Boys’ Crew Dazzles in First Win of Season

After months of physical training, weeks of rowing together and an hour and a half bus ride, Exeter’s boys’ crew arrived in Worcester, Mass. last Saturday to compete in its first race of the season. Despite being hampered by the weather, Big Red came out strong right out of the gates, securing a 1st place victory for B1 and narrowly placing 2nd for B2.

It was a very breezy day in Worcester, with winds reported around 20 mph. The offshore gusts proved strong enough push some of the lower boats out of their lanes before the races began, which also made times hard to judge. 

“The weather proved difficult for our boat, as it pushed us four seats behind before the race had even started,” senior Michael Eaton, a rower for the 2nd boat, said. 

Exeter’s first boat pulled immediately into a contest for the lead, however, staying right alongside Andover until the final stretch.

“It was windy and the water was choppy on Lake Quinsigamond,” senior co-captain Sam Helms said. “We emerged from the start head to head with Brookline and Andover, battling within two seats for the first 1000 meters before breaking their spirit in the final 500 meters of the race and pulling ahead for a victory of open water.”

PEA’s impressive B1 time of 4:08.7 placed the boat 2.2 seconds ahead of Andover for the final, and a full six seconds ahead of third-place Brookline. It was also eight seconds faster than the last official race Exeter’s B1 recorded: 4:16.98, which won Big Red the 2013 NEIRAs. In fact, this time was lower than any official time put up by Exeter during a race last year: a good sign for a team that hopes to repeat its championship. 

“For the first race of the season, it was pretty solid,” senior Lakin Vitton said. “We got off the line quickly and pretty much stayed two seats ahead of Andover until the last 500 meters, where we surged ahead. We need to work on rowing together, but all things considered, a good start to the racing season.”

Though B2 got off to a more difficult start, the rowers showed their potential, charging toward the lead, and in the end finishing with a time of 4:32.5, just one second behind Andover’s B2.

“Considering most other schools have been on the water for well over a month, our boat was very pleased with our performance this past weekend,” Eaton said. “Our winter training really paid off. By the last minute of the race, we got even stronger than we started and found ourselves able to break away from every other crew except Andover. But, with a loss by only two or three seats, we are very optimistic about our future.”

Coming up for Exeter crew next will be a race this Saturday at Kent, who came in second to Exeter at the NEIRA’s last year. 

“Our goal now is to work on some of the more precise aspects of the race, such as starts and sprints,” Eaton said. “In other words, our power is there. Now it is simply a matter of adjusting back fully to being on the river and getting the shell moving as efficiently as possible. A win at Kent this weekend will put us in one of the top positions in the hunt for gold at NEIRA’s.”