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Simsbury
Invitational
Girls
- Shrewsbury crews started the season off today at Lake
Quinsigamond rowing in the SImsbury/Tabor Invitational.
The SHS Girls 3rd Varsity was up first and wasted no time
making their mark. Placing second behind the perennial
powerhouse CRI (community Rowing) which is a regional
rowing club the lady Colonials were the fasted true HS
team in their division besting 3 CT high schools, SImsbury,
East Lyme and Stonington. The girls Second Varsity finished
very strong as well placing second among true HS teams.One
second behind E. Lyme (CT) and 8 seconds behind the boat
from Community Rowing. The Second Varsity had a very strong
start and rowed extremely well on the entire course. Community
rowing would make it a clean sweep by winning the Girls
First Varsity event. The SHS G1V rowers blasted out of
the start at a 41 stoke rate and held the lead for the
first 800 meters. As CRI was starting to close on SHS,
the Shrewsbury boat caught a major crab,
nearly stopping the boat. The SHS Crew was able to restart
and actually closed two boat lengths before the race ended.
Although the crab cost the boat any finish, Coach Abraham
was pleased with the boats incredibly strong start and
ability to close distance after the crab. Overall, coach
Abraham was very happy with today's performances. The
girls will go into double sessions for their spring "vacation"
and then face off against area crews at Middletown, CT
next weekend.
Boys
- Need boys correspondent!
Middletown
Invitational
Both
- Another
cold and rainy day in Middletown. Is there ever any sun
there? I was not able to attend the race but heard there
were no floating logs, no raging currents and no capsized
shells this time around. However, the major issue of the
day was that the SHS rowers had to use "rentals"
as we had a bit of a logistical problem getting the shells
to CT. Despite rowing in some unfamiliar equipment that
was not rigged to the rowers, the SHS crews dominated
a fractured Middletown team. Today was an especially great
day for many novice who raced in the 2V and beat their
first spring opponent.
Wayland-Weston
Invitational
Both
- Shrewsbury's
First and Second Varsity Crews traveled to Lake Cochituate
today to face off against Wayland-Weston RA and Worcester
Public School Crews. It turned out to be a tad windy with
a quartering headwind and just some light chop on the
water. All crews rowed two 1500 meter race pieces and
in every event the SHS crew were beaten by Wayland-Weston.
WW dominated every race from start to finish period. There
was not one SHS boat in the hunt today although SHS Crews
did finish ahead of every Worcester boat. Special thanks
to Pam Krause for stepping up and hauling the boats to
Wayland. SHS Crew is still lacking the proper transportation
support for over 100K dollars worth of equipment!
Q-Cup
Girls
-
Boys
-
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Textile
River Regatta
SHS
Crews kicked off the fall season by sending 5 boats to
the Textile River Regatta this weekend. The 3.2 mile race
down the Merrimack river was framed by a perfect fall
day with no wind and temps in the mid 70's. The girls
First Varsity 4 was first up rowing to a fifth place finish
behind Community Rowing, Northfield-Mt Hermon and The
Windsor School. They were a very respectable third among
true HS teams. The Girls Second Varsity 4 finished
the day in 11th out of a field of 18 and about a minute
behind the SHS 1V4. The girls Varsity 8 finished 7th just
12 seconds behind 4th place Lowell and behind two crews
from Wayland-Weston. On the boys side, the First Varsity
8 rowed to a bronze medal behind two boats from Chaminade
HS (long island, ny) and just 8 seconds back from the
gold medal boat. The boys second varsity rowed to an 11th
place finish just behind the SJ first boat and ahead of
the SJ second boat. Every SHS crew looked tremendous on
the water today and accomplished the early season goal
of technique vs speed and stamina. Next up the Head of
the CT. Look for the speed this week!
Head
of the Ct.
