The Bromfield Acton-Boxborough varsity crew team traveled to Wayland on Sunday for the annual Wayland-Weston Invitational Regatta on Lake Cochituate. Eight teams from across the state were selected to compete in 10 events, with all boats having four rowers and a coxswain.
Two heats qualified the top two boats for the finals with the first and second varsity also running petite finals for the fifth through eighth places.
Weather conditions remained windy but rowable, despite fears of heavy rain that didn’t materialize. The organizers had reversed the order of the events so that if the schedule had to be shortened, most of the top races would be finished. That precaution did not prove necessary, and the sun made an appearance near the end of the day.
Varsity girls
The first girls varsity placed third in the petite finals, and the second varsity placed fourth in the petite finals. Racing 4s is not what Bromfield trains to do, but girls coach Holly Hatton finds the Wayland-Weston Invitational to be informative and helpful in gearing up for the Lowell Invitational the following weekend.
“The competition is very fierce at the Wayland-Weston Invitational,” said Hatton. “We see crews we never get to race at any other time in the season. Because we train primarily in 8s, it is a challenge to break the whole team down into new 4s lineups for this regatta,” said Hatton.
The third, fourth, and fifth varsity girls 4s had better results, with gold in the third finals and silver in the fourth and fifth finals. “Each weekend is a learning experience, which gives each girl a chance to show how their skills are improving and each crew information on what they are doing well and what they need to work on for next weekend’s race,” Hatton said.
Second boys varsity 4, from left: Will Thompson, Josh Hollenberg, James O’Shea, Jack Walsh, and coxswain Austin Rotker. (Courtesy photo)
From left: Nilay Maity, Garett white, Ed Dunn, Kyle Into, and Mark Borghesani. (Courtesy photo)
Varsity boys
The first boys varsity rowed to a silver medal in the petite final, and the second varsity did the same. The fourth boys varsity also earned a silver in the finals.
“The boys had some tough races this weekend against both a strong headwind and some of the fastest 4s competition in the Northeast,” said boys coach Brian DeDominici. “Everybody rowed very well and stepped up to the challenge with our fourth varsity 4 taking silver in their event.”
Lowell Novice Challenge
The boys and girls novice rowing squads headed to the Merrimac River in Lowell for Saturday’s novice challenge. The event drew 83 entries from 16 clubs in New England, with Bromfield fielding five boats.
The freshman girls 8 took home the gold, with the 4 taking fourth. “The girls are progressing each week, and both boats put up a strong showing over the weekend,” said novice girls assistant coach Kate Lee.
The second boys novice 8 got the silver medal, with the other two boats placing sixth and ninth. “I think the squad executed their races the way we had been practicing,” said boys novice coach Conor Finnegan. “They seemed more relaxed and less tense with their upper bodies. They really seemed to have found some speed at this race, which I am very pleased about.”
Wayland-Weston Invitational Results
Girls
- First girls varsity, third in petite finals. Rowers were Kamryn Steyck, Kirsten Thiim, Erin Smith, and Ally Goldsher, with cox Katie Erdos. (5:57.9)
- Second girls varsity, fourth in petite finals. Rowers were Aly Veo, Courtney Robb, Alissa Kong, and Hannah Forgo, with cox Cammy Farren. (6:07.9)
- Third girls varsity, first in finals. Rowers were Caroline Noyes, Grace Ott, Emma Stoffel, and Lindsey Hayes, with cox Katie Erdos. (5:55.6)
- Fourth girls varsity, second in finals. Rowers were Maeve French, Rachel Foote, Valentine Bulpin, and Ariella Bull, with cox Amy Zhu. (6:00.5)
- Fifth girls varsity, second in finals. Rowers were Fiona Carrez, Molly Bowers, Sierra Gomez, and Becky Nitschelm, with cox Leeza Petrov. (6:08.5)
Boys
- First boys varsity, second in petite final. Rowers were Luca Basile, Cole Winsor, Oliver Perrine, and Justin Hayes, with cox Grace Heavey. (5:18.6)
- Second boys varsity, second in petite final. Rowers were Will Thompson, Jack Gardiner, James O’Shea, and Jack Walsh, with coxswain Austin Rotker. (5:22.1)
- Fourth boys varsity, second in finals. Rowers were Mark Borghesani, Ed Dunn, Garrett White, and Kyle Into, with coxswain Nilay Maity. (5:17.6)
Novice challenge
- First boys novice 8, ninth out of 15 boats. Rowers were Kevin Yu, Dwight Fairchild, Tal Lindsey, Stelios Papoutsakis, Stefan Scornavacca, Connor O’Shea, Issac Abouaf, and Jason Lancellotti, with cox Ben Boucher. (7:04.18)
- Second boys novice 8, second out of seven boats. Rowers were Liam Makosky, William Bardenheuer, Isaiah Osborn, John Hart, Robert Watt, Patrick Stoffel, Nikhil Kommineni, and Charlie Carbonell, with cox Vito Montesa. (6:20.79)
- First boys novice 4, sixth out of nine boats. Rowers were Christopher Clark, Ryan Luo, James Magyar, and Caeden Bishop, with cox Ben Boucher. (8:50.47)
- Girls freshmen 8, first out of five. Rowers were Kaylee Liu, Taylor Tracey, Kat Fay, Anna Shlimak, Alice Pope, Katherine Worden, Zoe Flanzer, and Summer Maxwell, with coxswain Rachel Shrives. (6:53.49)
- Girls freshmen 4, fourth out of four. Rowers were Zoe Flanzer, Molly O’Neill, Song Issah, and Mia Lepardo, with cox Sila Inanoglu. (10:04.70)
Allen Nitschelm is publisher of the Homesteader
and the parent of a BHRA rower.
