Mothers of Bromfield Acton-Boxborough (BA-B) rowers took pride in their progeny on Sunday, May 10, as the BA-B crew earned podium places at the Amber Zapatka Memorial Regatta (Amber Z) in Lowell.
The novice boys won their time trial and then their grand final in a photo finish. The girls Under Seventeen (U17) 4 won their grand final as well. Silver medals graced the necks of the U17 boys double, the girls first and third varsity 4s, and all three girls varsity 8s. The varsity girls pair took bronze.
A boys novice double raced in a U17 varsity event and finished second, despite having only practiced in a racing shell three times together, and the boys novice four finished its time trial 11 seconds ahead of their closest competitor, Brookline. “We put together a really great race plan and they executed it perfectly,” said novice boys coach Chris Whitbeck.
BA-B faced 157 entries from 19 clubs and teams on the 2,000-meter Merrimack River course. Conditions kept it interesting. “We had all the seasons,” said Acton senior Braeden Hartley, a girls varsity captain. It was calm in the morning, then windy for the 4s, and rainy for the 8s. “When we launched, we weren’t expecting it, but when we got up to the start, there was a pretty rainbow and it was a fun experience to get that out on the water,” she said. Hartley raced twice and brought home a silver and a bronze.
The racecourse itself was also unusual. Barges supporting the Rourke Bridge replacement project were positioned in the travel lane, so to get to the starting line, boats had to cross all the racing lanes and row down on the other side, which took them about 40 minutes, Whitbeck said. Holly Hatton, the head coach of the varsity girls, said the team came through it well. “It was a very long day for the athletes due to various issues with adjustments needed on the course, but once they got on the water they raced with focus. I was pleased with the technical improvements I saw,” she said.
This regatta typically holds time trials on Saturday and finals on Sunday, but this year the whole event took place on Sunday because of lower than usual enrollment. “It was good to race more local crews like Brookline and Arlington-Belmont, and see how we match up against other schools,” Hartley said.
Catherine Chappell, BA-B’s program director and head coach of the varsity boys, opted not to race most of the boys boats at Amber Z in order to focus on the upcoming USRowing Northeast Regional Championship Regatta May 16 and 17 in West Windsor, New Jersey. “I decided to not have the varsity boys compete this weekend since regionals involve a lot of travel,” Chappell said. “The boys team is very small right now compared to the other squads, and anyone not going to regionals has been working in singles to further develop their skills. I am so proud of all of these athletes for the work they’ve been putting in,” she added. “We are looking forward to racing at regionals and states!”
The girls first varsity 4 (1V4) will head to Philadelphia for the Stotesbury Cup on May 15 and 16 to compete in the lightweight 4 event. Hatton notes that it will be the 99th running of the largest junior rowing event in the U.S.
Who’s rowing what: A quick primer
If you’re not versed in the language of rowing, here’s a quick lesson:
- The number (2, 4 or 8) is the number of rowers in the boat.
- A plus (+) at the end of the number means there’s a coxswain (a person who sits in the well and guides the rowers)
- A minus (-) indicates no coxswain.
- An x indicates that each rower uses 2 oars.
- U17 indicates that all rowers are under 17 years old (in other words, 9th and 10th graders)
- Finally, for teams that have multiple boats in the same event, you have first string (1V), second string (2V), and so on.
So, for example, U172x, below, is a boat with 2 rowers (who are using 2 oars) and both of the rowers are under 17; while 1V8+ is the first string boat with 8 rowers and a coxswain.
There’s a whole lot more to crew, but this should help get you started.
Varsity girls
- 2-: Braeden Hartley and Emily Yang: third place, 7 minutes, 54.849 seconds
- U172x: J. Hayes and A. Yang: fifth, 9:10.101
- 2x: Annabelle Purcell and Caroline Yang: fourth, 8:31.728; Ellery Thomas and Ada Hubbell: fifth in petite final, 8:53.514
- U174+: Beth Belanger, Piper Candon, Etta Maxwell, Amelia McCormack, and coxswain Yuvika Rao: first, 7:32.691
- 1V4+: Izzi Walker, Simone Taylor, Ava Dawn, Alicia Tang, and coxswain Hanna Lem Moustakas: second, 7:23.255
- 1V8+: Ava Dawn, Beth Belanger, Piper Candon, Etta Maxwell, Amelia McCormack, Ellery Thomas, Braeden Hartley, Emily Yang, and coxswain Hanna Lem Moustakas: second, 6:41.321
- 2V8+: Izzi Walker, Gabriella Kim, Maroon Kendrick, Reval Argow-Sniderman, Annabelle Purcell, Caroline Yang, Simone Taylor, Alicia Tang, and coxswain Gwynnie Poutasse: second, 7:31.055
- 3V8+: Lily Lem Moustakas, Bronwyn Lemke, Anastasia Bolberova, Ada Hubbell, Sravya Hamsala, Autumn Desclos, Nix Klein, Grace Connor, and coxswain Gabriella Shee: second, 7:50.097
Varsity boys
U17 2x: Grant Weidman and Sawyer Morgan: second; 9:22.349
Jill Maxwell is a BA-B parent and auntie.
