Rowers and coxswains rode a rollercoaster of emotions as the regular rowing season came to an end Sunday, May 26, in Lowell. Bromfield Acton-Boxborough crews finished in first, second, and third place in multiple races at the Massachusetts Public School Rowing Association’s Spring Championship. But as gusty winds created a brouhaha at the starting line, pulling race volunteers off the stake boats into the Merrimack River, event officials canceled finals for the girls and boys first varsity 8s and the girls first varsity 4. They awarded medals based on morning time trials. Those crews still scored some hardware, but the scene was melancholic as athletes derigged their boats, wishing they had had a chance to take another crack at their competition.
Bromfield senior Kevin Yu won gold, and Stefan Scornavacca and Christopher Clark won silver, in the singles events. The boys quad took silver as well. The girls quad, girls third varsity 4, including Bromfield senior Hayley Minar, and the boys second varsity 8 won bronze.
Some members of the boys first varsity 8, from left: Sam Jackson, Charlie Carbonell, Will Bardenheuer, Kevin Yu, and Max Ewing. (Courtesy photo) (Courtesy photo)
Based on the time trials, the girls first varsity 4 earned bronze, and the girls first varsity 8, including Acton senior Grace White, came away with silver. Boston Latin had bested the girls 8 in the time trial by just four-tenths of a second, so the girls were sure they had a shot at winning state championship gold. The boys first varsity 8, with senior Ben Buchovecky, missed medaling by two seconds. “Not getting the chance to make up the time in head-to-head competition is hard, but that is the way it goes sometimes in racing,” said a philosophical Brian DeDominici, head boys varsity coach.
“The boys finished up their regular season with some excellent results,” DeDominici said. Eleven athletes had been vying for seats in the second varsity 8 and the quad. “This competition within the team inspired some big effort and focus,” DeDominici said. “Regardless of who was in which boat, the work paid off, as both crews came home with medals. I’m sure the inter-squad competition made everyone faster, and I was proud to see how mature and supportive the boys were through the process.”
Holly Hatton, the program’s director and the girls head varsity coach, praised the speed and strength of the three girls varsity 4s and lamented that the wind dashed her goal to see the girls varsity 8 win gold at states. “I’m really proud of this team,” she said as the regular season came to an abrupt end. “Many of them have faced repeated disappointment throughout the spring due to poor weather conditions, races canceled, and equipment malfunction. Yet they kept their spirits high and stayed focused on their training. Though it’s always great to win medals, what really defines a team is what they do when the going gets tough. And this team got tougher.”
The regatta included a curiosity: octuples. These are boats with a coxswain and eight rowers sculling with two oars each, which typically zoom down the course much faster than the more common 8s with rowers handling one port or starboard oar each. BA-B did not have an entry in that event, but they did pull off another feat. Four team coxswains, coxed by Acton senior Amy Zhu, rowed a girls quad down the 1,500-meter course to a third-place finish. “They were out-sized in body but not in determination,” Hatton said.
Ten BA-B athletes will have one more time to shine; they will travel to Sarasota, Florida, to compete in USRowing Youth Nationals June 6 through 9.
Spring Championship results
Varsity boys
Single: Christopher Clark, 2nd in flight 1; 5 minutes 18.9 seconds. Kevin Yu, 1st in flight 2; 5:25.9. Stefan Scornavacca, 2nd in flight 2; 5:27.2
Quad: Brian Borghesani, Timur Sahin, Matthew Atwell, and Michael Ornek, 2nd; 5:00.3
First varsity 8+: Sam Jackson, Charlie Carbonell, Will Bardenheuer, Kevin Yu, Max Ewing, Stefan Scornavacca, Ben Buchovecky, Christopher Clark, and coxswain Amy Zhu, 5th in time trial; 4:29.0
Second varsity 8+: Brian Borghesani, Olivier Bradley, Sebastian Parker, Benjamin Molnar, Ryan Camposano, William Walling-Sotolongo, John Babcock, Tommy Vialle, and coxswain Arjun Khurana, 3rd; 4:34.0
Varsity girls
- Quad+: Anjali Vittal, Chloe Kranz, Sila Inanoglu, Rachel Shrives, and coxswain Amy Zhu, 3rd; 6:51.6
First varsity 4+: Hana Chytil, Emma Perkins, Sophia Defoe, Jackie Sater, and coxswain Chloe Kranz, 3rd in time trial; 5:32.4
Second varsity 4+: Catherine Zhou, Audrey Maxwell, Brooke Bourgeois, Celeste Keep, and coxswain Anjali Vittal, 4th; 5:41.2
Third varsity 4+: Hannah Dennison, Hayley Minar, Polina Bolberova, Julia Hawes, and coxswain Sila Inanoglu, 3rd; 6:01.9
First varsity 8+: Emma Gresco-Caulfield, Arianna Thornton, Kaylee Liu, Katherine Fay, Molly O’Neill, Grace White, Summer Maxwell, Anna Shlimak, and coxswain Rachel Shrives, 2nd in time trial; 4:47.2
Jill Maxwell is the parent of two BA-B rowers.
