At this year’s Saratoga Invitational the girls and boys varsity rowing squads mustered up both medals and mishaps.
The two-day upstate New York contest featured a regatta-within-a-regatta; in addition to the usual 1,500-meter races on Saturday and Sunday, race host Saratoga Rowing Association offered 2,000-meter racing on Sunday morning for crews wanting to test their speed as they prepare for national championships in June.
SRA awarded medals in all flights on Saturday; Sunday’s flights were seeded based on Saturday’s places, with medals again awarded in each flight. Bromfield Acton-Boxborough boats brought home a bit of bling: gold for the girls first varsity 4 rowed by Emma Gregg, Mia Hartley, Beatrice Maxwell, and Eliza Straayer and coxed by Evelyn Huang and for the girls junior 4 rowed by Eleanor Daly, Will Stoddard, Braeden Hartley, and Emily Yang and coxed by Hanna Lem Moustakas; silver for the boys varsity 4 rowed by Charles Maxwell, Asher Ryba, Derek Uhrich, and Atticus Keep and coxed by Lucas Villaseñor; and bronze for the girls varsity single Eliza Straayer and boys varsity double Milo Whitbeck and William Pharo.
1,200 crews from as far away as Georgia, Chicago, and Ontario, including powerhouse Connecticut clubs, descended upon Fish Creek. Conditions varied, with rain on Saturday morning and Sunday afternoon and relatively dry weather on Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning. The willows wept, as always, but this time the team was also treated to a nesting pair of green herons in a maple tree next to their boat trailer. The team’s parent-run food tent sprang a leak, so volunteers erected a second pop-up canopy over the first.
Leo Sullivan competes in the 1V1x. (Courtesy photo)
BA-B rowers and coxswains poured their energy into the races, pulling hard not only in their boats but also carrying oars and supporting their teammates with dance warmups for the girls and boombox hype for the boys. “Another soggy race day, but I feel the girls performed really well despite the weather,” said Holly Hatton, the team’s rowing program director and girls head varsity coach. “The team spirit and cooperation was high. There was strong racing, particularly on Saturday. I think the wet and cold on Saturday caused a bit of extra fatigue by Sunday’s racing, but again, the athletes gave it their all.”
Meanwhile, on top of the wet weather, the boys team was also contending with some equipment mishaps. The boys first varsity 8 had left their riggers behind at the beach house on Bare Hill Pond. These are V-shaped connectors that the athletes screw onto the hulls of their racing shells. Without them there is no way to attach the oars to the boat. Coach Gary Piantedosi considered sending the 1V8 out in the 3V boat, which would have made for tight timing when it was time for the 3V crew to race. The rowers took the initiative and approached King Racing’s Dave Dickison, a boat maker who had brought shells from Connecticut to display. Dickison was happy to let the BA-B boys test drive his boat. “This is why we brought an extra 8,” Dickison said. “This is what we live for—to put fast crews in our boats.”
Meanwhile, the 2V 8 was missing a fin. Brendan Murphy, the regional rep for Vespoli, the company that manufactured the 2V’s boat, stepped up with a replacement fin. “Our boys 1V8 faced a challenge prior to their race,” Gary Piantedosi, BA-B’s boys varsity head coach said after the fact. “Having arrived in Saratoga without crucial equipment, they responded the way that successful athletes do. Instead of asking ‘Can I do something?’ they asked ‘How can I do it?’ In this instance, just getting to the starting line was a win for them.”
On Saturday, May 6, the team will scrimmage Wayland Weston away. On Sunday, May 7, BA-B hosts the Bare Hill Fun Regatta, a singles race for the younger team members. The next big competition for the high schoolers, the Amber Zapatka Memorial Regatta on the Merrimack River in Lowell, takes place May 13 and 14.
Jill Maxwell is a BA-B parent.
