In the men’s high school open event at the Jan. 26 Main Line Slide at Lower Merion High School, two Archbishop Carroll rowers turned in impressive performances in indoor 2000-meter races on rowing machines. Julian McPherson, a junior, placed ninth out of 89, while his teammate Kieran Kelly, a senior, placed 10th.
“I liked my placement,” McPherson said. “It’s nice to see how I was top ten out of [almost] 90 people. I liked the race atmosphere of the team, cheering other people on. I disliked how I didn’t PR, and how I didn’t go under my usual splits. Between the race and the warmup, my knees were getting tired. I wish I could’ve done better, but I did pretty good. Ideally, I would like to get my PR at a race instead of practice.”
This race, filled with highly competitive rowers from all backgrounds, opens up both opportunities to achieve personal goals and learn from errors. Kelly characterized his performance as a learning opportunity.
“I didn’t quite hit my target time, but I learned a lot about my racing strategy and what I need to work on before my last spring season at Carroll,” Kelly said. “It’s great to have events like this to test ourselves and get ready for the competition ahead.”
Junior Patrick Grow, placed 88th out of 89 in the Men’s High School Open.
“Main Line Slide was a blast this year,” Grow said. “What I liked most was definitely the energy. People yelled words of encouragement during each heat and it made each event feel ecstatic. … The race itself was tough and my heat ended up getting delayed, but it didn’t affect anything in the end, since most of the crew team ended up placing near the top in their races. … Overall, the competition was extremely competitive and I can’t wait for next year’s Main Line Slide.”
