Countless hours of practice, from silent dawns on Bare Hill Pond to the crowded and noisy Charles River, led to this: the largest rowing event in the world. Four Bromfield Acton-Boxborough boats and two alumni entries, plus both head coaches and a dozen former BA-B athletes now competing for their colleges and universities, were just a few of the 11,000 participants representing 792 teams and clubs at the biggest Head of the Charles in history. Three days of racing on the 3-mile course, watched by 400,000 spectators and assisted by 2,500 volunteers, brought thrills, heartache, and above all, a master class in sportsmanship.
Several Ukranian national team crews plied the course to cheering on all sides and a blue and yellow flag draped from Weeks Bridge.
“This is why we coach,” said Gary Piantedosi, head coach of BA-B’s varsity boys. “When the boys first varsity 8 came across the Head of the Charles finish line, they stopped rowing and the 15-year-old in the six seat [Bromfield sophomore Atticus Keep] exuberantly slapped his senior captain on the back. All we want is for our athletes to experience that feeling.”
Crews requalify for the following year by finishing in the top half of their field. That’s how the BA-B boys 4 and the girls 8 were granted berths for this year. The only other way to get in the race is via lottery, and BA-B nabbed lottery slots for a girls 4 and a boys 8 in 2022.
It was still dark when the girls first varsity 4 arrived at the course. At race time, they started strong, passing other crews on a course complicated by seven bridges. Just after they crossed under Weeks, they got hung up with a City Island crew out of the Bronx, their oars slapping against each other like gigantic utensils clattering in a drawer. They managed to untangle themselves and row away, finishing 21st in a field of 90. “At the Head of the Charles, anything can and will happen,” said Holly Hatton, the head coach of the varsity girls. “I thought they executed the course with skill, and when I watched the video of their rhythm relative to other crews, I thought they had their best row of the season.” Four of the five athletes in the boat were first-time entrants in the illustrious regatta. “Seniors Evelyn Huang, the coxswain, and Eliza Straayer, in the stroke seat, did an excellent job of setting the pace and steering the course,” Hatton added.
In fall head racing, referees release boats one at a time to race against the clock. The girls first varsity 8 started 66th out of 89. “It gets pretty messy way back in the pack, but they said after each incursion, they regrouped quickly and got back in the race,” Hatton said. “Racing in the Head of the Charles can be a once in a lifetime experience for many rowers, and the results often aren’t remembered; rather it may be the crew or the skirmishes during racing, or simply the thrill of queuing up in the basin with the city of Boston in the background on a beautiful fall day,” she said.
The lineup for the boys 4 was not settled until a few days before the regatta, Piantedosi said. “Even though they only had a few days to practice, the boys rowed to the start ready to race. They had a good run.” The boys 8 had been set for a few weeks, Piantedosi said. “This course is quite serpentine and requires a skilled and experienced coxswain. Lucas Villaseñor steered a flawless course and coaxed a maximum effort out of the guys. It all paid off with a guaranteed entry for next year,” he said.
The team also entered two Bare Hill alumni crews, a women’s 4 and a mens 8. The women, rowers Anya Buchovecky, Anna Shlimak, Zoe Flanzer, Elizabeth Wilkey, and coxswain Courtney Robb, threw down a very impressive third-place finish. The men, whose ages spanned a decade, improved nine places from their performance in 2021.
Hatton and Piantedosi each competed in grand master 8s, Hatton as coxswain and Piantedosi as a rower. Hatton steered her crew of 1980 U.S. Olympic teammates to fifth place, which at Head of the Charles is good enough for a medal.
Collegians Kaylee Liu and Summer Maxwell medaled with their Wellesley and Tufts 8s. Wellesley repeated its second place finish for silver, while Tufts took third, two spots up from its finish last year. Rain held off until these athletes derigged their boats and headed to the awards tent.
Despite the epic nature of the 57-year-old Cambridge classic, BA-B’s season is not over. On Oct. 29 and 30 the full team travels to Saratoga Springs, New York, for the Head of the Fish. Channeling Bill Belichick, Charles Maxwell, a captain of the varsity boys team, said, “It’s like, ‘On to Cincinnati.’ ”
Current BA-B crews
- Women’s Youth 4+: Mia Hartley, Emma Gregg, Beatrice Maxwell, Eliza Straayer, and coxswain Evelyn Huang, 21st place, 19 minutes, 13.820 seconds
- Women’s Youth 8+: Rachel Walker, Nina Manglani, Sophia Atwell, Emma Lawson, Elizabeth Feirouz, Zoe Gendreau-Distler, Sophia Philipp, Nosara Maxwell, and coxswain Amita Khurana, 80th, 19:30.752
- Men’s Youth 4+: Jorgen Johannesen, Nikhil Suri, Ulad Danilovich, Aidan Lemke, and coxswain Ben Bluth, 79th, 19:08.864
- Men’s Youth 8+: Leo Sullivan, Adam Castriotta, Aidan Nolde, Matthew Chytil, Atticus Keep, Charles Maxwell, William Pharo, and coxswain Lucas Villaseñor, 43rd, 15:48.417
Alumni, board, and coach crews
- Women’s Alumnae 4+: Anya Buchovecky, Anna Shlimak, Zoe Flanzer, Elizabeth Wilkey, and coxswain Courtney Robb, Bare Hill Rowing, 3rd, 19:59.236
- Women’s Collegiate 4+: Hayley Minar, Connecticut College, 32nd, 21:33.242
- Women’s Lightweight 4+: Sophie Thompson, MIT, 10th, 19:12.642
- Women’s Senior Master 4+: Amy Burke, Former BHRA Board, Westford Community Rowing, 33rd, 22:09.714
- Women’s Alumnae 8+: Emily Erdos, Princeton (Fat Cat), 6th, 16:44.233; Heidi Nocka, Radcliffe, 13th, 17:29.026; Katie Erdos, Dartmouth (Ever Green), 20th, 17:52.026
- Women’s Club 8+: Grace White, UMass, 15th, 17:13.742
- Women’s Collegiate Eights: Kaylee Liu, Wellesley College, 2nd, 16:40.742; Summer Maxwell, Tufts, 3rd, 16:44.883; Rachel Shrives, Wellesley College, 8th, 17:02.676; Sophia DeFoe, Connecticut College, 35th, 19:12.467
- Men’s Alumni 8+: Connor Reitler, John Babcock, Kyle Veo, William Walling-Sotolongo, Benjamin Buchovecky, Oliver Perrine, Kyle Hayes, and coxswain Luca Basile, Bare Hill Rowing, 39th, 17:06.281
- Men’s Club 8+: Stefan Scornavacca, Boston University, 10th, 14:52.951
- Men’s Collegiate 8+: Audrey Maxwell, Middlebury College, 26th, 15:28.242; Matthew Atwell, UCLA, 29th, 15:35.566
- Directors Challenge Mixed 8+: Cindy Tingle, BHRA Learn to Row coach, Cambridge Boat Club, 21st, 18:00.365
Jill Maxwell is a BA-B parent.
From left: coxswain Amita Khurana, rowers Nosara Maxwell, Sophia Philipp, Zoe Gendreau-Distler, Elizabeth Feirouz, Emma Lawson, Sophia Atwell, Nina Manglani, and Rachel Walker. (Courtesy photo)
