Three Bromfield Acton-Boxborough boats entered rowing’s crowning competition, the 54th annual Head of the Charles Regatta, Sunday, Oct. 21. Unlike last year’s blue skies and calm waters, cold and windy conditions this year made for tough rowing. Slots in the storied event are initially secured via lottery; if a boat finishes in the top half of its field, it can return the following year. All three BA-B boats held their berths. The girls 4+ turned in a top-10 finish that was the fastest public high school time.
Officials release boats every 15 seconds. The 3-mile course from the Boston University boathouse to Eliot Bridge includes six bridges. The boys 4+ faced a number of tough race scenarios, including strong variable winds and heavy boat traffic. The boys “rowed and steered their way through them successfully,” said their coach, Brian DeDominici.
The girls 4+ pulling their way to a hard-fought sixth place finish, with Rachel Shrives as coxswain. (Courtesy photo)
The girls 4+ launched 33rd. “Each time they had to pass a crew it slowed their progress—and they passed five boats!” said Holly Hatton, the program director and head girls varsity coach. The girls finished sixth out of 84 entries, just one second away from a top-five medal. “I thought they had a great row,” Hatton said.
As the cold day wore on, the wind picked up. The girls 8+ battled down the course, passing boats and even clashing oars with another crew. “It was really messy out there,” said coxswain Rachel Shrives as she came off the water. “That’s understating it,” Hatton later quipped. The boat finished 42 out of 85, squeaking into the top half. “We now have two guaranteed entries for 2019, which means 14 athletes from next year’s team will reap the rewards of this year’s team’s efforts,” said Hatton. “Talk about teamwork!”
Other team members and alumni also took part in the two-day contest, some finishing in the top five for medals. Sophomore Anya Buchovecky finished in third place with the Cambridge Boat Club in a Director’s Challenge mixed 8+. Coxswain Camryn Farren (BA-B ’17) took second in a women’s club 4+ for the University of Tennessee. Kirsten Thiim (BA-B ’16) helped row a Trinity College women’s collegiate 4+ into third place. Grace Heavey (BA-B ’15) coxed a Boston University men’s club 4+, finishing fourth. And Emily Erdos (BA-B ’15) coxed a Princeton University crew to a fifth-place finish in the Women’s Championship 8+.
Coach Hatton coxed an Etats-Unis Rowing Club women’s senior masters 8+ to ninth place—and second in her age group.
Next weekend the varsity crews will travel to Saratoga Springs, New York, for the Head of the Fish Regatta on Fish Creek, the season’s final varsity race.
Results
- Women’s youth 4+: Kaylee Liu, Summer Maxwell, Katherine Fay, Anna Shlimak, and coxswain Sila Inanoglu; 6th (19:35)
- Women’s youth 8+: Arianna Thornton, Emma Perkins, Emma Gresco-Caulfield, Sophie Bodager, Molly O’Neill, Anya Buchovecky, Grace White, Zoe Flanzer, and coxswain Rachel Shrives; 42nd (20:04)
- Men’s youth 4+: Dwight Fairchild, Stefan Scornavacca, Benjamin Buchovecky, Kevin Yu, and coxswain Amy Zhu; 23rd (18:51)
