NMH Crew : Boys Crew

Race Results - Spring 2006

Season records (W-L)

B1 Varsity: 8-15
B2 JV: 1-12
B3 Novice: 2-8

NMH at New England Interscholastic Rowing Association championships
Lake Quinsigamond, Worcester MA
Saturday, May 27th

distance: 1500 meters
conditions: sunny and warm, variable to moderate tailwind, great racing conditions

Results:

B1: 9th out of 16 schools entered, 3rd place in Petite Finals (great race - see times for top 12 boats)
B1 lineup: Teresa Le '07, Gabriel Costa '06, Kevin Pai '06, Zack Rogers '06, Trevor Allard '06, Jeff Breau '07, Marc Cardwell '06, Rob Downey '07, Jon Russell '06

B1 final times:

The NMH varsity finished on a strong note at the NEIRA championships Saturday, driving through three crews in the last half of the race to grab 3rd place in a very competitive Petite Final. There were plenty of crews in the race who had reason to believe they were fast enough to race in the Grand Final, so we knew it would be a tough race to end our season. I asked the boys to find enough improvements to be three seconds faster than their heat. They found enough to be eleven seconds faster! Racing at a 36-37 strokes per minute, NMH finally found a gear that allowed them to reach the speed they had been seeking all spring, and all eight oarsmen committed everything they had to each stroke. Coxswain Teresa Le handled the tiller and the mike very well, keeping her crew on course and on task as they worked off Salisbury and then Tabor and Simsbury to try to win the race from Lane 1. Hanover and Tabor had just enough to hold off NMH in the sprint, but we felt very pleased to have made enough improvements in the past month to defeat two good crews that had beaten us earlier in the season.

B2 finished 5th in their morning heat and did not advance (9th fastest time in the heats)
B2 lineup: Alex Palmisano '07, Francis Bea '06, Erzhan Burkitbayev '06, Ian Mangiardi '06, Spencer Hattendorf '07, John Bleh '07, Johannes Oltmanns '07, Sven Oman '06, Christof Ranocchi '07

Our junior varsity suffered through another tough season of racing defeats but came through in the end with a great row in their morning heat at New Englands. Their time on the course was only 10 seconds slower than the varsity's, and they defeated a crew that had beaten them by 23 seconds earlier in the season! These guys just kept getting faster during the last two weeks of the season, and I wish we could continue their progress for another week or so of racing. We return five of these kids for next year, so there is hope for our varsity once again.

B3 finished 5th in their morning heat and did not advance (9th fastest time in the heats)
B3 racing lineup: Nick Palmisano '08, Travis Owen '08, James Myers-Regulinski '09, Brodrick Childs '09, YoungKyu Kwon '07, Lucas Ewing '07, Alex Farley '09, Henry Hutcheson '08, Sam Watrous '09

Our novice also showed great progress with their racing results at New Englands this year. Although not quite as close to their competition in the heat as the junior varsity, the boys of B3 posted a good time that showed improvement against a number of teams that had beaten them handily earlier this month. Their timing was good as they closed to the finish, and it was clear that Coaches Levitt and Tierney have taught these boys well. I look forward to working with all of them next year as they move up through the ranks of our crew program.

NMH vs Shrewsbury
Wednesday, May 10th
Connecticut River, Gill MA

Distance: 1400 meters, upstream
Conditions: light wind in last 500 meters, almost no current, very fast course

Racing Results:

B1 varsity
1. NMH (1-7) 4:13.4
2. Shrewsbury 4:21.1
NMH lineup: Teresa Le '07, Gabe Costa '06, Kevin Pai '06, Zack Rogers '06, Trevor Allard '06, Jeff Breau '07, Marc Cardwell '06, Rob Downey '07, Jon Russell '06

B2 junior varsity
1. Shrewsbury 4:34.0
2. NMH (0-8) 4:35.6
NMH lineup: Alex Palmisano '07, Alex Edgar '07, Christof Ranocchi '07, Eli Pack '07, Spencer Hattendorf '08, John Bleh '07, Johannes Oltmanns '07, Sven Oman '06, Pat Kenny '08

B3 novice
1. Shrewsbury 4:56.8
2. NMH (1-4) 5:07.9
NMH lineup: Nick Palmisano '08, Travis Owen '08, Johannes Oltmanns '07, Broderick Childs '09, YoungKyu Kwon '07, Lucas Ewing '07, Sam Watrous '09, Leo Chiquillo '09, Satya Son '09.

