Boys’ Crew demonstrated its grit while representing Choate at the first two regattas of the year: The Head of the Riverfront and the Head of the Housatonic. The team hopes to take this passion to the Head of the Charles Regatta in Boston this coming weekend. These boys don’t receive the bi-weekly chances to compete that other teams at Choate get, so when the Wild Boars of Crew do take the water, they tend to make it count.
At the Head of the Riverfront on October 4, the boys’ first (top ranked) eight-person boat took a close second behind the Saugatuck Rowing Club. While they were disappointed not to get the win, one bright spot for the team was beating out the always-formidable Brunswick School from Greenwich, CT, by a whopping 7.5 seconds. Also placing second was the boy’s third four-person boat, which ceded first to the Norwalk River Rowing Association in their event. The first and second four-person boats placed fourth and fifth, respectively, out of 29 boats in a hard-fought battle. Choate Crew is, by no means, content with their placement, but the results show great potential for this squad and room for improvement.
After a hard week of training on the ergs and on the water, the boys of Choate Crew entered their next race, the Head of the Housatonic, with a vengeance. During the race on October 10, the first four-person boat, which was racing in a drastically different lineup from the weekend before, took second place in a race of 29 boats, only one second behind the Saugatuck Rowing Club.
Chris Novak ’16, the second co-captain of the team and the stroke (front) seat of the first four-person boat, noted that, “The race was a huge improvement from the Head of the Riverfront. In the first four, we went from finishing in fourth place, 25 seconds behind Saugatuck, to finishing in a very close second place.”
However, the devastation of that one-second loss only fueled the fire for Choate Boys’ Crew. Hungry for more, they hope to satiate their thirst for victory at the Head of the Charles Regatta in Boston this coming weekend. The regatta is the largest two-day rowing event in the entire world, with roughly 11,000 athletes from across the globe expected to compete over the course of the weekend. The event draws in 400,000 spectators that all flock to Boston. The boys’ first four-person boat, which is the only boat that Boys’ Crew will be sending to Boston, hopes to find some serious speed. Kahle commented, “The Head of the Charles is a real test for us to see how we stack up against boats from across the country and across the world.”
Looking forward, the athletes of Choate Boys’ Crew hope to improve during the rest of the fall season and to prepare for the main event: the spring season. In the crew world, training is long-term and nonstop. The team is setting its sights on a gleaming golden trophy from the New England Interscholastic Rowing Association Championship, which will occur in May.
