Bromfield Acton-Boxborough boats rowed away with six gold medals, two silvers, and two bronzes in the Textile River Regatta on Sunday in Lowell. The girls 8 bested a huge field of 36 boats, and the girls 4 and lightweight double each took gold as well. Two boys 4s swept first and second, a boys quad won gold, and the boys V1 8 came in third in its race. “Every crew met or exceeded the coaches’ expectations,” said program director Holly Hatton.
The 6,000-kilometer event was the first outing of the fall head-racing season. In head racing, boats set off every 20 or 30 seconds, racing the clock instead of each other. “The Textile provides a good mix of competitive levels so coaches can start to refine or test drive new lineups,” said Hatton. “With the unusually high temperatures leading up to the race, preparation was difficult for coaches and athletes. Finding the right balance of work and rest during the selection process was challenging. But clearly we found the right mix, as the results show.”
The boys varsity 4, from left, Christopher Clark, Dwight Fairchild, Kevin Yu, and Spencer Tingle sculled their way to gold in Lowell.(Courtesy photo)
The girls 4 and 8 each started third, based on their placement in the same regatta last year, and they each passed the boat ahead of them. At the 4,000-meter mark, the 8 was closing in on Arlington-Belmont. Coxswain Sila Inanoglu called for the other crew to yield the inner lane. When they did not, the BA-B girls rowed wide around them—and still turned in a faster time. “Sila did a great job. She was really key,” said co-captain Erin Smith.
Hatton, who coaches the varsity girls, called it an outstanding day. “This was a very impressive beginning to the season,” she said. “Piggybacking off a strong spring and an even stronger round of summer racing, this very young team has lots of momentum.”
Co-captain Alex Ewing said the boys 4s’ one-two finish was a first for the team. “That’s something I don’t think we’ve ever done before,” he said, adding that in addition to the V1 8 finishing third, the boys V2, V3, and V4 boats came in first, third, and fifth in a B race. “Both of those really speak to the depth of the team we have right now,” he said.
Boys varsity Coach Brian DeDominici praised his varsity boys squad at the fall opener. “We have started out this season with some great dedication and very close competition within the team,” he said. “Racing our teammates every day at practice brought us to our first competition truly ready to go.”
Race Results
Girls 2x
- Fiona Carrez, Emma Perkins, fifth place, 27:49.208
Girls Lightweight 2x
- Taylor Tracey, Zoe Flanzer, first place, 26:45.638
Girls 4+
- Kaylee Liu, Katherine Fay, Anna Shlimak, Erin Smith, and coxswain Rachel Shrives, first place, 23:28.808
Girls 8+
- Kaylee Liu, Zoe Flanzer, Ella Bull, Summer Maxwell, Grace White, Katherine Fay, Anna Shlimak, Erin Smith, and coxswain Sila Inanoglu, first place, 21:27.300
- Molly Bowers, Hayley Minar, Molly O’Neill, Sophie Bodager, Valentine Bulpin, Alice Pope, Alissa Kong, Fiona Carrez, and coxswain Rachel Shrives, 17th place, 23:53.664
Boys 2x
- Ben Boucher, Jack Kelley, 10th place, 29:49.231
Boys 4+
- Ben Buchovecky, Matt Adams, Jack Walsh, William Thompson, and coxswain Amy Zhu, first place, 21:39.053
- David Shlimak, Alexander Ewing, Connor O’Shea, Kyle Veo, and coxswain Nilay Maity, second place, 21:51.222
- Andrew Huang, Jason Lancellotti, Stefan Scornavacca, Nikhil Kommineni, and coxswain Bri Baang, 17th place, 23:15.793
Boys 4x
- Christopher Clark, Dwight Fairchild, Kevin Yu, Spencer Tingle, first place, 20:53.154
Boys 8+ A Race
- Ben Buchovecky, Matt Adams, David Shlimak, Alexander Ewing, Connor O’Shea, William Thompson, Jack Walsh, Kyle Veo, and coxswain Nilay Maity, third place, 19:58.634
Boys 8+ B Race
- Christopher Clark, Andrew Huang, Dwight Fairchild, Jason Lancellotti, Stefan Scornavacca, Spencer Tingle, Kevin Yu, Nikhil Kommineni, and coxswain Amy Zhu, first place, 20:20.172
- Cameron McGurk, Will Bardenheuer, Isaiah Osborn, Alexander Weaver, John Hawes, Sam Jackson, Charlie Carbonell, Patrick Stoffel, and coxswain Bri Baang, third place, 21:08.065
- Ryan Camposano, Zachary Shamah, Andrew Hill, Oliver Smalanskas, Maxfield Mascarin, Max Ewing, Talmage Lindsey, Zachary Myers, and coxswain Chloe Kranz, fifth place, 21:12.597
Jill Maxwell of Acton is a freelance writer and parent of a BA-B rower.