SHS
rowers battled the best crews in the northeast as well
as the weather, incredible currents, and a swollen Ct
River. The rain let up just long enough to prevent the
race from being totally miserable. However, floating debris,
nasty currents and headwinds factored in to make this
day less than pleasant. The race saw one shell snap in
two and a four capsize before the race was called off,
much to the chagrin of the girls varsity eight who did
not get to row. The girls First Varsity Four was up first
rowing the 3 mile course in just over 35 minutes due to
the strong currents. The girls held their own against
some quality crews managing a 10th place finish. The girls
Second Varsity Four finished 14th, about a minute behind
the first boat. The boys First and Second Varsity Eights
faired a little better. The 1V8 finished 7th and the 2V8
finished 12th just under 2 minutes behind the 1V8. All
Varsity crews were off their pace from last weeks regatta.
The boy's JV Eight was the big winner of the day earning
a bronze medal behind two tough crews from Chaminade and
Simsbury. Next up is the Head of the Charles for the boys
on Oct 22nd and the Mass State Championship on October
30th for all crews.
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NEIRA
After a full season of spring
rowing, the boats in all the New England schools were
whittled down to between 12 and 18 of the fastest in each
category and invited to row at the prestigious New England
Interscholastic Regatta on Lake Quinsigamond. These boats
then raced in heats for the opportunity to compete in
the Grand Finals featuring the 6 fastest boats of the
day. When it came down to the Girls Third Varsity 8 Grand
Finals, pulling up to the start in Lane 6 was a group
of rowers hardly noticed by the likes of the elite prep
schools, St Paul's, Kent, Exeter, and Andover. They
weren't wearing beautifully matched lycra Uni's because
not everyone in the boat had one and they weren't in a
brand new top of the line shell either. Instead, in a
show of unity, they showed up sporting their Blue and
Gold tie dyed T-shirts rowing the tired, but trusty old
Dirigo. When it was all over 6 minutes later the Lady
Colonials were the second fastest boat in New England
and the only SHS rowers to ever Medal at
NEIRA. It was a gutsy performance which featured an unbelievable
battle down the last 500 meters between SHS and Kent which
SHS won by a foot. Tremendous job ladies!
More to come on other SHS
Rowers at NEIRA..................................
Mass Public
Shrewsbury rowers finished
a strong second in a very competitive State Championship
Regatta this year. Yesterdays event was marked by cool
temperatures, overcast skies and a light wind out of the
north. First up were the heats in which boats rowed to
qualify for the Grand Finals (medal rounds). All SHS teams
were qualifiers in the morning heats advancing to afternoon
medal races. The novice races were next on the schedule.
SHS rowers dominated this event winning medals at every
level starting with the girls 3rd novice team who blew
away the competition winning by almost 5 boat lengths.
A later protest had them drop to second place after it
was determined they strayed out of their lane at the start
(a weak protest given the huge victory margin). The girls
second novice boat finished ahead of the competition by
a half a boat length also taking the gold. Next up was
the girls first novice boat who rowed to a strong 3rd
place medal finish.
On the boys side the novices
dominated....period. The boys second novice boat won by
such a commanding lead officials had to send out a search
party for their competition. The first novice, also taking
the gold, won by a boat length.
The afternoon finals brought
more hardware for the SHS rowers. The girls third Varsity
boat which has been punishing the competition all year
rowed for a Gold medal finish in their event These girls
have so many medals around their necks they look like
rap stars. Both the girls first and second varsity boats
competed in the Grand Finals but did not row as well as
they expected finishing a respectable fifth overall in
the State against some extremely tough rowing programs.
The boys Varsity boats had
a great day despite only rowing together for a very short
time as the result of several first boat rowers quitting
the team just a week ago. The third varsity, now comprised
of mostly novice rowers had an awesome race not only winning
the Gold but gaining a huge amount of confidence as members
of the next generation of SHS rowers. The boys second
varsity and first varsity both won the Bronze against
very competitive boats.
