As temperatures headed past the 90 degree mark on the Merrimack River, the Bromfield Acton-Boxborough rowing team hit the 100% mark in terms of effort at the USRowing Northeast Youth Championship.
This annual regatta gathers the top teams from Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Connecticut, and Rhode Island, and is also the qualifier event for the Youth National championships next month in Sarasota, Florida. The two-day event included qualifying time trials and semifinals on Saturday and finals on Sunday.
Strong racing began early for BA-B, as junior Eliza Straayer raced to fourth in her time trial in the youth single event, clocking 7 minutes, 44.6 seconds for the 2,000-meter course. That finish qualified her for the event final. Seniors Sanjana Rao and Courtney Clark finished seventh in the youth pair in 8:03.8. In the youth double, sophomores Leo Sullivan and Sam Goldgar finished in 15th place in 7:49.9.
Facing a stacked field, the varsity four, consisting of seniors Ryan Crowley, Clark Hanlon, and Ewan Smith and juniors Charlie Maxwell and (coxswain) Lucas Villasenor, debuted in a new boat and shined with a sixth-place finish in 6:20.3 in the time trial. This finish qualified them for a steamy semifinal in the afternoon. Unfortunately, they were edged out by .13 seconds and did not qualify for the final.
The girls varsity four (from left): senior Sophie Thompson (cox), senior Melanie Bodtman, juniors Zoe Gendreau-Distler and Nosara Maxwell, and senior Sydney Collet-Callahan. (Courtesy photo)
Other performances in the early session included the girls varsity four; the team of seniors Melanie Bodtman, Sydney Collet-Callahan, and Sophie Thompson and juniors Zoe Gendreau-Distler and Nosara Maxwell raced to 14th place in 7:24.9. The boys second varsity eight finished seventh in 6:10.2, and the girls varsity eight was 13th in 6:53.9.
Another varsity time trial highlight was the determined racing of the boys varsity eight, which included the boys from the varsity four along with juniors Matt Chytil, Will Pharo, Asher Ryba, and Derek Uhrich. The crew rowed to a 5:52.2 finish, good for sixth place and the final coveted spot in the varsity eight final on Sunday.
Saturday’s afternoon session featured rowers from BA-B’s third varsity, novice, and middle school teams. Among those performances, middle school rowers Braeden Hartley and Melissa Stoddard stood out, winning their girls double heat in 8:21.5, four seconds ahead of rowing powerhouse CRI.
Sunday dawned clear and calm, and several qualifying finals were completed before the heat arrived.
First for BA-B was Straayer in the youth single final; her time of 8:31.6 was just .5 seconds out of third and qualified her for a spot at Youth Nationals. After that came the boys varsity eight final, with BA-B racing in lane 1 and facing off David vs. Goliath style against mega-programs like CRI, Saugatuck, and Greenwich. The boat, which includes four rowers in their first season of first varsity action, battled the entire length of the course with Duxbury, finishing .2 seconds behind them for fifth place. Coaches have submitted a petition in hopes that the group may still represent BA-B in Sarasota.
“I am proud of the boys and how they competed. The work they have put in and their dedication to improving was all on display in that race,” said varsity boys coach Gary Pantiedosi.
The regatta ended with some strong racing from BA-B’s under 15 category. The boys U15 coxed quad placed third and featured Belizia Mendoza (cox), Patrick Tucker, Max Kaufman, Neel Kannambadi, and Topher Korka. In the girls version of that same race, BA-B took second and third. Topher Korka coxed the second-place finish crew of Eleanor Daly, Ava Dawn, Annabelle Purcell, and Angelina Wang. Right behind them in third place were cox Belicia Mendoza and rowers Adel Besse, Madison Draper, Piper Sheehan, and Emily Yang.
Chris Hanlon is a BA-B parent.
