Bromfield Acton-Boxborough (B-AB) split forces across two states this past weekend and came home from New Jersey with three tickets to the USRowing Youth National Championships in Sarasota, Florida, while also earning a berth in a prestigious final at the nation’s most storied scholastic regatta, Stotesbury, in Philadelphia.
Northeast Regionals on Mercer Lake, NJ: looking toward Sarasota
After last year’s Northeast Regionals were washed out in Lowell, USRowing moved the 2026 regatta to Mercer Lake near Princeton, New Jersey, a decision that proved prudent for one of the organization’s key qualifying events. Heavy rain had forced the cancellation of the 2025 regatta, and anticipated bridge construction along the Merrimack River course created additional uncertainty for this spring. Mercer Lake, though outside the Northeast, offered a dependable alternative. The national team training site on Mercer Lake features six fully buoyed lanes, a FISA-sanctioned finish tower and a course widely regarded as fair because it has little current or wind bias. The venue also gave spectators unusually close views of the racing, especially at the finish line.
The move came at a cost for some programs. Because Mercer Lake is roughly 200 miles farther from the Boston area, Bromfield Acton-Boxborough could not bring its full lineup, and several smaller programs did not attend. BA-B entered five boats.
At stake was a berth at the USRowing Youth Nationals in Sarasota in early June, with automatic bids going to the top four finishers in each event. BA-B has qualified at least one boat for Nationals every year for nearly two decades.
Saturday time trials on Mercer Lake
Saturday opened with time trials, the standard first step at most USRowing Youth Nationals qualifiers. Often called the “Race of Truth”, the 1,900-meter test pits crews against the clock, with only the fastest boats advancing. In smaller events, the top six move on to the A final; in larger fields, the top 12 advance to semifinals.
BA-B made an immediate statement in the women’s pair, where Braeden Hartley and Emily Yang delivered one of the team’s strongest rows of the day. Entering as the fourth seed in a nine-boat field, the duo faced two Greenwich crews, a strong Narragansett entry and Brookline’s top pair, which had beaten BA-B a week earlier at the Amber Z regatta. Hartley and Yang answered with a composed, fast piece; they finished third in the time trial and secured a place in Sunday’s A final behind only Greenwich and Narragansett.
The women’s double of Caroline Yang and Annabelle Purcell raced next in one of the regatta’s deepest sculling events, with 12 crews competing for six spots in Sunday’s A final, or grand final. Cambridge Boat Club, a perennial power, claimed the top two positions. As dedicated BA-B seniors, Caroline and Annabelle had left their prom early and made the five-hour drive to race at Mercer. They gave it their all, but were unable to advance to the A finals.
BA-B’s men’s four with coxswain (Oscar Maxwell, Teddy Stoddard, Eric Bian and Patrick Tucker, with Noah Kim on the coxswain’s seat) then took on one of the regatta’s toughest events. In a 17-boat field, where only 12 crews advanced to the afternoon semifinals, BA-B turned in a strong row and placed seventh to move on.
The men’s U17 double of Ben Rosenman and Hanfang Dong matched the women’s pair with a third-place finish in its time trial. Racing in a nine-boat field with six places available in the A final, the BA-B crew finished behind Concord Crew and Rockland but ahead of Saugatuck to earn a spot in Sunday’s championship race.
BA-B’s final time trial came in the women’s U17 four with coxswain, featuring Amelia McCormick, Etta Maxwell, Piper Candon and Beth Belanger, with Yuvika Rao coxing. Against a field that included regional powerhouses such as Saugatuck, Greenwich, Winsor, Connecticut Boat Club, and Narragansett, BA-B placed sixth to qualify for Sunday’s final.
BA-B’s last race of the day was the men’s four with coxswain semifinal, where the top three crews would reach Sunday’s A final. Racing against Northfield Mount Hermon, Cambridge Rindge & Latin, Community Rowing, Shrewsbury and Wayland-Weston, BA-B finished fourth and fell just short of advancing.
Sunday finals on Mercer Lake
Sunday brought calm conditions to Mercer Lake for the finals, and BA-B made the most of them, qualifying three crews for the USRowing Youth Nationals in Sarasota.
The women’s pair of Braeden Hartley and Emily Yang opened the day by turning a strong time-trial result into a Nationals berth. After qualifying third on Saturday, BA-B held third place and a medal position late in the race, but Narragansett closed in the final sprint and edged the boat by 0.02 seconds. BA-B still secured the fourth and final automatic bid to Sarasota, marking a third trip to Nationals for the two seniors.
BA-B’s men’s U17 double followed with another close finish. After placing third in Saturday’s time trial, Ben Rosenman and Hanfang Dong started in lane 6 and again finished fourth, this time less than a second behind third-place Saugatuck. The result was enough to send the crew to Nationals as well.
BA-B’s third qualifier came in the women’s U17 four with coxswain. The crew surged to the front early and remained in the qualifying mix as Saugatuck, Connecticut and Greenwich moved through. With Winsor pressing over the final 500 meters, BA-B held on for fourth by 0.05 seconds to claim the last automatic berth to Sarasota.