Saratoga Invitational, Saturday, April 29 – Varsity girls
- 1V1x: Eliza Straayer, 3rd place, final 1, 6:40.594
- Jr 2x: Nooriya Taherbhoy and Alexis Nichols, 9th, final 3
- 1V2x: Mia Hartley and Beatrice Maxwell, 7th, final 1, 6:20.853; Abby Depew and Caroline Burianek, 10th, final 3, 7:19.989
- 1V4x: Rachel Walker, Yolander Yang, Nosara Maxwell, and Zoë Gendreau-Distler, 8th, 6:06.927
- Jr 4+: Eleanor Daly, Will Stoddard, Braeden Hartley, Emily Yang, and coxswain Hanna Lem Moustakas, 1st, final 1, 5:59.000
- 1V4+: Emma Gregg, Mia Hartley, Beatrice Maxwell, Eliza Straayer, and coxswain Evelyn Huang, 4th, final 3, 5:48.269
- 2V4+: Sophia Philipp, Nina Manglani, Emma Lawson, Elizabeth Feirouz, and coxswain Adhiti Venkatesh, 5th, 6:15.699; Kaitlyn Vittum, Alexis Nichols, Caroline Burianek, Abby Depew, and coxswain Sera Bang, 9th, 6:37.401
- 1V8+: Rachel Walker, Nina Manglani, Elizabeth Feirouz, Emma Lawson, Mia Hartley, Emma Gregg, Beatrice Maxwell, Eliza Straayer, and coxswain Adhiti Venkatesh, 4th, 5:21.315
- 2V8+: Kaitlyn Vittum, Alexis Nichols, Caroline Burianek, Abby Depew, Yolander Yang, Nosara Maxwell, Sophia Philipp, Zoë Gendreau-Distler, and coxswain Amita Khurana, 6th, 5:55.295
Saratoga Invitational, Saturday, April 29 – Varsity boys
- 1V1x: Leo Sullivan, 8th place, final 1, 6:46.766; Adam Castriotta, 10th place, final 2, 6:53.085
- Jr 2x: Leo Sullivan and Sam Goldgar, 9th, final 1, 6:30.568
- 1V2x: William Pharo and Milo Whitbeck, 7th, final 2, 6:22.653
- Junior 4x: Alexander Horton, Jorgen Johannesen, Wyatt Neville, and Ulad Danilovich, 8th, final 1, 5:56.394
- Junior 4+: Gavin Datta, Jeffrey Wang, Henry Belanger, Alexander Horton, and coxswain Wyatt Neville, 6th, 5:44.701
- 1V4+: Charles Maxwell, Asher Ryba, Derek Uhrich, Atticus Keep, and coxswain Lucas Villaseñor, 2nd, 5:10.418
- 2V4+: Ulad Danilovich, Leo Sullivan, Aidan Nolde, Adam Castriotta, and coxswain Ben Bluth, 5th, 5:31.691; Maxwell Hurlbut-Lesk, Milo Whitbeck, Noah Stein, Aidan Lemke, and coxswain Nathan Kushner, 8th, 5:41.483
- 1V8+: Derek Uhrich, Adam Castriotta, Aidan Nolde, William Pharo, Matthew Chytil, Asher Ryba, Charles Maxwell, Atticus Keep, and coxswain Lucas Villaseñor, 5th, final 2, 4:46.506
- 2V8+: Noah Stein, Alex Horton, Myles McCormack, Sam Goldgar, Jorgen Johannesen, Milo Whitbeck, Aidan Lemke, Henry Belanger, and coxswain Ben Bluth, 5th, final 1, 5:13.437
- 3V8+: Russell Poutasse, Eddy Zhao, Jeffery Chang, Andrew Zhang, Charlie Leuci, Jeffrey Wang, Gavin Datta, Felipe Ferraz da Rocha Paes, and coxswain Nathan Kushner, 5th, 5:28.095
Saratoga Invitational, Sunday, April 30 – Varsity girls
- 1V1x: Eliza Straayer, 3rd, 6:24.689
- 2V4+: Nina Manglani, Sophia Philipp, Emma Lawson, Elizabeth Feirouz, and coxswain Sera Bang, 4th, 6:05.258
Saratoga Invitational, Sunday, April 30 – Varsity boys
- 1V1x: Leo Sullivan, 6th, 6:22.772; Adam Castriotta, 7th, 6:27.212
- 2V4+: Ulad Danilovich, Leo Sullivan, Aidan Nolde, Adam Castriotta, and coxswain Ben Bluth, 7th, final 1, 5:30.638; Maxwell Hurlbut-Lesk, Milo Whitbeck, Noah Stein, Aidan Lemke, and coxswain Nathan Kushner, 7th, final 2, 5:43.466
- 3V8+: Russell Poutasse, Eddy Zhao, Jeffery Chang, Andrew Zhang, Charlie Leuci, Jeffrey Wang, Gavin Datta, Felipe Ferraz da Rocha Paes, and coxswain Nathan Kushner, 10th, 5:32.182
Select Saratoga 2K Sprints, Sunday, April 30 – Varsity girls
- 1V2x: Abby Depew and Caroline Burianek, 5th, final 2, 9:39.639
- 1V8+: Rachel Walker, Nooriya Taherbhoy, Sophia Philipp, Abby, Nosara Maxwell, Zoë Gendreau-Distler, Emma Lawson, and coxswain Amita Khurana, 6th, final 3, 8:00.331
- 1V4x: Yolander Yang, Kaitlyn Vittum, Alexis Nichols, Nina Maglani, 6th, final 2, 8:18.079
- 1V4+: Emma Gregg, Mia Hartley, Beatrice Maxwell, Eliza Straayer, and coxswain Evelyn Huang, 1st, final 2, 7:38.007
Select Saratoga 2K Sprints, Sunday, April 30 – Varsity boys
- 1V2x: William Pharo and Milo Whitbeck, 3rd, final 2, 8:19.372; Maxwell Hurlbut-Lesk and Ben Bluth, 5th, final 2, 9:48.823
- 1V4+: Charles Maxwell, Asher Ryba, Derek Uhrich, Atticus Keep, and coxswain Lucas Villaseñor, 4th, final 1, 6:51.200
- 1V8+: Derek Uhrich, Adam Castriotta, Aidan Nolde, William Pharo, Matthew Chytil, Asher Ryba, Charles Maxwell, Atticus Keep, and coxswain Lucas Villaseñor, 6th, final 2, 6:34.529
- 2V8+: Noah Stein, Alex Horton, Myles McCormack, Sam Goldgar, Jorgen Johannesen, Milo Whitbeck, Aidan Lemke, Henry Belanger, and coxswain Ben Bluth, 6th, final 2, 7:20.855
