A smattering of Bromfield Acton-Boxborough crews represented the team at Community Rowing, Inc.’s Fall Classic in Brighton on Saturday, Sept. 18.
All BA-B boats turned in top-ten finishes; the boys double raced to fourth place and the girls coxed-quad took fifth. The event—which is 11 years old but new for the team—runs a 3-mile course on the Charles River. The early regatta marked the start of the team’s first full season since the fall of 2019.
Harvard resident and Olympic rower Gary Piantedosi has assumed the role of BA-B head coach of boys varsity following Brian DeDominici, who left to coach for Brookline. Piantedosi was pleased with the outing. “We performed well against some stiff competition, which bodes well for our chances later this fall,” he said.
Holly Hatton, rowing program director and head girls varsity coach, considered the contest a great way for the team to get back into racing mindset. “The CRI course included the last mile and quarter of the Head of the Charles course, providing the experience of rowing to the starting line with lots of other boats, lining up single file, and navigating a busy racecourse, dealing with the situation of passing or being passed,” she said. “This was excellent firsthand experience for our team. When they came off the water, I could already sense a level of confidence they now had that they didn’t have when they launched,” Hatton added.
The full team takes on the Textile River Regatta on the Merrimack River in Lowell, Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 2 and 3. The athletes will race every weekend through the end of October. “We are all looking forward to more competition,” Piantedosi said.
RESULTS
Varsity Boys
- Mens Junior 1x: Milo Whitbeck, 6th place; 24 minutes 48.4 seconds
- Mens Junior 2x: Charles Maxwell and Asher Ryba, 4th place; 21:12.7
- Mens Junior 4+: Tommy Keefe, Ewan Smith, Ryan Crowley, Clark Hanlon, and coxswain Lucas Villseñor, 10th place; 20:31.6
Varsity Girls
- Womens Junior 1x: Eliza Straayer, no race results due to technical difficulties
- Womens Junior Varsity 4x+: Rachel Walker, Alissa Horton, Sophia Atwell, Jadyn Whitney, and coxswain Amita Khurana, 5th place; 23:02.4
- Womens Junior 4+: Sanjana Rao, Nosara Maxwell, Zoe Gendreau-Distler, Melanie Bodtman, and coxswain Sophie Thompson, 9th place; 21:54.2
An x indicates the rowers are sculling, or rowing with two oars. A “+” means there’s a coxswain on board.
Jill Maxwell is a BA-B parent.
From top: Jadyn Whitney, Sophia Atwell, Alissa Horton, and Rachel Walker with coxswain Amita Khurana, facing forward behind rowers, finished fifth in their event. (Courtesy photo)