Racing Summary:
Senior captain Gabriel Costa rejoined the varsity boat after three weeks away and the boys from NMH earned their first victory of the season against a good crew from Shrewsbury High School. Both crews started even, but NMH made a strong move early in the race to establish an early lead that Shrewsbury could not counter. Another strong NMH move midway through the race solidified their advantage and as the crews made the turn for home, NMH began to gain more distance on each stroke. The final sprint was as strong as I've seen from NMH this season (except for hitting the finish buoy as they crossed the line!).

The junior varsity race was a dogfight through 1200 meters, with both crews rowing well and neither crew willing to fold. Shrewsbury took a slight lead just before the turn, but NMH showed resilience in moving back to even as the crews began to build for their sprint. Shrewsbury had a little more speed at the end, and eked out a four-seat lead across the line for the victory. It was an exciting race, and one I hope the B2 can build on. I'm proud of the way these guys rowed today, but I want them to know what it is like to win!

Shrewsbury took a very fast start off the line in the novice race, moving out to a stern-on-bow lead that proved difficult for NMH to respond to. Course difficulties in both crews lengthened the distance each boat had to row, but the crews avoided collision successfully, and Shrewsbury finished moving away. NMH will find that it can row faster if it keeps a more controlled rating in its next race. Racing up to the catch doesn't make the boat go any faster, but putting speed into the drive instead will prove to be easier and faster too.

NMH boys crew vs Salisbury
Wednesday, May 3rd
Connecticut River, Gill MA

distance: 1400 meters upstream
conditions: light current and headwind, ideal racing conditions

Racing results:
B1 varsity
1. Salisbury 4:31.9
2. NMH (0-7) 4:34.6
NMH lineup: Teresa Le '07, Zack Rogers '06, Trevor Allard '06, Jeff Breau '07, Kevin Pai '06, Rob Downey '07, Marc Cardwell '06, Jon Russell '06, Erzhan Burkitbayev '06

B2 junior varsity
1. Salisbury 4:47.0
2. NMH (0-7) 5:01.1
NMH lineup: Carol Wood '06, Francis Bea '06, Christof Ranocchi '07, John Bleh '07, Spencer Hattendorf '08, Sven Oman '06, Johannes Oltmanns '07, Alex Edgar '07, Pat Kenny '08

B3 novice
1. Salisbury 4:54.3
2. NMH (1-3) 5:31.2
NMH lineup: Nick Palmisano '08, Travis Owen '08, James Myers-Regulinski '08, Broderick Childs '09, Lucas Ewing '07, Alex Farley '09, Chris Tsui '07, Young Kwan '07, Leo Chiquillo '09, Sam Watrous '09

Racing summary:
The varsity put up their strongest race of the season today on the Connecticut River, holding a good crew from Salisbury even for 1100 meters before allowing the Scarlet Knights to slip by in the sprint for the finish. It was an exciting race, and demonstrated that this year's eight have the speed to compete when they find the right gear. Now that we know we can be in a position to win some races, we can work on the parts of the race plan that can help us move through a crew at these critical points.

The junior varsity spotted Salisbury to a four-seat lead off the start, but strokeman Francis Bea and coxswain Carol Wood refused to yield any more ground for the first half of the race. Our second boat bore down and committed their best strokes deeper into a race than I'd seen before, but as they tired, Salisbury took advantage and began to make a steady move that opened up a length lead by the turn. Salisbury finished pulling away, but NMH learned that they can compete when they stay in the race. They've got to commit to every stroke for an entire race in order to do it. We're not there yet, but we're getting closer.

The novice crew was a bit overwhelmed off the start by a very strong third boat from Salisbury. The race was not really in doubt after the first 25 strokes, and Salisbury used their size and strength to drive away and never looked back. Our novice will have closer races in their future.

