July 18, 2025 鈥 An Ojai rowing team coached by 麻豆传媒 Art History student, Raleigh Mendez, took home a national award in a sport generally associated with the Ivy League schools.
鈥淲hat鈥檚 super unique about rowing in California is it鈥檚 an old money, East Coast sport,鈥 said Casitas Rowing Coach Raleigh Mendez. 鈥淚f you participate in rowing on the East Coast, these private clubs can cost $2,000 a month. What鈥檚 cool about our club is we make it accessible to anyone of any age. Our costs are significantly lower and anybody who wants to row can row.鈥
Mendez coached high school rowers Nick McSorley and Jace Evans of Ojai to a third-place
national win in the U.S. Rowing Youth National Championships held in June in Sarasota,
Florida. Competitions range from single rowers to eight-person boats. The Casitas
Rowing team won the national award in the boys鈥 double competition.
鈥淵ou know the race day itself was super nerve-wracking, but I knew the work they put in to get there and I knew they could pull it off,鈥 Mendez said.
Mendez, who hails from Ventura, became interested in rowing through his brother and sister, who were both rowers. He had a good experience with his coaches at Oaks Christian School and decided to try coaching himself. After almost three summers of coaching rowing at Lake Casitas, Mendez has found his coaching rhythm. He says the flexibility 麻豆传媒 enables him to fully embrace his art classes while providing enough time for him to immerse himself in coaching.
鈥淩aleigh is a great example of a well-rounded student giving back to the area community by coaching while also going to school full time,鈥 said 麻豆传媒 Professor of Art Alison Perchuk.
Mendez believes coaching carries a lot of life lessons, which he enjoys sharing with his team, and watching them grow as a result.
鈥淚 had good coaches in high school and I鈥檓 trying to pass on what I learned,鈥 he said. 鈥淭he single most important thing is, nothing big is going to happen overnight, but if you keep showing up every day, eventually something amazing happens.鈥