“Each crew’s progression was a tough road to the finals. Racing some of the top teams in the country, they proved their mettle and came through with outstanding results,” noted Holly Hatton, BA-B’s varsity girls coach. “The pair and U17 coxed four both earned bids to the Youth Championships with razor-thin margins, being the only public school program in the finals.”
“I am really impressed with our whole team,” said boys varsity coach Catherine Chappell. “The men’s varsity four made some really big improvements going into this race, and it’s exciting to have the double qualify for Nationals. All the hard work these athletes have put in is showing. The girls had a fantastic finals day, with the pair pulling off a beautiful race, and the U17 four finishing strong with both earning a bid as well. I cannot wait to keep training over the next few weeks!”
Meanwhile in Philadelphia, Stotesbury Cup Regatta
While the bulk of the team raced in New Jersey, the girls first varsity lightweight four competed on a 1,500-meter course at the 99th Stotesbury Cup Regatta, the largest scholastic regatta in the world. Held annually on the Schuylkill River in Philadelphia, the Stotesbury Cup has been a cornerstone of American scholastic rowing since 1927. The event drew 791 entries from 160 schools across the country. Most local regattas do not have lightweight competitions, thus the need for the long trip.
Izzi Walker, Simone Taylor, Ava Dawn, Alicia Tang, and coxswain Hanna Lem Moustakas posted the third-fastest time in their time trial at 5:52.07, advancing to the semifinals on Saturday. There they placed third in their heat in 6:23.96 to earn a lane in the Phyllis Graham Trophy final. In the six-boat final, they finished fifth in 6:55.78, just 4.6 seconds off the podium in a strong showing against elite lightweight programs from as far away as Texas.
“Stotesbury Cup Regatta is the largest and one of the most prestigious high school regattas in the country,” said coach Taylor Wright. “This was an incredible opportunity to race against some of the strongest programs from the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions on one of the most notable racecourses in the world.”
“Our athletes represented BA-B exceptionally well. They raced with real grit throughout the weekend,” Wright added. “As an out-of-town crew, BA-B probably wasn’t on many people’s radar coming in, but they earned respect with their strong performance throughout all three races.”
Wright noted that the conditions tested the crews. “There was a pretty strong headwind in the finals that made the race physically demanding and forced crews to stay disciplined technically. Our boat handled the conditions well and continued fighting all the way through the line.”
“Lightweight rowing opportunities at the youth level have become very limited since COVID,” Wright said. “It’s important that lightweight athletes still have opportunities to compete against crews in their own category. This was a great opportunity for our lightweight rowers to line up against other rowers in their weight class and show how great lightweight rowing can be!”
Summing up a successful weekend
With those three fourth-place finishes at Regionals, Bromfield Acton-Boxborough left the weekend with three Nationals bids against a deep and competitive field, one of the most successful Regional Championships in recent program history. All five crews represented the program well and left nothing on the water.
“I’m so pleased for the four crews that represented the BA-B varsity girls at Regionals and Stotesbury this past weekend,” said Hatton. “Their paths to success really started to show during our February break training camp. This is when I saw the real potential.”
This coming weekend BA-B will compete in the Massachusetts Public School Rowing Association Spring Championship, which is only open to public school teams. At the same time, the women’s pair, men’s U17 double, and women’s U17 four with coxswain are now training for the USRowing Youth Nationals in Sarasota, June 11-14.
USRowing Northeast Youth Championships: Lake Mercer, West Windsor, NJ
Varsity girls
- 2-: Braeden Hartley and Emily Yang; third in time trial (7:33.82), fourth in final (7:57.98), qualified for Youth Nationals
- 2x: Caroline Yang and Annabelle Purcell; 11th in time trial (8:22.35)
- U17 4+: Beth Belanger, Piper Candon, Etta Maxwell, Amelia McCormack, and coxswain Yuvika Rao; sixth in time trial (7:48.92), fourth in final (8:00.85), qualified for Youth Nationals
Varsity boys
- 4+: Patrick Tucker, Eric Bian, Teddy Stoddard, Oscar Maxwell, and coxswain Noah Kim; seventh in time trial (6:43.30), fourth in semifinal (7:14.47)
- U17 2x: Ben Rosenman and Hanfang Dong; third in time trial (7:08.74), fourth in final (7:13.91), qualified for Youth Nationals
Stotesbury Cup Regatta: Schuylkill River, Philadelphia, PA
Lightweight 4+: Izzi Walker, Simone Taylor, Ava Dawn, Alicia Tang, and coxswain Hanna Lem Moustakas; third in time trial (5:52.07), third in semifinal (6:23.96), fifth in Phyllis Graham Trophy final (6:55.78)
Tom Hartley is a BA-B parent and board member.
Bromfield Acton-Boxborough Rowing is the interscholastic rowing program of the Bare Hill Rowing Association, combining the scholastic communities of Harvard and Acton-Boxborough Regional Schools. The team is a member of the Massachusetts Public School Rowing Association and the US Rowing Association. They train at Bare Hill Pond in Harvard, MA.
