Carroll crew competed in the first fall regatta of the 2025 season: the Head of the Schuylkill Regatta.
In the men’s high school varsity coxed four, the senior crew placed 42nd out of 58 boats.
“It went well,” Julian McPherson said as he de-rigged the boat. “We kept a higher rate, we didn’t crash our energy, we passed a boat, almost caught on to another boat. Another boat did a catch up on us, but they were, like, European rowers, so, you know.”
Senior rower Joseph Lazzari had some critiques on the boat’s condition during the piece.
“We did pretty good,” Lazzari said grimly, “but we could’ve had better handle heights to have an improved set throughout the race.”
The “set” refers to the balance of the boat. This wholly depends on the outer handle placement of the oar against the boat’s gunnel (flat area that lines the opening of the boat). If the handle is too close to the gunnel, the blade of the oar will be too far from the water during the recovery portion of the stroke, causing the crew member to be later than those around them. Conversely, if the handle is too far from the gunnel, the rower risks the possibility of “catching a crab.” This term is used to refer to the action of an oar getting lodged under the water at an odd angle, causing the oar handle to be quickly flung away from the rower, making them lose control or even risk ejection from the boat if they hold on.
The women’s varsity came in 53rd out of 58 boats. Despite the lower placement, the girls were elated to have completed their first fall race of the season and remained in high spirits. That was demonstrated by junior rower Caroline Gonzalez.
“My first 4k, and my first fall race!” Gonzalez exclaimed excitedly. “I think it went well. We have two more [races] for the next two weekends and they’re definitely going to be a lot better. What matters is that we made it to the end, so kind of proud, you know?”
The Head of the Schuylkill Regatta, which happened last weekend, is held annually on the familiar Kelly Drive course. The Head of the Schuylkill Regatta spans a whopping 2.36 mile (3.8k meter) race course that trumps the Stotesbury Cup Regatta’s 0.93 miles (1.5k meters), which was held earlier this year in the same location. More than 250 clubs competed in the Head of the Schuylkill Regatta this year, with 2,375 registered boats spread throughout 155 categories. Some of these categories included, but were not limited to: men’s/women’s high school varsity singles, men’s/women’s high school doubles, men’s/women’s high school quads, and men’s/women’s high school coxed fours, which was the category that Carroll registered two boats under.
Carroll Crew will partake in two more fall races before moving on to winter training: The Hidden River Chase on Sunday at Kelly Drive (2k meters, which is the standard length for races), and The Frostbite Regatta on Nov. 8 in Princeton, N.J. (also 2k meters).