Congratulations to ALL
SHS ROWERS for a fantastic season. Despite winning
the most medals at the State Championship today a well
deserved SECOND BEST IN THE STATE! Many difficult and
painful hours were dedicate to your team and your boats
this year. Rowing is a grueling sport requiring the utmost
in teamwork and dedication. All of you who never gave
up, gutted it out, and made one sacrifice after another
during this season despite a few setbacks should be proud!
AWESOME JOB!
Once again,
all SHS Varsity boats qualified for the prestigious New
England Invitational Regatta and will be competing against
the top schools from all over New England May 28th at
Lake Quinsigamond.
THE BEST OF LUCK TO OUR SENIORS!
Stay in touch with SHS Crew as you continue to row in
college and beyond.
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Head of the Textile
A mention of congrats should
go out to the ENTIRE SHS crew team for their outstanding
performance over this past weekend. After a very
long day participating at the Spirit of Shrewsbury festival
the varsity squads headed to Lowell to compete in the
Textile River Regatta. Some early morning transportation
issues severely delayed the teams' arrival at the race
site, but their discipline focus and training allowed
them to unload all of their gear in an incredibly
cramped environment, assemble their boats, and hit the
water in time to just make it to the starting line (3
miles up river) in time for their respective races.
Despite the pressure and confusion of the situation, the
athletes were able to put all of that behind them to put
together one of their best performances thus far.
Of special mention, the SHS girls claimed a 5th and 6th
place finish in 2 separate events. While the boys
had an outstanding day, competing in a field of 19 crews
from as far away as New York claiming a silver medal in
the "junior eight" category, along with a 7th,
and 14th place finish by the 2nd and 3rd varsity boats.
On a day where the coaching staff was overwhelmed to see
the level of efficiency and display of teamwork required
just to make it to the starting line on time, their ability
to execute a nearly perfect race was unbelievable.
In addition, the members of the novice team, led by the
assistant coaching staff, represented the team with pride
and class in the Spirit of Shrewsbury parade on Sunday.
I have received nothing but outstanding reports about
the way the athletes conducted themselves. (Along
with some unconfirmed reports of pushups? On Main St..I'm
looking into it..) - Coach Lednar
Head of the CT
Another successful weekend...60+
kids and $250,000 worth of equipment to CT
on and off the water and home safe...... the
times and medals are just a
bonus.
Boys In a field of 38 crews.
First Varsity - Bronze medal winners, Fastest Boat from
New England,
Defeated Simsbury (silver medalists at 2004 NEIRA Champs.
(thats the biggie
at the end of the spring)
2nd Varsity - 12th place, the SHS first varsity finished
11th last year, Our
"B" boat defeated "A" boats from 14
other schools....not to mention 8 "B"
boats and numerous C and D crews.
3rd Varsity - 29th place
Girls in a field of 40 Crews
First Varsity - 9th place, third fastest boat among
true High School crews
(non composite club Teams)
2nd Varsity - 22nd place
3rd varsity - (a mix up in the timing system and bow number
assignment has
caused a delay in the results)
Coach L
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QRA Spring
Opener Sprints
Forty-Five degrees,
cloudy skies and a cold north tail wind was
the best Mother Nature could muster up for
the spring season opener at Lake Quinsigamond.
Whether is was fear of tough competition or
the cold, several school failed to attend
this weekends event scheduled against Lowell,
Cambridge Ringe & Latin, Barnstable, Worcester,
Brookline, Wayland/Weston. In the first event
SHS boys Varsity "A" boat rowed
against Lowell, Worcester and Cambridge Ringe
& Latin finishing first with a commanding
lead. In the boys second event The Varsity
"B" boat and the Novice boat competed
against Lowell and Worcester. It was a one,
two finish for the strong SHS boats.
