Several Bromfield Acton-Boxborough crews medaled, and two were awarded trophy cups, at the Massachusetts Public Schools Rowing Association’s state championship regatta on the Merrimack River in Lowell Sunday, May 28. In this last regular season regatta, the warm and sunny conditions were a stark contrast to the relentless cold rain of the home opener Harvard Henley back in April.
Gold medalists on the 1,500-meter course included Eliza Straayer in the single; Zoë Gendreau-Distler and Rachel Walker in the double; the boys first varsity 4, rowed by Atticus Keep, Charles Maxwell, Asher Ryba, and Derek Uhrich and coxed by Lucas Villaseñor; and the boys third varsity 4, rowed by Shankara Rao, Uladzimir Danilovich, Henry Belanger, and Russell Poutasse and coxed by Wyatt Neville. Emma Gregg, in a single, and Abby Depew and Nooriya Taherbhoy, in a double, won silver medals. Aidan Lemke and Leo Sullivan took bronze in singles as did William Pharo and Milo Whitbeck, and Beatrice Maxwell and Mia Hartley, in doubles. Overall, the team finished third in sculling points behind Row Boston and Wayland Weston, out of 15 participating teams.
In addition to their medals, the boys first varsity 4 and the girls first novice 8, rowed by Eleanor Daly, Braeden Hartley, Emily Yang, Johnny Greenberg, Helen Holzmann, Abigail Hirschberg, Ava Dawn, Isabel Walker, and coxswain Hanna Lem-Moustakas, left Lowell with a cup and a trophy, respectively, for winning their events. BA-B has never won these awards before; the team name will be added to the engraving on each.
Racing was bittersweet, said Gary Piantedosi, the head boys varsity coach. “For many graduating seniors this may be the last time they race in an eight,” he said. “Our first varsity 4 is heading to Nationals and they showed why,” he said.“Our victorious U17 third varsity 4 didn’t just have their game faces on for this race; they got out the charcoal and had the ‘eye-black’ going. Coach Nancy Young had them tuned up, and they put on a furious sprint to hold off two charging crews.”
Regarding that girls novice 8, their coach, Taylor Wright, said: “They were hungry for a win after trailing Brookline by five and a half seconds in the time trial. The crew showed competitiveness and grit as they walked through Brookline in the second half of the final to secure the win. Their strength and technical proficiency through the last stretch of the race is evidence of their hard work this fall, winter, and spring.” The novice 4 showcased their adaptability in response to a last-minute lineup change and managed to secure a place in the A final, Wright said. “I’m extremely proud of all squad members. They’ve demonstrated their readiness to move up to varsity in the fall, and I can’t wait to see what they accomplish over the next three years and beyond.”
Due to an equipment mixup, the boys first varsity 8 raced with novice oars, which are lighter. The rowers couldn’t get as much torque as usual and finished at the back of the pack. They subsequently won the B final handily with their varsity oars, nine seconds faster than their morning time trial.
On Monday, May 29, USRowing notified the BA-B girls first varsity 4, which had petitioned to compete in the national championship after missing a qualifying slot by milliseconds at regionals, that they are indeed welcome to join the U17 4 and the boys first varsity 4 in Sarasota, Florida, June 8 through 11.
BA-B was the only team to enter middle school crews at MPSRA in Lowell; the boys quad raced the girls quad and no medals were awarded. Next year’s novice team will have more racing experience than local rivals. “Most of our eighth-graders rowed together in the fall and spring,” said Chris Whitbeck, who coaches the novice boys and all of the eighth-graders. “Racing is another rowing skill to learn, and our crews raced on Bare Hill Pond, Lake Q, and the Merrimack in Lowell and New Hampshire. They’ve become strong rowers and they know their way around these courses. I’m excited to see them race next year.”
—Jill Maxwell is a BA-B parent.
From left: Russell Poutasse, Henry Belanger, Ulad Danilovich, and Shankara Rao. (Courtesy photo)
Boys results
- 1x: Leo Sullivan, third in flight, 5:55.3; Aidan Lemke, third in flight, 6:01.3
- 2x: Milo Whitbeck and William Pharo, third in A final, 5:39.4; Maxwell Hurlbut-Lesk and Benjamin Bluth, fifth in A final, 5:59.5
- 1V4: Atticus Keep, Charles Maxwell, Asher Ryba, Derek Uhrich, and coxswain Lucas Villaseñor, first in A final, 4:42.9
- 3V4: Shankara Rao, Uladzimir Danilovich, Henry Belanger, Russell Poutasse, and coxswain Wyatt Neville, first in A final, 5:08.5
- 1V8: William Pharo, Matthew Chytil, Leo Sullivan, Aidan Nolde, Adam Castriotta, Milo Whitbeck, Aidan Lemke, Noah Stein, and coxswain Benjamin Bluth, first in B final, 4:42.6
- 2V8: Alexander Horton, Patrick Tucker, Sam Goldgar, Maxwell Hurlbut-Lesk, Trevor Mangus, Gavin Datta, Darren Quek, Wyatt Neville, and coxswain Nathan Kushner, first in B final, 5;07.9
- 3V8: Felipe Ferraz da Rocha Paes, Charlie Leuci, Jeffrey Wang, Myles McCormick, Andrew Zhang, Jeffery Chang, Eddy Zhao, Noah Friedman, and coxswain Lucas Villaseñor, fourth in A final, 4:56.3
Girls results
- 1x: Eliza Straayer, first in A final, 6:08.0; Emma Gregg, second in A final, 6:15.7
- 2x: Rachel Walker and Zoë Gendreau-Distler, first in flight, 5:51.0; Nooriya Taherbhoy and Abby Depew, second in flight, 6:24.2; Mia Hartley and Beatrice Maxwell, third in flight, 702.0
- 1V8: Eliza Straayer, Beatrice Maxwell, Mia Hartley, Emma Gregg, Emma Lawson, Elizabeth Feirouz, Zoë Gendreau-Distler, Rachel Walker, and coxswain Adhiti Venkatesh, fourth in A final, 4:58.7
- 2V8: Nina Manglani, Sophia Philipp, Nosara Maxwell, Yolander Yang, Abby Depew, Caroline Burianek, Alexis Nichols, Kaitlyn Vittum, and coxswain Amita Khurana, fifth in A final, 5:24.1