NMH boys vs Tabor
Saturday, April 29
Connecticut River, Gill MA

distance: 1400 meters upstream
conditions: light current and headwind, ideal racing conditions

Racing summary:
The NMH boys crew dropped the varsity and JV races to Tabor Saturday, but won the novice race. It was the first home course loss in almost two years for our varsity crew. The varsity race was tight for the first half of the race, with Tabor taking about four seats off the start and then holding steady with NMH through the 500 meter mark. As NMH prepared to move back on the Seawolves, Tabor powered down and moved steadily to put their stern on our bow. At that point, NMH could not find a gear to move back into contention, and Tabor continued to open up a little more distance in the final 500 meters. The junior varsity race was never really in doubt, as a very strong Tabor JV jumped out to an outstanding start and never looked back. Our JV rowed a clean race, but just didn't have the leg drive to compete with a possible medal contender at NEIRAs. The sole victory of the day for the boys came from the most unlikely crew of all, our novice! The boys third boat hasn't won a race outright in three years, but this crew is coming together wonderfully under Coach Levitt's direction, and were the cleaner and stronger crew on the course. Tabor stayed even for half the race, but NMH had established an early lead that Tabor could just not break, and as NMH continued to row well into the last 500 meters, the Tabor novice began to struggle a bit. The cheers of the NMH crew echoed off the river as they crossed the finish line and were returned by their parents and friends watching from shore. Well done, novice!

We were treated to an excellent BBQ after the races. Thank you to the Donalds and many other parents for a wonderful feast to cheer up the boys and their coach.

Racing results:
B1 varsity
1. Tabor 4:25.9
2. NMH (0-6) 4:32.6

B2 junior varsity
1. Tabor 4:42.0
2. NMH (0-6) 5:06.3

B3 novice
1. NMH (1-2) 5:23.9
2. Tabor 5:34.9

Boys crew @ Andover/Exeter Invitational
Lake Quinsigamond, Worcester MA
Saturday, April 22nd

Distance: 1500m
Conditions: cool with showers, light tailwind with slight chop

Racing results:

B1 Varsity:
1. Andover 4:30
2. Exeter 4:32
3. St Johns 4:35
4. Brookline 4:40
5. Simsbury 4:41
6. NMH 4:43

B2 Junior varsity:
1. Exeter 4:42
2. St Johns 4:48
3. Brookline 4:49
4. Andover 4:50
5. Simsbury 4:58
6. NMH 5:12

Racing summary:
The NMH boys crew finally got their first race under their belts and it was a good learning experience for both the varsity and junior varsity. With five new members in the varsity boat this year and a bevy of novices and second-year oarsmen in the junior varsity, we did not know how we would stack up against some of the best crews in New England. It's clear that we have some work to do in improving our speed. This is always a tough opener for us, and our spacing and rating are not yet at the level they need to be if we want to make the Grand Finals at NEIRAs in May. The best way to find that out is to race, so we will take what we learned about our race plan and performance and try to improve both in the weeks ahead. We have a great group of student athletes in both boats this year, so I know they are up to the challenge.

Our graduating seniors will be sorely missed next year. Many of them have seen a great deal of success during their rowing career at NMH, and I am grateful for the time we have spent together at the river these past four years:

Gabe Costa - four years on the team, three-year letter winner (University of Chicago)
Jon Russell - four years on the team, three-year letter winner (Embry-Riddle University)
Zach Rogers - four years on the team, three-year letter winner (Syracuse University)
Erzhan Burkitbayev - four years on the team, three-year letter winner (New York University)
Trevor Allard - four years on the team, varsity letter winner (University of Hartford)
Carol Wood - four years on the boys and girls teams (Worcester Polytechnic Institute)
Marc Cardwell - three years on the team, two-year letter winner (Naval Academy)
Kevin Pai - two years on the team, varsity letter winner (Johns Hopkins University)
Ian Mangiardi - two years on the team, varsity letter winner (Iona College)
Francis Bea - two years on the team (University of Wisconsin)
Sven Oman - one year on the team (Hamilton College)

Finally, I would like to thank our parents for the incredible support and patience they have shown us this season, through fundraisers and cancelled races, through delicious potlucks and even offers of a truck to pull our trailers when the school's truck broke down; we are all very grateful. It has been a privilege to coach your kids.

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