On the girls
side, still trying to get the feel for their
brand new Quantum shell the girls Varsity
"A" boat blasted out of the start
only to be called back after 300 meters after
another boat had signaled a false start. After
realigning the boats for a re-start the SHS
girls ended up in 4th place behind Worcester,
Lowell and Cambridge Ringe & Latin. In
the girls second race the Varsity "B"
boat and Novice boat finished one - two respectively
ahead of Worcester and Lowell.
The
rowers all agreed they still had a lot of
cobwebs to shake out! No doubt you can expect
great results as the season progresses.
Simsbury Invitational
Can you say hurricane?
The wind was howling out of the north (tailwind)
for this one. Later on the wind shifted and
was a direct crosswind. In general it was
not the most successful outing for the SHS
rowers in quite some time. Although the boys
first varsity boat finished 4th, they were
very much in the hunt for most of the race.
The boys novice boat, rowing against the 3rd
varsity boats, faired quite while against
some seasoned, tough competition. On the girls
side, CRI dominated the regatta....period!
The club team from Cambridge swept all three
girls events. by big margins.
Middletown
Invitational
The first away
regatta of the season was held on the Connecticut
River in Middletown, CT on a perfect 75 degree
day. The boys first varsity boat was augmented
by rowers from the second boat due to members
of the crew being on trips abroad. The boat
really stepped it up in the race against Middletown.
Dodging floating trees, limbs and other debris
in the swollen river, It was neck and neck
for 1480 meters! A fantastic race that the
Middletown crew won by a bow ball in the last
20 meters! The boys second boat rowing against
a mixed Middletown/SHS boat easily won their
event. The girls first and second boats dominated
both races blowing away Middletown by two
to three boat lengths.
Lowell Invitational
Timing wise,
not a good date for a regatta with the Junior
prom the night before! Despite a lack of sleep
the SHS rowers had a very successful day.
The Lady Colonials, looking very proper with
the previous nights prom hair still somewhat
intact were first on the course. Racing with
the current and a slight tailwind, the Girls
2 Varsity 8 placed a strong third behind
some tough competition. The Girls 1st Varsity
boat was next, in their closest race of the
season. Battling hard for the entire 1500
meters the lead changed hands several times.
The girls fought back stoke for stroke and
finished First by 3 seat lengths against Hanover
HS. This was the first win for the newly dedicated
"Clink". Senior Jackie Martin coxed
an awesome race! The Boys 1st Varsity boat
started off the day by getting their boat
swamped by a power boat with race officials
aboard! This required the Boys to row to a
shallow area, get out of the boat, lift it
and empty the water! After all that they finished
third, a little under 6 seconds off the lead.
A very good effort by the Boys. Congrats to
all the rowers and especially the coxswains
for job well done! |
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Head of the Textile
10/05
Showing promise during
the 2003 Spring Season the SHS boys and girls
crew teams exploded into the fall season at the
Head of the Textile with very strong finishes. The
boys placed 4th in front of town rival St John's
2nd and 3rd boats and just behind 3 boats from
a very strong Chamindale HS team out of Long Island.
The boys team also posted a time 1 second faster
than St John's first boat, however SJ
ran in a different heat but on the same course.
This sets the stage for a great battle this season
culminating at the Foot of the Q. Misfortune,
was the word of the day for the boys 2nd boat
which hit a submerged log on the way to the start
breaking the boats rudder and rendering it unable
to compete.
On the girls side,
a very strong 4/cox placed 4th, while the 1st
and 2nd boats placed 3rd and 5th respectively.
The first boat was narrowly beaten by 2 strong
teams from Community Rowing in Cambridge, a program
that draws rowers from all over Eastern Mass.
No doubt the SHS ladies will be a force to be
reckoned with for the rest of the season!
