Bromfield AB Girls’ Novice 8+ wins race with a time of 21:27.2. Rower Becky Nitschelm and Coxswain Cammy Farren exchange a high five after the team victory. (Photo by Stephen Into)
On Sept. 28 the Bromfield-Acton-Boxborough (BAB) rowing team had an impressive first meet, taking on Greater Lawrence Rowing and Westford-Littleton Community Crew in the first regatta of the year. In nine events rowers notched five first-place and four second-place finishes, according to Allen Nitschelm, media spokesman for the team.
The late summer weather led to a large turnout of parents and fans enjoying the race at the Riverfront State Park in Lawrence, said Nitschelm. Unlike the spring races, which tend to be shorter, the fall races are often 3 miles in length, with participants slowly rowing to the starting line and then racing back to the finish in about 20 minutes. For this regatta, the starting line was actually in Methuen, the next city upriver from Lawrence.
And unlike spring competitions, in which boats row head-to-head in a race to the finish, this event was timed. Entries were spaced about 15 to 30 seconds apart, so while the winner was not necessarily first across the finish line, Nitschelm explained, there were several opportunities to pass other rowers during the races.
The event included categories for varsity and experienced novice rowers. The three participating clubs entered 36 boats.
The BAB crew comprises students in the 8th through 12th grades at Bromfield and the Acton-Boxborough High School.
Bromfield’s first entry was the boys’ novice 8+ A, which came in second with a time of 18:22, just six seconds behind Westford-Littleton’s A crew. Boys’ novice Coach Conor Finnegan said, “I thought the guys had a great first race. It was a close second place in our squad’s events. Chris Arsenault, a new walk-on team rower, helped out by subbing at the last second and really helped out the boat this past weekend.”
The girls’ varsity 4+ notched the first win of the day, placing first and second in the five-boat race, 90 seconds faster than the third-place finisher from Greater Lawrence B. Varsity A was composed of Emily Erdos (cox), Meghan Glade, Kamryn Stecyk, Panna Rasania, and Molly Hart, while varsity B was Katie Erdos (cox), Annie Cooper, Allison Goldsher, Kirsten Thiim, and Courtney Oka.
A good day for girls’ varsity
Girls’ varsity Coach Holly Hatton said, “It was great to start the season off with such strong results. With each of the varsity girls’ crews winning their respective event. I was most pleased at how well our B and C boats did. The B 4+ and 8+ came in second, out-distancing the A boats of the other teams, and our C 8+ with a totally untested lineup finished ahead of the other C boat. This shows our depth and bodes well for the development of the team over the fall and into next spring season.”
The boys’ varsity 8+ A just nosed out Westford-Littleton by 0.1 seconds for first place in their event, with a winning time of 16:36.0. Boys’ varsity B boat came in fourth, just 0.4 seconds behind Greater Lawrence’s third-place finish in the six-boat field. Winners in the A boat were Kyle Veo (cox), James O’Shea, Mark Borghesani, Oliver Perrine, Ed Dunn, Liam Mackin, Justin Hayes, Cole Winsor, and Luca Basile.
The girls’ novice 8+ won its event with a time of 21:27.2. For many of its rowers, this was their first race. Rowers on the winning boat included Camryn Farren (cox), Chloe Alfieri, Fiona Carrez, Angela Hu, Sierra Gomez, Courtney Robb, Valentine Bulpin, Alissa Kong, and Rebecca Nitschelm.
The boys’ novice 4+ placed second in its race, and the boys’ varsity 4+ won its event shortly thereafter. Varsity boys’ winners were Grace Heavey (cox), Liam Mackin, Ed Dunn, Cole Winsor, and Justin Hayes.
The last race of the day was the girls’ varsity 8+, which also had the largest field, with seven boats competing. Bromfield-AB boats placed first and second, with times of 18:01.9 and 18:16.2 respectively. The winning boat included Emily Erdos (cox), Annie Cooper, Allison Goldsher, Kirsten Thiim, Kamryn Stecyk, Panna Rasania, Molly Hart, Meghan Glade, and Courtney Oka.
Up next: Lowell Textile Regatta
The team will compete next Sunday, Oct. 5, at the Textile Regatta in Lowell. This regatta will feature 6,000-meter races and is expected to draw a large number of competitors as it is just a few weeks before the Head of the Charles regatta in Cambridge.
For more information about Bare Hill Rowing Association, sponsor of the Bromfield-Acton-Boxborough Rowing team, see BareHillRowing.com.
Edited by John Osborn from a press release provided the Harvard Press by the Bare Hill Rowing Association.
