DC
David Cullmer
  • Mathematics, Philosophy
  • New Milford, CT

Mercyhurst University's David Cullmer rows for world record

2013 Feb 28

Months of training and 24 hours of pushing through the pain all comes down to one goal: Setting a world record.

A crew of student-athletes from the Mercyhurst University men's rowing team will attempt to make the record books for the greatest distance rowed by a lightweight men's small team on an indoor Concept II rowing machine in a 24-hour period. The EnduROWthon runs from 9 p.m. Thursday, March 7, to 9 p.m. Friday, March 8, at the Mercyhurst Athletic Center, Erie, Pa.

Among the student-athletes on the world record lineup is David Cullmer of New Milford, CT.

Alexander is a senior majoring in Mathematics, Philosophy.

Better yet? The students are doing it for a good cause: Donations and sponsorships from the event will benefit the John C. Kanzius Cancer Research Foundation and Project Kenya, a Mercyhurst-based effort to help fund the high school tuition of a Kenyan girl. Proceeds will also help to fund the team's travel to compete at the IRA Championships in Sacramento and at England's Henley Royal Regatta.

The men's team must meet certain criteria for them to clinch the distance record, says coach Adrian Spracklen: No more than 10 men can be on the team, and they must be within 20 and 29 years old and weigh under 165 pounds. In the 24-hour period, the machine's flywheel must not stop spinning, or else the team is disqualified.

With a schedule that includes Penn, Columbia and MIT, Mercyhurst men's rowing has achieved considerable success in recent years. In 2012, the men's varsity lightweight eight team finished the campaign ranked tenth according to the US Rowing Collegiate Poll, and for the third consecutive year captured gold at the prestigious Dad Vail Regatta – the largest collegiate regatta in the U.S., held on the Schuylkill River in Philadelphia.

Latest updates on the EnduROWthon are available on Facebook or on Twitter on @HurstEndurow.