Three Bromfield Acton-Boxborough crews gave their all at the USRowing National Championship, and it showed in their finishes: two ninth, and one 12th in the country. All three boats were the fastest public school teams in their events.
The competition took place June 8 through 11 at Nathan Benderson Park in Sarasota, Florida, a purpose-built venue that has hosted U.S. Olympic trials and world championships. After time trials Thursday and semifinals Friday, the BA-B boys varsity 4 and the U17 girls 4 both won their B finals on the weekend for ninth place in the nation, and the girls varsity 4 placed fourth out of eight crews for 12th overall and bested local rival Brookline.
In the time trials, boats raced the clock one by one down the 2,000-meter straight course. The boys finished 11th; the varsity girls landed in 12th, and the U17 girls in 10th. Since they all placed in the top 16, all earned a berth in Friday’s A/B semifinals—the race that would determine the top eight spots that go on to the A final, and the next eight, the B final. Slower crews raced in the C/D semifinals. In years past, this championship event featured just six lanes of racing; this time there were eight. That’s two more chances, and the crews were hungry for them. Here’s how the racing went down, boat by boat.
The boys were seeded 18th in the time trial; they knew they wanted to finish in the top 16 to make the A/B semifinal. “There was never a question in our mind that we would not qualify. So that was the mentality that we walked into time trials with,” said stroke seat Atticus Keep (Bromfield ’25). “It wasn’t, ‘Let’s see what we can do.’ It was, ‘How close to first can we get?’”
From left: Atticus Keep, Charles Maxwell, Asher Ryba, Derek Uhrich, and coxswain Lucas Villaseñor race to the finish line against the clock in their time trial (Courtesy photos)
Although both the 4 and the 8 passed muster at regionals, the team sent only its 4, because half of the rowers in the 8 are the crew of the 4, and the heat and humidity in Sarasota are draining. Coach Gary Piantedosi knew that one event would be challenging enough.
Coxswain Lucas Villaseñor (A-B ’23), a senior co-captain, said the boys back home were on his mind in the time trial. “My motivational focus was that we were leaving guys behind. I was thinking about the people back home that we were racing for. I called out their names—Leo, Matt, Nolde, Will—in the third 500 meters because that’s when people really need to dig in and stay tough.”
This crew’s strength is its start, and the athletes reported that they were off their game in the semifinal. “We had some issues with our start. We didn’t have our strength so our weaknesses caught up with us,” Keep said. “We slowed down in the middle 1,000—we lagged a bit before picking it back up again. A lot of our practice has been minimizing that lag and making it as small a part of the race as possible. In that race, we couldn’t get it small enough. Our start just wasn’t there. Our sprint was really, really good though.” The boat crossed the finish line fifth in its heat, landing it in the B final.
Sunday’s final proved an incredibly tight race. Asher Ryba (A-B ’23) said the team started well and stayed strong. “We got ahead off the start,” he said. “Going into the third 500, Row New Jersey caught up to us a little bit. There was a little bit of back and forth. When we crossed the finish line, it was like, ‘I think we won?’ It was honestly kind of a mystery.” Indeed, the race came down to a photo finish with BA-B edging Row New Jersey by about three-hundredths of a second. “Overall it was an amazing race,” Ryba said. “If we had gotten second we would have been fine.” But they got first, for an overall ninth place in the nation.
Front boat, from left: Eliza Straayer, Beatrice Maxwell, Mia Hartley, Emma Gregg, and coxswain Evelyn Huang cross the finish line in their final.
‘Most noteworthy was beating Brookline’
At the Northeast Regional qualifier in Worcester back in May, the girls 4 finished tied for fifth in a knot of three boats; local rival Brookline had beaten them by just one hundredth of a second. They petitioned USRowing and were granted a berth at nationals.
Coxswain Evelyn Huang (A-B ’23) says wind, perhaps more than the 90-degree heat, caused trouble. In all three of their races, she said, “It was always blowing from port to starboard. In the start, in the stakeboat, it was really hard to find the point, and Mia Hartley and Emma Gregg would have to take strokes,” she said, referring to rowers trying to maintain a straight position before the starting beep. “In our final, there was a wake that kind of messed us up at the 1,000-meter mark. The other crews definitely felt it too.”
Starting 23rd out of 27 crews, the girls finished 12th in the time trial, close on 10th-place Brookline’s heels. And like the boys, the girls ended up in sixth place for their semifinal heat. Co-captain Mia Hartley (A-B ’23) said the pressure was on in the B final on Sunday. “I have to say, in the progression of the races from the first to the last one, we had this sort of buildup that our whole boat experienced. It was the culmination of all we had worked for the entire season, and even going all the way back to the fall season. This is what we had all been thinking about,” Hartley said.
Battling down the course for a fourth-place finish, the rowers were elated, Hartley said. “It was a great way to end because it did feel good. That was one of the things I had been worrying about—that if it doesn’t feel good it’s going to be even harder. But it was a great moment.”
They ended up 12th overall in the country and one spot ahead of their foe. “I feel like all our races went well,” Huang said, “but most noteworthy was beating Brookline.”
‘Best race we’ve ever done’
Going into time trials, the U17 girls were wobbly. “It was stressful because we didn’t have a good practice. We were all a little on edge,” said Braeden Hartley (A-B ’26). Seeded 15th, they got stuck behind a slower boat that didn’t yield. “We got 10th, but our whole boat was frustrated that we lost a lot of time.”
Then, in the semi, they tried something new with their race plan, which left them tired out. Finishing fifth, they were slated to race in the B final just like the varsity boats. “I think not making the A final, we were like really, really upset about it, but it did make a lot of the nerves go away,” said Will Stoddard (Bromfield ’26). “We row a lot better when we’re calm.”
It showed. In the B final, Stoddard said they looked around, “which you’re not really supposed to do.” Seeing that they were doing well pushed the girls to go even harder. “There were moments in the race where San Diego had us up by a seat. Being in the boat you can feel those moments. Having that feeling in a boat that does really well racing other boats is a really good motivator,” Stoddard said. “The push at the end was really nice because we’ve been struggling with our sprint. Because Bare Hill Pond is so small, it’s hard to work on a sprint and be ready for the level of fatigue. I think this was maybe our sixth 2K ever. So it’s really nice because that’s something that we’ve been trying to work on all season.” Ultimately, they said, “the finals was probably our best race we’ve ever done.”
Eliza Straayer (A-B ’23) stayed in Sarasota to compete in a trial for the U.S. National Team in a U19 single. There was only one spot to win to represent the U.S.A. in the World Rowing Championships; Straayer finished fourth.
In addition to the rowing program’s competitive summer team, classes are available for kids and adults. Register at barehillrowing.org.
Jill Maxwell is a BA-B parent.
USRowing Youth National Championship results
- Men’s Youth 4+: Derek Uhrich, Asher Ryba, Charles Maxwell, Atticus Keep, and coxswain Lucas Villaseñor: first place, B final / ninth overall, 6:41.204
- Women’s Youth 4+: Emma Gregg, Mia Hartley, Beatrice Maxwell, Eliza Straayer, and coxswain Evelyn Huang, fourth place, B final / 12th overall, 7:32.944
- Women’s U17 4+: Emily Yang, Braeden Hartley, Will Stoddard, Eleanor Daly, and coxswain Hanna Lem Moustakas, first place, B final / ninth overall, 7:53.908
