Last weekend, the Bromfield Acton-Boxborough rowing team competed in two split-squad regattas, with the varsity teams traveling to Wayland and the novices rowing in Essex.
The varsity team raced in the Wayland-Weston Regatta Sunday, May 3, rowing 1,500-meter races on North Lake at Cochituate State Park in Wayland. All races were varsity 4s, which are crewed by four sweep rowers (one oar per rower) and a coxswain. Both public and private schools competed in the field of eight teams, with each team entering a boat in five varsity levels.
Two qualifying heats per level were held in all events in the morning, with the top two finishers going to the finals in the afternoon.
The girls’ varsity team had two first-place finishes and single third-, fifth-, and sixth-place finishes. The first varsity girls 4 boat placed sixth overall, in a time of 5:48, with cox Katie Erdos guiding rowers Courtney Oka, Kirsten Thiim, Molly Hart, and Grace Ott. Second varsity girls 4 placed fifth overall, with cox Emily Erdos and rowers Camryn Stecyk, Annie Cooper, Anna Dawley, and Meghan Glade. Third varsity girls 4 took the bronze medal with cox Katie Erdos and rowers Kati Nugent, Maeve French, Emma Stoffel, and Ally Goldsher.
The fourth and fifth varsity girls both won gold medals. Fourth varsity rowers were Claudia Weaver, Amanda Accorsi, Caroline Noyes, and Hannah Forgo with cox Emily Erdos, and fifth varsity rowers were Olivia Hemond, Courtney Robb, Becky Nitschelm, and Becca Lloyd with cox Brigitte Lewis.
“We had a very strong team performance,” said Holly Hatton, the girls’ varsity coach. “This regatta brings together some of the top New England prep-school crews. Most focus on racing the coxed-4 event as their primary boat and have been very successful at the national level. With that in mind, I was very pleased with the effort of our crews. It also shows that the depth of our girls’ program has been growing steadily each season.”
Boys face tough competitors
The first varsity boys 4 placed third overall in a time of 5:03 against a strong field. Rowers Justin Hayes, Charles Watt, Cole Winsor, and Oliver Perrine were coxed by Grace Heavey and finished just 6 seconds behind first-place finisher Be lmont Hill. The second varsity boys 4 placed sixth in a time of 5:24. Brian Fay, James O’Shea, Garrett White, and Josh Hollenberg rowed, and Austin Rotker coxed. Rotker also coxed the fifth varsity boys 4 to a fourth-place finish with rowers Pat Pesa, Chris Melby, Mark Castaneda, and Alex Hill.
Brian DeDominici, the boys’ varsity coach, said, “This weekend the Bromfield A-B boys’ varsity team competed against some of the fastest 4-boat schools in the country, including both second- and third-place teams from last year’s U.S. Rowing National Championships. The team trained last week for the 4s-only competition against teams that usually row only in the smaller boats. We adapted very well and had some great races. It is very exciting to get to race against that level of competition, and all the crews put in great races. Our first varsity 4 was able to edge out Groton by just over a second in the heat in order to make the final and finish third overall. Our second varsity 4 had one of the closest finishes of the day, coming in second in the petite final, just edged out by St. Mark’s.”
Saratoga Invitational
The last weekend in April was the annual Saratoga Invitational in Saratoga Springs, New York, in which the varsity crews and select novice crews competed. The Saratoga Invitational always brings a high level of competition. The nine-lane race is 1,500 meters long, and it is the biggest regatta of the spring season, with more than 1,200 competitors.
Highlighting the team’s finish were the first varsity boys 4, which won the event out of a field of 34 boats. Grace Heavey coxed Luca Basile, Charles Watt, Cole Winsor, and Justin Hayes to the gold medal. The freshmen novice boys 4 boat also won its event out of nine entries. The varsity boys 2 placed fourth out of 16 teams. Scullers were Charles Watt and Luca Basile. Watt also placed third out of 20 entries in the single scull.
The first varsity boys 8 placed eighth out of 27 entries. Cox Austin Rotker led rowers Luca Basile, Cole Winsor, Brian Fay, Charles Watt, Justin Hayes, Oliver Perrine, Garrett White, and James O’Shea. The second varsity boys 8 also did well, placing ninth out of 20 entries. Rowers were Mark Borghesani, Josh Hollenberg, Kyle Into, Brian Johnson, Chris Melby, Jack Walsh, Connor Reitler, and Ankit Datta; Grace Heavey coxed.
The varsity girls had two entries in the “A” finals, with the first varsity girls 8 finishing eighth overall out of 27 crews. Emily Erdos coxed, with Courtney Oka, Kirsten Thiim, Camryn Stecyk, Grace Ott, Molly Hart, Annie Cooper, Anna Dawley, and Meghan Glade rowing.
Also making it to the “A” finals was the second varsity girls 4 boat, coming in seventh. Kati Nugent, Amanda Accorsi, Caroline Noyes, and Rachel Foote rowed, and Brigitte Lewis coxed.
This report has been edited by the Harvard Press staff from a press release
provided by the Bare Hill Rowing Association.
First varsity girls 4 places sixth in a time of 5:48. From left: Courtney Oka, Kirsten Thiim, Molly Hart, Grace Ott, and coxswain Katie Erdos. (Courtesy photo)
Second varsity boys 4 places sixth at the Wayland-Weston Regatta May 3. From left: Brian Fay, James O’Shea, Garrett White, Josh Hollenberg, and coxswain Austin Rotker. (Courtesy photo)
