition called spina bifida
while in high school.
"She has a medical condition,
and she had a relapse and wasn't
able to walk or take care of herself,"
Hendricks said. "She's been work-
ing really hard and training, so it's
pretty much a miracle."
Hendricks explained Free-
man's relapse occurred 18 months
before the marathon and while her
time was well done for a first-time
runner, she knows Freeman can
improve.
"For a (first) race, there's always a
learning curve for both participants
and the organizers, so you (can)
always learn," Hendricks said.
Before the marathon, supporters
of an Immaculate Heart of Mary
Catholic nun named Julia, who was
running the full marathon, stood by
the starting line.
Maxine Kollasch, an IHM sister
from Monroe, said Julia was run-
ning the event to fundraise for their
faith and spirituality outreach blog
called A Nun's Life Ministry.
"We have Julia running the mar-
athon," Kollasch said. "She's been
training faithfully, and she's really
excited about this."
She added that they were happy
to provide Julia with a much-need-
ed energy boost of coffee after she
completed the marathon.
Team Red, White & Blue, an Ann
Arbor-based nonprofit group for
wounded veterans, had members
running in the full marathon, half
marathon and SK, including John-
ny Algor, a recent law and business
graduate and military veteran.
Before he ran the 5K, Algor said
his foundation fundraised in sup-
port of the event, which he added is
one of many events his organization
participates in to promote wounded
veterans' well-being.
"We try to reintegrate wounded
.veterans back into society, and one
of the ways we try to get them out
is through physical fitness," Algor
said. "That's also how we build
awareness."
Algor said his organization was
able to come together and bond
with a dinner at Conor O'Neill's
the night before as well as a tailgate
planned for after the event.
Algor said he was excited to run
by the places where he studied for
years.
"We'll get to see some of the
sights, I'm excited for it," Algor said.
Ann Arbor residents Christopher
and Carolyn Todd sat in chairs on
the corner of Hill and State streets
to cheer on their son Kevin and
friend Josh, who traveled from
their respective homes in Boston
and Miami to run.
Carolyn Todd said the marathon
did not count as a qualifier for the
esteemed Boston Marathon, some-
thing she said would have drawn in
more competitive runners.
"This is not a qualifying event,
which is not disappointing, but that
means it's not (the) highest caliber
- but it's their first (marathon),"
Todd said.
The Todds said it was nice that
the event was in their hometown
because this was their first time
getting to see their son run a mara-
thon, even though he has run many
and qualified for the Boston Mara-
thon this year.
Christopher Todd said if they
had a gripe about the marathon, it
would be at their struggle to find
parking.
"We were planning on parking at
Yost, but there's no way of getting in
there," Todd said.
Carolyn Todd said the marathon
turned out great, but added that she
presumed drivers were probably a
little irked about the closed streets.
"Locals are not happy about the
traffic situation," she said.
Kinesiology senior Ian Prochas-
ka and his twin brother Zachary
tied as winners of the 5K, both run-
ning times of 16:59.
Prochaska said he found the
course easy to follow.
"There were maps online, so
those were nice, so I had a little
bit of a look (at) the course before
I showed up, and then since my
brother and I were out front, there
was a lead vehicle," he said. "So I
just followed (the vehicle) the entire
race and that was wonderful."
Prochaska said the scheduling of
their final exam in their springclass
the next day deterred them from
running one of the longer courses
and led them to compete in the 5K.
"My brother and I actually
planned on doing the half mara-
thon, but since we have our bio-
chem final tomorrow, we wanted
to be off our feet for the rest of the
day," he said.
Prochaska said he was happy
that the marathon benefited a good
cause.
"Any time you get to support
things like the Ann Arbor school
system, that's always a wwonderful
thing," he said. "Getting out there
and competing with a bunch of peo-
ple is just an added bonus."
Person previously
noticed in other
cities in southeast
Michigan
By GIACOMO BOLOGNA
ManagingEditor
According to a security bulle-
tin issued by the Department of
Public Safety, a man - who has
repeatedly been seen in southeast
Michigan - approached a group of
14-year-old girls on the north side
of the Diag, calling them "beauti-
ful," at about 6:05 p.m. Thursday.
The 69-year-old man, whose
address is in Wisconsin, eventu-
ally asked them if they would like
to leave with him.
The bulletin notes that it has
been issued for "awareness pur-
poses only" and though no crimi-
nal charges have been issued
against the man, the bulletin
identified the man's behavior as
"concerning."
DPS spokeswoman Diane
Brown said the man had been seen
in Chesterfield Township near
Lake St. Clair, which is more than
an hour's drive east of Ann Arbor.
"There had been a report the
previous day out of Chesterfield
Township that they were looking
for a man matching this descrip-
tion," she said.
According to a press release
issued by the Chesterfield Police
Department, the man drove up to
two boys - only 9 and 11 years old
- the night of June 13. He report-
edly asked one child his gender.
Also according to the report, an
adult approached the vehicle and
asked the man a question, but he
drove away before answering.
Both Chesterfield's Police
Department and the Ann Arbor
Police Department describe the
man's vehicle as a black Ford
Explorer with a Wisconsin license
plate. However, the AAPD identi-
fies the vehicle as a 2004 model
while the CPD identifies it as a
2008-2010 model.
Ann Arbor's report goes on to
describe the man as 5'8" and 220
pounds with a gray beard.
Brown said she has not heard of
any charges filed against the man,
despite his peculiar actions.
"None of the police depart-
ments, at least that I'm aware of,
have reports of anything that con-
stitutes a crime - just very dis-
turbing behavior," Brown said.
To avoid situations like Thurs-
day's incident, Brown recom-
mended residents not walk alone
or speak to strangers, adding they
should call the police if a stranger
approaches or "if you feel like
there is somethingnot quite right."
LSA junior Omar Hadied said
he hadn't heard of this particular
incident and he feels it's impor-
tant that DPS use crime alerts to
keep students informed of poten-
tial dangers on campus, like the
man with the van.
"I do see the crime alerts that
are sent out," Hadied said. "I
think those are really important
just to keep students aware of
what's going on."
While the incident occurred
in the early evening, Hadied said
that staying with multiple people
is a common-sense measure to
avoid crime, especially after dark.
"I think one very good tip ... is
to go out in groups at night - don't
be alone," Hadied said. "Even
though those fourteen-year-old
girls were in a group, I still think
that it's important to go (out with)
a group and not keep yourself vul-
nerable at night."
Elderly man approaches
underaged girls at 'U'
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