Two weeks before the May 3 and 4 City Championship in Philadelphia, the Archbishop Carroll crew had been practicing in the cold mornings when the Schuylkill looked more like a mirror than a river and in the hot, humid afternoons where the sun beat down on coaches, coxswains, and rowers alike. Their hard work led to a tense weekend for Carroll’s boats. The adrenaline rush of watching and racing, wondering if they qualified for the semifinals, seized all four lineups.
In the end, only three qualified to compete with some of the top lineups in the state. Crews must place in the top 12 in their qualifying races to compete in the semifinals. The three lineups that made it were the girls junior varsity four (Caroline Gonzalez, Annabel Cook, Sophie McCready, Grace Lazzari, Mia Perez), girls varsity four (Analei Frank, Kelly McGee, Dana Williams, Isabella Maxymuik, Mia Perez), and boys varsity four (Colin McClarren, Julian McPherson, Joseph Lazzari, John Smith, Aliza Rivera).
Although they did not make the semi-finals, the second boys’ varsity four fought strenuously for their spot. This lineup included Kieran Kelly, Christian Blake, Patrick Grow, Tino Russo, and Luke Paquette.
The girls junior varsity four had some new faces this year, as Gonzalez and Grace Lazzari joined the team for the first time in the fall. Despite the novices in the boat, the girls placed ninth out of 22 boats, earning their spot in the semifinals, where they came in last.
“I’m so amazed at our placement!” junior rower Sophie McCready said. “I feel like Mia’s coaching helped us remain focused in the boat during this race. I’m so grateful to be able to race in such an efficient lineup.”
The girls placed last, however.
“We didn’t make the finals, but that’s okay,” McCready said. “Making the semifinals was enough for me.”
The girls varsity four placed seventh out of 20 boats to get into the semifinals, where they placed ninth, making them unable to row in the finals the day after.
“I’m glad we placed rather high for this race, making semifinals is impressive in and of itself,” junior rower Isabella Maxymuik said. “I work so well with this lineup, consistently putting in the work during morning and afternoon practices, and it shows. The numbers speak for themselves!”
Carroll put two boys varsity fours in the City Championship. The A lineup made the semifinals, placing seventh overall.
“I feel like today’s race is a lesson above all,” said sophomore John Smith of the Varsity A lineup. “I get it. Crew is probably one of the most competitive sports out there, so it’s really a dog-fight once you hit the water. After the fatigue wears off, and everyone in the boat has caught their breath, it almost feels rewarding knowing that we placed in the top half for this race. The semifinals didn’t feel as rough as our qualifying race, and I feel like that’s because we got a little too confident, which probably explains our placement.”
The B lineup placed 18th.
“This race was definitely an improvement from last week’s,” said Varsity B junior rower Christian Blake. “Again, I am hoping to get more time in the boat since we had only practiced yesterday. The conditions were probably the greatest factor in our placement. We all saw subtle whitecaps in the water, and we weren’t even sure if our race would get pushed back or not.”
As the racing season comes to an end, the final race will take place on May 16-17 on Kelly Drive for the Stotesbury Cup. Similar to the Manny Flicks, the Stotesbury Cup is 1,500 meters. However, instead of a competition involving Philadelphia Scholastic Rowing Association teams only, crews will be coming from all ends of the country, making this the largest high school rowing event in the world. Additionally, the top varsity lineups from the boys and girls teams are making efforts to petition for a spot for the Scholastic Rowing Association of America Youth Nationals, a race taking place May 23-24 on the Cooper River in Pennsauken, N.J.. To qualify, crews must either make the top three in major races championship races such as the Mid-Atlantic Youth Nationals, the Philadelphia City Championship, or petition for a spot by providing consistent results, such as placing top half, high enough to make the semifinals.
