NMH Boys Crew - Results Fall 2005

Race Results - Fall 2005

Season records (W-L)

NMH-A (varsity): 68 - 16
NMH-B: 9 - 12

24 September	at Head of the Hudson	NMH-A: 1st of 9 NMH-B: 9th of 9
2 October	at Textile River Regatta	NMH-A: 2nd of 16 NMH-B: 7th of 16
9 October	at Head of the Connecticut	NMH-A: 4th of 22
23 October	at Head of the Charles	NMH-A: 13th of 43
30 October	at Head of the Fish	NMH-8: 6th of 24

NMH @ Head of the Hudson
Saturday, September 24th
Hudson River, Albany NY

NMH takes gold

Distance: 4500 meters (approximate)
Conditions: sunny and warm, light to moderate tailwind

Results:

NMH B (Big Red) 16:28
Shaker A (NY) 16:56
Shenendehowa A (NY) 17:06
Shenendehowa B (NY) 17:11
Worcester Public (MA) 17:21
Shaker B (NY) 17:46
Cazenovia (NY) 18:29
Berkshire Rowing (MA) 18:38
NMH A (Good Shepherd) 18:47

Summary:

NMH brought home some nice hardware from their first visit to the Head of the Hudson. The Big Red (racing as NMH B) rowed with a powerful cadence from the back of the pack, and earned their first head race victory in five years. Coxswain Teresa Le '07 was on her line today, taking the boys straight down the course and executing our race plan very well. Stroke pair Gabriel Costa '06 and Zach Rogers '06 were solid in the stern, while bow pair Marc Cardwell '06 and Jon Russell '06 provided great power to match. It was nice to see the team come off the water smiling broadly, as they knew they had rowed well, but it was even better to win the race! Well done, boys.

Our second boat (racing as NMH A) has been racing our top boat very closely this week, and was only one minute behind the varsity on our timetrial last Saturday, so the official time for their race was a surprise. An oarlock stripped the threads on its top nut during the warmup, and the race officials helped out with a jury-rigged mend that just held till the last few strokes of the race. I am sure that this problem had its effect on the boys' confidence and power application, but I was impressed with the nice length that I saw from the boys as they rowed by. Palmisano, Mangiardi, Pai, Downey, and Breau earned their racing stripes today with a fine effort under difficult conditions. They will see much better results in their future races.

Textile River Regatta
Lowell, Massachusetts
Sunday, October 2nd

Big Red place 2nd

Distance: 3.5 miles
Conditions: clear and calm

Results for Mens Junior Fours:

St Johns A 21:28
NMH A (Big Red) 21:31
St Johns B 21:44
Tabor 22:06
CRI A 22:07
CRI B 22:15
NMH B (Good Shepherd) 22:44
Belmont Hill B 22:55
Brewster A 23:03
Manchester A 23:15
Worcester Public 23:27
Brewster B 24:32
Manchester B 24:34
Cambridge Rindge and Latin 24:51
Brewster C 25:23
Brewster D 29:13

Race summary:
NMH made the early morning trip to Lowell for the Textile River Regatta, a large event featuring over 66 high school and collegiate crews from around New England. Both boats rowed excellent races, and our results demonstrate the hard work the boys have put into their training this past month. The A-boat, coxed by Teresa Le '07, went out with an aggressive cadence and held their tempo throughout, cleanly passing numerous crews ahead of them on the course. Teresa's line was fantastic, and her steady hand on the tiller and steady voice on the mike shaved tens of seconds from her crew's time. Our biggest problem in practice recently has been the timing of our catches, a relatively basic problem, but the bow pair and stern pair were right in sync throughout this race, and the resulting acceleration in boat speed was impressive.

Our B-boat rowed a clean and powerful race as well, proving to themselves that last week's disappointing race results were not indicative of their true speed. Coxswain Alex Palmisano '07 really showed her leadership today, skillfully steering through a number of broad turns and helping the boys maintain their poise in a crowded and fast high school event. Some of our competitors are known for abusive language and aggressive steering, and I am proud that the NMH crews represented their school and themselves with maturity and good sportsmanship, and most of all speed. The best moment for me was seeing our second boat talking excitedly afterwards about their race. These exhausted boys had just rowed over seven miles (before most of their friends back at school were even awake) and they were positively aglow with pride in their efforts. That is what athletic competition should be about, and I am proud to coach a team such as this.

NMH A lineup: Teresa Le (cox), Gabriel Costa, Zach Rogers, Marc Cardwell, Jon Russell
NMH B lineup: Alex Palmisano (cox), Ian Mangiardi, Kevin Pai, John Bleh, Erzhan Burkitbayev

Boys regatta @ Head of the Connecticut
Sunday, October 9th
Connecticut River, Middletown CT

Big Red place 4th

Distance: 3 miles
Conditions: light drizzle with gusty headwinds, high current

Racing summary:
NMH lost their treasured Good Shepherd on Sunday to a high current and a collision with a moored pontoon boat. Fortunately, all of our athletes were rescued promptly from the rain-swollen river. I am grateful to the Coast Guard and the local fire/rescue squads who responded immediately when they saw the accident, and I am pleased with the way each of our athletes responded in a dangerous situation. Alex Palmisano, Ian Mangiardi, Jeff Breau, John Bleh, and Erzhan Burkitbayev were quick and calm in their reactions, and their cool heads and safety training prevented more serious consequences. The boat did not fare so well, but what is a boat when you know your athletes are safe. The poor conditions swamped a number of other boats during the morning, and the race organizers cancelled the event in the afternoon as the floods of New Hampshire began to push downstream throughout the day.

