NEW ROCHELLE, NY – Throughout the course of the week, Gael Nation and Iona College rowing fans voted for who those that they believe belong on the 2010s All-Decade Team. These student-athletes competed throughout the decade from 2000-11 through 2019-20..
Fans were asked for nine student-athletes to represent the men's rowing All-Decade team. One coxswain and eight rowers were selected to the team
Congratulations to the Iona College Rowing Men's All-Decade Team!
Ben Saks (2007-10)
Helping the coxswain, Saks helped lay the groundwork the success the program had during the early and mid-2010s.
He later went on to continue having success helming the boat. He captured two national championships at the US Rowing Club Nationals while representing the New York Athletic Club. He led the men's intermediate lightweight 8 and intermediate lightweight 4 to a first place finish.
Nick Adams (2011-2015)
As a freshman, Nick Adams was a part of the Novice 4, which placed 10th out of 36 crews at the Knecht Cup Regatta in 2012. He has a collection of medals from winning with his team at the Sacred Heart Invitational, Fall Metropolitan Championships, and Spring Metropolitan Championships in the Men's Pair, Men's Lightweight 4, Men's Varsity 4, and Men's Varsity 8.
Adams was also a key player in the Men's Varsity 8 crew that won gold in the 2013 Spring Metropolitan Championships. This crew was the first to win the V8 since 2008. At the 2014 Aberdeen Dad Vail Regatta, Adams and his team were semi-finalist in the Lightweight 4. At the 2014 MAAC Championships his team took the silver medal for the Lightweight 4 and at the 2013 and 2012 MAAC Championships, in Varsity 8, Adams and the team took bronze.
Rich Buchheit (2010-2014)
Rich Buchheit helped the Maroon & Gold to two straight third place finishes at the MAAC Championships in 2013 and 2014. In 2014, he was part of the Varsity 8 boat to earn bronze. On that boat were fellow All-Decade members Ryan Harding, Chris Palm, Ryan Dronzek and Evan Johnson. Buchheit was also part of the third place Varsity 8 and second place lightweight 4 at the 2013 league championship.
At the 2014 Dad Vail Regatta, Buchheit's lightweight 4 boat earned the program's fourth straight semifinals appearance.
Buchheit was a multi-time MAAC All-Academic Team honoree.
Ryan Dronzek (2012-2016)
In 2015, Ryan Dronzek became synonymous with medaling. After winning multiple podium appearances at various school meets, he paired with fellow All-Decade honoree Ryan Harding and placed second in the heat and qualified for the semifinals.
At the 2016 MAAC Championship, Dronzek was part of the third place Varsity 4. Rowing with him in that race was All-Decade honoree Vito Roca.
Dronzek found a lot of success after Iona training with the New York Athletic Club. In the USRowing Club National Championships, Dronzek and the NYAC won the gold medal. He became the 25th member of the men's rowing program to claim a national championship. His boat then traveled to the Canadian Henley Regatta to place second in one of the toughest challenges in the World.
Ryan Harding (2011-2015)
In the spring of 2012 Ryan Harding was part of a Varsity 8 boat that placed third at the Spring Metropolitan Championships.
In 2013, Harding was part of a gold medal winning Varsity 8 team at the Spring Metropolitan Championships. The gold medal was the first for Iona in a Varsity 8 race since 2005. Also on that boat were All-Decade team members Nick Adams, Ryan Dronzek, Evan Johnson and Rich Buchheit. At the 2013 MAAC Championships, Harding raced in the third place Varsity 8 and second place lightweight 4. He won both medals with the help of Rich Buchheit.
In 2014, at the league's culminating event, Harding's Varsity 8 race took third in the Varsity 8. In the final event of his junior season, Harding competed with the lightweight 4 boat and earned the program's fourth straight semifinal appearance at the Dad Vail Regatta.
With teammate Vito Roca, he was part of the first ever men's rowing Varsity 8 boat to receive a conference award in 2015. He capped off his senior season reaching the semifinals of the pair racing event at the Dad Vail Regatta. He placed third in the semifinal race.
In 2016, along with teammates and fellow program alumni, Harding trained at the Rockland Rowing Association and competed in the Independence Day Regatta and the USRowing Club National Championships.
Barry James (2015-2019)
Barry James started his career with a pair of wins against Manhattan in the Novice 4 and Novice 8. He rowed in the Varsity 8 event at the 2015 MAAC Championship where the Gaels placed fourth. As a sophomore his best finish was a pair of second place performances in the Varsity 8 against Fairfield and Varsity 4 at La Salle.
James' strongest year was his junior campaign. He was part of two first place finishes in the Varsity 4 and Varsity 8 against Manhattan, and Varsity 8 at the Sacred Heart Invitational. He also had 4 other top three finishes, including a third-place finish in the Varsity 8 at the Spring Metropolitan Championships.
As a senior, James won the Varsity 4 at the Fall Metropolitan Championships and third in the Varsity 8 at the same event. He reached the Varsity 4 semifinal at the Dad Vail Regatta and placed second in the Varsity 4 at the Spring Metropolitan Championships.
Evan Johnson (2010-2014)
In his first two years with the men's rowing team, Evan Johnson was part of a bronze medal effort in the Varsity 8 boat at the 2012 MAAC Championships. He also got a second place in the Novice 4 boat at the 2011 Metropolitan Championships.
In 2014 he was part of the Varsity 8 boat that earned bronze at the MAAC Championships. As aforementioned, that boat contained multiple rowers from this All-Decade Team.
After graduating, Evan Johnson as well as former All-Decade Team honorees Ryan Harding and Ben Saks competed in the club circuit for the New York Athletic Club. Johnson and Harding were both in the gold medal-winning intermediate lightweight 8 boat and Johnson also secured gold in the intermediate lightweight 4.
Chris Palma (2010-2014)
During the spring of his first season, he was part of the Novice 4 boat at the Spring Metropolitan Championships that earned second place. At the 2012 MAAC Championships, his Varsity "A" boat took third place. At the 2013 conference championship, he rowed in the Varsity 8 and earned a medal. Palma doubled up with Evan Johnson for a pair race.
In 2014 he was part of the Varsity 8 boat that earned bronze at the MAAC Championships. As aforementioned, that boat contained multiple rowers from this All-Decade Team.
Vito Roca (2014-2017)
Vito Roca started rowing his freshman season and was a staple for the Maroon & Gold until his graduation. He was part of the first ever men's rowing boat, a Varsity 8 crew, to take home a weekly award during April of 2015. That same month the men's team would go on to win another weekly award and finish first at the Spring Metropolitan Championships.
At the 2016 MAAC Championships Roca was part of the Varsity 4 grand finale race and placed third.
In his final season, Roca got the men's Varsity 8 to qualify for the final race at the Spring Metropolitan Championships. He also raced in the lightweight 8 at the Dad Vail Regatta, which was the first time Iona competed in that race since 1986.
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