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Community Corner

New Trier Rowers Finish Strong at Prestigious Head of the Charles Regatta

New Trier’s Men’s and Women’s Varsity Eight crews had strong showings at the Head of the Charles Regatta, the world’s largest two-day rowing event, finishing seventeenth and thirteenth respectively in the Youth Eights category.

The 49th Annual Head of the Charles regatta was recently held in Boston and attracted 9,000 rowers from all around the world, representing some 20 different countries.  Over the years, the HOCR has grown tremendously as the popularity of the sport has increased.  This year, the regatta also attracted up to 400,000 spectators who enthusiastically lined the course along the Charles River and crowded the arching bridges that span the winding river.

Both New Trier crews’ solid finishes guaranteed them an automatic invite back for next year’s regatta in Cambridge.

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Throughout the weekend, conditions were temperate, sunny, and breezy.   On Sunday, when the New Trier teams competed, the boats battled some strong headwinds along certain sections of the three-mile course.

The girls, who were seeded tenth and the boys who were seeded twenty-first “finished within 6% of the winning time from a very competitive field of 85 boats each,” Head Coach Rose Marchuk said.

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“The girls time was 18:25.62, 1:02.4 minutes off of 1st place Oakland Strokes of California.” Noted Coach Marchuk, “They were clustered in the good company of fast crews that finished in the top 15% of the field.”

 

“The results were very respectable.  The effort was about the best a coach could ask for and, other than some windy conditions along sections of the course, a great fall day of racing.” Coach Marchuk added.

 

Reflecting on the future, Coach Marchuk offered “other than 7-seat, Caroline Going, who rowed at the HOCR last year, the rest of the crew competed at this regatta for the first time. New Trier rowed an aggressive race and was beat by only two other high schools, the Hedington School of England, and by only 2.4 seconds by Mount Saint Joseph of Philadelphia, our friendly rivals from the spring's Scholastic Nationals. The remaining crews that beat us were strong clubs led by Oakland Strokes of California. The experience gained from juniors Isabelle Daellenbach and Menley Denham and sophomore Grace Joyce will contribute to another fast crew next year.”

 

The twenty-first seeded NT Mens crew began the race “with intense headwinds, making our course particularly challenging for our crew since we raced our lightest HOCR crew ever,” Boys’ Head Coach Nate Kelp-Lenane commented. “With great efforts, we finished 17th out of 85 crews with a time of 16:17.21,” only 6% off the fastest time clocked by a powerhouse club from Marin County, California who has dominated the race for the last three years” 

After contending with the stiff headwinds, about one mile into the course, New Trier boys “found their set and rhythm and gained on many crews.  After passing a crew, they found the inside turn for Elliot Bridge. Coxswain John Carberry steered a brilliant course and gave the right calls to make some of the best turns I've seen at the Charles. Junior Josh Kuppersmith did an excellent job picking up the pace as the race went on. Our stern four did an excellent job laying down the correct swing that we had been working on at practice.”  Coach Kelp-Lenane noted.

 

 

“Overall it was a well rowed race, once they found their rhythm and pace, they increased their speed the rest of the way, a skill that we have worked on this throughout the season and it was great to see them apply it our final race. I was happy to see them put it all out on the race course.  For a crew of all new rowers on the Charles I was happy with their effort, and look forward to improving their technique and top speed.” Coach Kelp–Lenane summated.

 

The twisting three mile Charles River course, with its sharp turns and seven bridges, is considered one of the most challenging in the world of rowing. The regatta is often referred to as “a coxswain’s race,” because much of the time lost or gained is determined by the way the coxswain steers the tricky course.

This is the sixth year the New Trier women have competed at Head of the Charles.  Representing the Women’s Youth Eights were the following:

 

 

Youth Women's Eights:

 

C Grace Anne D'Amico

S Alexis Braunrot

7 Caroline Going

6 Isabelle Daellenbach

5 Carolyn McShea

4 Grace Joyce 

3 Katie Lashmet

2 Menley Denham 

B Madi Cruger 

 

Spares:

Grace Gagliardi

Heidi Conaghan

 

Competing for the eighth consecutive year, New Trier Men were represented this year by:

Youth Men's Eights:

 

C John Carberry

S Josh Kuppersmith

7 Billy Frank

6 Drew Flannery

5 Jack Shelton

4 Ray Weeks

3 Hunter Johnson

2 Kenny Michalec

B Will Stogin

 

Spares:

Rich Nicolaides

David Stimson

 

Not only did New Trier have a very strong showing on this national stage, but also the USRowing Scholastic Honor Roll recently recognized a number of New Trier high school seniors who have excelled in both academics and rowing.  Senior Ryan Evenson was selected as a US Rowing Scholastic Honor Roll Recipient.  Also receiving Honorable Mentions from USRowing were Alexis Braunrot, Andrew Flannery, Hilary Gould, Carolyn McShea and Elizabeth Phillips.   Congratulations to all on these impressive accomplishments.
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