NH Championships
10/11
A perfect fall day
with temps in the 70's set the stage for a great
day for the SHS boys rowers. Racing in a
strong field of 33 HS, collegiate and masters
teams, the boys first boat rowed to a second place
finish just 5.44 secs behind SJ The boys
second boat came back strong after missing last
weeks race with equipment problems. However, the
day was not to be without incident. Despite being
rammed by a UMass boat the crew had an impressive
fifth place finish. The novice rowers also competing
in the first race of the season finished 15th
overall (5th in the novice category) Shrewsbury
High School was the overall trophy winner! The
first time in the history of the race a High School
has won the team trophy!
On the Ladies side
the SHS 4/cox boat placed third just behind two
boats from The Derryfield School. In the Womens
Eights Division the 1st boat from Shrewsbury swept
38 HS and Collegiate teams taking the first place
medal by a commanding 14.12 seconds. In the same
division the 2nd boat from SHS finished the sixth
overall and third in junior category. The novice
boat, in their first race of the season, sporting
a team "war braids" hair style stunned
the field at the NH race by winning the novice
category and finishing 5th overall, 2 places
ahead of the 2nd boat! Shrewsbury girls rowing
is on everybody's radar screen!
Head of the Ct. 10/12
Head of the Charles
10/19
Shrewsbury HS boys
Varsity 1 boat racing in the Youth 8 division
against high school, club and college teams (Yale,
Harvard, U Penn, Brown etc.) finished 27th out
of a field of 51 boats. They were the 8th fastest
HS boat and THE FASTEST Massachusetts HS boat!
Foot of the Q
10/26
Mother nature took
a cue from the Head of the Ct and provided Lake
Quinsigamond with a mixture of rain and drizzle
Sunday. The good news was the temps were in the
50's! Shrewsbury Varsity 1st boat won the boys
division all alone at the finish line, followed
closely behind by the 2nd boat which finished
3rd. In the fours race SHS entered two boats which
came in 5th and 7th overall. Not to be outdone,
the boys novice boat rowed to a 1st place finish
in their division, rounding out one of the most
successful crew seasons in years for the SHS rowers
The girls varsity
finished boats finished 2nd and 3rd. In
the novice race the girls first novice boat finished
1st. The second novice boat finished
SHS won the overall
team trophy by a commanding 12 points |
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Head of the Textile
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|
| Boy's
Varsity "A" |
4th Place |
| Boy's
Varsity "B" |
Did not
start (broken skeg) |
| Girl's
Varsity 8 "A" |
3rd Place |
| Girl's
Varsity 8 "B" |
5th Place |
| Girl's
Varsity 4+ |
4th Place |
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NH
Championships
|
|
| Boy's Varsity
8 "A" |
2nd Place |
| Boy's
Varsity 8 "B" |
4th Place
(hit by UMass) |
| Boy's
Novice 8 |
5th Place |
| Girl's
Varsity 8 "A" |
1st Place |
| Girl's
Varsity 8 "B" |
3rd Place |
| Girl's
Novice 8 |
3rd Place |
| Girl's
Varsity 4+ |
3rd Place |
|
Head
of the Connecticut
|
|
| Boy's Varsity
8 "A" |
11th Place |
| Boy's
Varsity 8 "B" |
24th
Place |
| Girl's Varsity
8 "A" |
9th Place |
| Girl's
Varsity 8 "B" |
23rd
Place |
| Girl's
Varsity 4+ |
7th Place |
|
Head
of the Charles
|
|
| Boy's
Varsity 8 "A" |
8th Place
(HS) |
|
Foot
of the Q
|
|
| Boy's Varsity
8 "A" |
1st Place |
| Boy's
Varsity 8 "B" |
3rd
Place |
| Boy's Novice
8 |
1st Place |
| Boy's
Varsity 4+ "A" |
5th
Place |
| Boy's Varsity
4+ "B" |
7th Place |
| Girl's
Varsity 8 "A" |
2nd
Place |
| Girl's Varsity
8 "B" |
3rd Place |
| Girl's
Varsity 8 "C" |
9th
Place |
| Girl's
Novice 8 "A" |
1st Place |
| Girl's
Novice 8 "B" |
2nd
Place |
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