The girls and boys Rowing Teams ended both of their fall seasons with a great finish at the Head of the Charles Regatta in Boston and Cambridge, Massachusetts, the largest regatta in the world.
The girls came in 27th and the boys were 13th.
The Head of the Charles Regatta, commonly know as the HOTC or the HOCR, is an annual regatta which takes place between the 17th and the 23rd of October.
This year, the two day regatta took place on October 18th and 19th. The race is held on the Charles river, which separates Boston from Cambridge.
The race is a three mile race, and this year was its 50th anniversary. There were sixty-one separate events this year, which included regattas for high school teams, college teams, and alumni.
“Going to HOCR was such a great experience,” said senior captain Isabelle Daellenbach. “New trier brings two boats, the first varsity eight for girls and the first varsity eight for boys.”
This year, 776 different rowing clubs competed in the regatta. There were nearly 11,000 athlete present, ranging from throughout the United States, Canada, Europe, and Australia.
“The Head of the Charles was an amazing experience,” said senior captain Tom Lamphier. “We got to see really fast teams from all around the US, and a few from Europe. The racing itself was unparalleled. Quick, exhilarating, and a true test of will.”
The girls team has been going to Head of the Charles since 2008 and have finished in the top thirty since their first year that they attended the regatta.
The girls have had a lot of success at the Head of the Charles, including a 5th place finish in 2010.
The boys team has been going to HOCR since 2006. They have finished in the top thirty-five every year they’ve attended
The boys have been very successful as well, including a 2nd place finish in 2000.
They competed in the Men’s Youth Eights, competing against other high school teams with an eight man boat. Their finish time was 16:14.63, only 35.97 seconds behind the winner of the race.
The eight racers were coxswain John Carberry, John Dolan, Hunter Johnson, John Wiegand, Quin Behles, Raymond Weeks, Tom Lanphier, Brendan Gridley, and Josh Kuppersmith.
Head boys coach Nathaniel Kelp-Lenane said, “We did very well in very windy conditions and we rowed exceptionally well. Coxswain John Carberry steered a great course for the V8 in Boston.”
The girls similarly competed in the Women’s Youth Eights. Their finish time was 18:49.77, 1:38.22 minutes behind the winner.
“We had a really solid race,” said Daellenbach. “It was tough with a really strong headwind, but our boat stayed together and finished a race that we are all very proud of.”
The eight racers were coxswain Talia La Schiazza, Katherine Schretter, Carolyn Schmeissing, Grace Gagliardi, Lauren Johnson, Grace Joyce, Heidi Conaghan, Menley Denham, and Isabelle Daellenbach.
With few competitors in the Midwest the girls and boys rowing teams often look forward to going to the Head of the Charles each year.
“The Midwest isn’t a huge rowing area, so there aren’t too many other teams in the area and competing in this kind of atmosphere is incredible,” concluded Daellenbach. “You are surrounded by people who understand what rowing is and it’s great.”