The Nutley High School crew team is being hailed as heroes for saving a man from the Passaic River during practice Wednesday.

The team was rowing near the Bridge Street Bridge, which connects Newark and Harrison when some of the students saw a man jump into the water. They alerted their coach, who was in another boat, and other students came to the man’s aid.

“I saw him for a split second in the air,” says team member Matthew Scorsone. “I didn’t know what was happening.

“We were about to row under the bridge and our coxswain told us to let it run, which means to stop, and we immediately called for our coach to come over,” says team captain Cedric Ardente.

Two other Nutley students were able to help the man cling to their boat as they took him to shore.

The students say that the unidentified man did not appear to be seriously hurt.