The Bromfield Acton-Boxborough rowing team split up to compete in two states, Massachusetts and New Hampshire, on Sunday, Oct. 14. The five fastest varsity girl scullers raced in singles at the Head of the Quinobequin on the Charles River in Brighton. The other girls and all of the boys traveled north to row in the New Hampshire Championships George Dirth Memorial Regatta in Pembroke. The team captured gold on both sides of the state line in singles, a double, and 4+s.
At the sixth annual “Head of the Q,” Anna Shlimak won gold in the U17 division. Shlimak, Katherine Fay, Kaylee Liu, Summer Maxwell, and Grace White together took fifth place in the team points trophy competition in a field of 145 scullers from 22 teams. The event is based on the KinderSkiff in Turin, Italy, where hundreds of youngsters gather to scull the Po River. The enthusiastic turnout, as well as a belief that sculling skills are key to rowing success, inspired four local groups—Cambridge Boat Club, Community Rowing, Riverside Boat Club, and Union Boat Club—to try it here. Quinobequin is a Wampanoag name for the Charles. It means “meandering,” and the course, running from Eliot Bridge to North Beacon Bridge, is indeed full of challenging twists and turns.
Bromfield senior Nikhil Kommineni rows to the starting line before a race in which he would win gold. (Courtesy photo)
Over in New Hampshire, the rest of the team competed in the largest regatta north of Boston, according to the host, Amoskeag Rowing Club. The memorial regatta is named in memory of George Dirth, a club member who died at age 27 in a Colorado avalanche. The boys won medals in five of six events they entered. Golds were grabbed by Nikhil Kommineni in a single; Kevin Yu and Christopher Clark in a double; and Kevin Yu, Ben Buchovecky, Stefan Scornavacca, Dwight Fairchild, and coxswain Amy Zhu in the A flight of the 4+. As first-place finishers in that event, the 4+ also went home with the George Dirth Memorial Cup. Patrick Stoffel, Ryan Camposano, William Bardenheuer, John Hawes, and coxswain Arjun Khurana won gold in the B, C, & D flights of the 4+.
In the A flight of the 8+, the first varsity boat came in fifth. In the B, C, & D flight, in which teams can enter multiple boats, BA-B won bronze. The team’s second entry in that event had the third-fastest time of all second and third boats in the race. “I’m very happy with the versatility the team is showing and the competitive attitude they are bringing to every challenge,” said Brian DeDominici, the boys head varsity coach.
The girls varsity 8+, Sophie Bodager, Arianna Thornton, Anya Buchovecky, Molly O’Neill, Celeste Keep, Emma Gresco-Caulfield, Emma Perkins, Audrey Maxwell, and coxswain Rachel Shrives, came in fifth. Second varsity rowers competed and finished strong in the first varsity 4 event (Julia Hawes, Brooke Bourgeois, Celeste Keep, Eleni Papoutsakis, and coxswain Chloe Kranz) and in the first varsity double (Hayley Minar and Sophia Defoe). After the race, the program director and head girls varsity coach, Holly Hatton, said, “It was a good showing in the upper division for our relatively new rowers.”
The coaches are currently fine-tuning their lineups to prepare for the premier event of the fall rowing season, the Head of the Charles Regatta, which will be held Sunday, Oct. 21, in Cambridge.
Boys varsity results
New Hampshire Championships
Junior 1x: Nikhil Kommineni, 1st (17:58); Cameron McGurk, 6th (19:04)
Junior 2x: Kevin Yu, Christopher Clark; 1st (15:31); Matthew Atwell, Michael Ornek; 7th (17:27)
Junior 4+ A Flight: Kevin Yu, Ben Buchovecky, Stefan Scornavacca, Dwight Fairchild, and coxswain Amy Zhu; 1st (15:03)
Junior 4+ B, C & D Flight: Patrick Stoffel, Ryan Camposano, William Bardenheuer, John Hawes, and coxswain Arjun Khurana; 1st (15:26); Nikhil Kommineni, Connor O’Shea, Sam Jackson, Cameron McGurk, and coxswain Sarah Burke; 4th (15:49)
Junior 8+ A Flight: Kevin Yu, Ben Buchovecky, Stefan Scornavacca, Dwight Fairchild, Christopher Clark, Nikhil Kommineni, Cameron McGurk, Sam Jackson, and coxswain Amy Zhu; 5th (14:07)
Junior 8+ B, C & D Flight: Patrick Stoffel, Ryan Camposano, Maxwell Ewing, John Hawes, William Bardenheuer, Connor O’Shea, Benjamin Molnar, John Babcock, and coxswain Sarah Burke; 3rd (14:38); William Walling-Sotolongo, Michael Ornek, Matthew Atwell, Brian Borghesani, Olivier Bradley, Benjamin Boucher, Thomas Vialle, Timur Sahin, and coxswain Arjun Khurana; 10th (15:18)
Girls varsity results
Head of the Quinobequin
U17 1x: Anna Shlimak, 1st (15:02); Summer Maxwell, 4th (16:15); Katherine Fay, 14th (17:01); Kaylee Liu, 17th (17:08)
U19 1x: Grace White, 12 (15:50)
New Hampshire Championships
Junior 2x: Hayley Minar, Sophia Defoe; 9th (19:34)
Junior 4+ A Flight: Julia Hawes, Brook Bourgeois, Celeste Keep, Eleni Papoutsakis, and coxswain Chloe Kranz; 15th (18:11)
Junior 8+ A Flight: Sophie Bodager, Arianna Thornton, Anya Buchovecky, Molly O’Neill, Celeste Keep, Emma Gresco-Caulfield, Emma Perkins, Audrey Maxwell, and coxswain Rachel Shrives; 6th (15:50)