Our first four did race to a fourth place finish behind excellent competition.

Racing Results:

St. Anthony's Crew Inc. 25:37.86
The Gunnery School 25:51.20
Choate Rosemary Hall 26:18.89
Northfield Mount Hermon School 27:27.88
The Gunnery School 27:41.50
Berkshire School 27:55.89
Tabor Academy 28:00.22
Schenectady Rowing Club 28:22.53
East Arm Rowing Club 29:10.81
Old Lyme Rowing Association 29:13.88
Choate Rosemary Hall 29:16.02
Worcester Public High Schools 29:36.12
Manhassett 30:01.72
Berkshire School 30:33.63
Choate Rosemary Hall 31:09.55
Litchfield Hills Rowing Club 31:22.92
Riverfront Recapture Inc. 31:50.64
East Greenwich High School 32:13.59
Salt City Sweeps 33:07.65
Cold Spring Harbor Rowing 33:15.39
Great Bay Rowing 37:29.52
Huntington High School 37:44.74

Boys regatta at the Head of the Charles
Sunday, October 23rd
Charles River, Boston MA

NMH 13th out of 43

distance: 3 miles
conditions: windy and cold, moderate current and chop

NMH placed thirteenth out of forty-three high school, club, and collegiate freshman crews from around the country and Canada. The conditions were difficult, but the crew handled them as well as anyone. Teresa Le '07 was outstanding in the coxswain's seat, steering one of the best courses I've seen through the tight turns and bridges at Weeks and Eliot. Pressed hard for much of the race by St Catherines, stroke pair Gabriel Costa '06 and Zach Rogers '06 did not falter in their pace, moving easily past several crews early on. Marc Cardwell '06 and Jon Russell '06 were strong in the bow, providing balance and heart equal to the task. The boys raced stroke for stroke with the Canadians for nearly a mile, never yielding or easing, until a slower crew ahead forced them wide and St Catherines slipped past. Regaining their form, NMH moved well around the final bend and sprinted cleanly to the line in the official time of 19 minutes and 33 seconds.

Official Results:

Boston University 18:43
Princeton University 18:49
South Niagara RC (ONT) 18:51
St Catherines RC (ONT) 19:00
St Anthony's High School (NY) 19:01
Upper Canada College (ONT) 19:04
Detroit Boat Club (MI) 19:06
The Gunnery School (CT) 19:07
MIT University 19:16
Central Catholic (PA) 19:17
The Haverford School (PA) 19:26
Kings Point RC (Mass Maritime) 19:29
Northfield Mount Hermon (MA) 19:33
Quaker RC (U Penn?) 19:34
Canisius High School (NY) 19:38
Peterborough RC (ONT) 19:43
BB&N (MA) 19:49
Ottawa RC (ONT) 19:52
Quebec RC (QUE) 19:58
Kingston RC (ONT) 19:59
Tabor Academy (MA) 20:03
Kent Mitchell RC (CA) 20:07
Oregon Rowing (OR) 20:08
Hawk Lights Rowing 20:10
Nichols School (NY) 20:13
Mount Holyoke (MA) 20:25
Taylor Allerdice (PA) 20:28
Anthony Wayne High School (OH) 20:31
Tulsa RC (OK) 20:37
Dublin Crew (OH) 20:38
St Johns High School (MA) 20:38
Schenectady RC (NY) 20:48
Deer Park 20:52
Central Catholic (OH) 20:59
Brewster Academy (NH) 21:04
Undine Barge Club (PA) 21:04
Noble & Greenough School (MA) 21:06
Worcester Public High Schools (MA) 21:40
Concord High School (DE) 21:41
Carnegie Mellon University 22:26
Row For It! 22:33
Cambridge Rindge and Latin (MA) 23:24
Scotia Glenville RA (NY) 24:58

Boys Regatta @ The Head of the Fish
Saratoga Lake, NY
Fish Creek

NMH 8 finish 6th

distance: 2.3 miles
conditions: cool and clear, light winds

NMH combined their two fours into an eight for this regatta because of the early start time in the fours race. Current and weather conditions in recent weeks have made it difficult to get on the water, but we were able to practice twice with the eight this week, and the boys improved quickly as a unit. Kevin Pai, Rob Downey, Jeff Breau, Ian Mangiardi, and Erzhan Burkitbayev joined varsity members Gabriel Costa, Zach Rogers, and Jon Russell to represent NMH in a 24-boat field, with Teresa Le in the coxswains seat.

Our race was not technically strong, with an over-the-head crab early in the race that defied correction for several strokes and another crab midway through the race. The boys reported that their spacing and set wavered at times, but when running well, they recognized that they had some good potential for speed. Despite these problems, NMH placed sixth, 33 seconds behind the winning crew from St Catherines. We end our fall racing season with the following W-L records:

NMH-A (Big Red): 68-16
NMH-B (Good Shepherd): 9-12
The eight (CKH): 18-5

Head of the Fish results: