An update on Silas Stafford, Santa Rosa High grad, from LAKE KARAPIRO, New Zealand, courtesy of USRowing:

“In the men four, Silas Stafford (Santa Rosa, Calif.), Sam Stitt (McLean, Va.), Henrik Rummel (Pittsford, N.Y.) and Giuseppe Lanzone (Annandale, Va.) started strong off the line, raced with the lead boats and then pushed hard for a win in the final 500 meters, passing Australia. But they … could not close the gap on the New Zealand crew, which won in 5:48.87, to the U.S. crew’s 5:52.70. Finishing second, they will now move to the reps tomorrow.”

According to the Official World Rowing site, Silas and teammates finished second out of six boats in their heat and had the fourth best time among all 12 boats in the men four category.

The World Rowing Cup marks a big step forward in Silas’ goal to compete in London for the 2012 Olympics. Here is a video of him talking about his dream to row for the U.S.