Boys’ Crew Wins Big Over Kent School

By: Kate Rose, Catherine Wu

The Academy’s varsity boys’ crew team rowed towards their victory on April 30. The top four boats swept their competitors, Kent School, at St. Paul’s. With a great start to the season, the team has trained hard and emerged victorious against some of their biggest rivals this year.

Senior Russel Tam shared the rivalry between Kent and Big Red’s rowing teams. “In the past, when we got second in NEIRAs (New England Interscholastic Rowing Association Championships), Kent would be the one who got first,” Tam said. “They have been top of the NEIRA League and Coach Leger couldn’t emphasize more how big of a test this could be for us… Yet seeing that we had beat them in a scrimmage last year, we were also hopeful that this may be our year to prevail.”

The team had unfortunate prior training due to weather circumstances, yet their efforts were well paid off. “Training for this race wasn’t too different compared to our typical practices. The weather during the previous week had been really windy, and the day before our race required an abbreviated practice due to the choppy conditions,” lower Carter Otis said.

“There were days where the river would be really wavy due to a lot of wind, and that caused the practice to be not that great or keep us on land,” Huang agreed. “Our rows got steadily better throughout the week, and on Friday, we were cruising relatively well. And of course, Saturday went well.”

Despite the weather circumstances during the prior week, “We made the most out of our time and kept working really hard,” senior Andreas Lorgen said. “I think we showed a lot of resilience that week.”

Upper Ryan Kim explains, “One of our captains, Alex Luque, tested positive for COVID a few days before the race, but instead of letting that dismantle us, we embraced it and worked harder than ever. Shoutout to Henry Blakemore, who moved up to the first boat in place of Alex and had a great race.” Despite the unfortunate news, the team still performed extremely well and Alex’s teammates readily stepped up in his absence. 

Many members of the team shared their overall experiences at the race. “It was great!” captain and upper Weiyi Huang said. “The team has gotten really close over the past few weeks. Everyone has been pushing each other on and making the entire team get faster.”

“It wouldn’t be wrong to say that we were all nervous before the race; Kent was a relatively big challenge for us… Yet, after our races, we were all ecstatic to have claimed the four wins. Everyone was celebrating with each other, regardless of what boat you were on really; everyone’s really tight with each other, and there’s really a great culture being built throughout this season in the team,” Huang continued. 

Coxswain and upper Ryan Kim expressed his thoughts on the overall atmosphere of the race. “The atmosphere was great,” Kim said. “A lot of parents attended the race, and the team was very energetic.”

Lower Carter Otis described the race day weather, explaining, “The race course, especially the start and the warm-up area were windy, and there were a couple waves that splashed into the boat.”

“The sun had a cautious heat to it,” lower Kevin Treehan added, “almost as if it was conscious that we’d have to rip it down the lake in a bit and didn’t want to tire us out. Winds were high. Love was in the air. Perfect for a challenging day of racing.”

Overall, the team performed well and athletes shared their individual and boat performances. “The first boat won by 4.7 seconds, which translates to a little more than a boat length. It's the first time the 1st boat has beaten Kent in a few years, so we're happy with the result. Nevertheless, we still have a lot to improve on, and are working hard to find more speed as we near the end of the season,” Kim said.

“As the stroke seat of B1, a lot of the piece’s execution falls on me, especially the stroke rate and the rhythm of my stroke, and I think although I do have some spots I can touch up on, it was a decent execution to set the tone for the race. There are still things I will work on, and hopefully, it’ll be even better at our next race this weekend against Hanover,” Huang said.

Lower Rohan Radhakeesoon similarly noted, “We did really well, the boat was moving together, everyone was in sync. Kent’s boat was pretty close to us at the start so we had to fight back a bit.”

Other boats on the team, such as Boat Two, “Did really well!” lower Parker Seymour noted. “The set in our boat was really solid. We had a very nice and flat start, and right off the bat we were pretty quick. We held our lead and made it larger and larger throughout the race!”

“Our boat (B3) performed exceptionally well,” Tam said, “winning by almost 10 boat lengths and coming behind B2 by only 6 seconds. Our boat had amazing balance (one of the hardest yet most important feats to achieve in rowing) and everyone was able to push hard on the water. It was a day to remember and be proud of.”

Members of the team reminisced on their highlights from Kent’s meet. “Favorite memory must be when we were crossing the finish line with all the fans on the river bank. Our Cox, JJ, pointed to his mom in the stands. It was really touching,” lower Sangye Sherpa noted.

From a different perspective, Tam noted, “When our boat coxswain Jonathan Jeun flexed his biceps to the crowd as we crossed the finishing line almost 10 lengths ahead of Kent. Not sure if that was entirely appropriate but he showed how we all felt inside.”

Huang described the post race vibe, stating, “Everyone was celebrating with each other, regardless of what boat you were on really; everyone’s really tight with each other, and there’s really a great culture being built throughout this season in the team.”
On a broader scale, “The team performed quite well against Kent,” Otis said. “I don’t think that we had expected such a good result, but we were certainly happy to win. The race course, especially the start and the warm-up area were windy, and there were a couple waves that splashed into the boat.”

“Overall, it was really exciting to see all four boats sweep Kent, especially B4 (the fourth varsity boat) who along with our B3 raced Kent’s B3 and beat them. That’s some really hype stuff — it really shows the depth of the team and the power throughout the team. Personally, I’m really excited to see these guys get older and get faster and to see where the team overall achieves in the next few years,” Huang agreed.

Regarding the team spirit, “The team atmosphere was really good. Shoutout to all the Exeter crew parents who organized an amazing food tent and supported us the entire day, they make every race day so much better. Our team is just taking this season one day at a time and one race at a time, trying to get better every day and every week, and we can't wait to see what the rest of the season brings us,” Lorgen added.

“Our team captain talked to us beforehand and motivated our boat to win, and coach Leger motivated us to push ourselves for the race. When it was time to race, even though we were a bit anxious, we were all ready and felt well prepared to race,” Radhakeesoon noted.

“We'll see Kent again at NEIRAS (New England Interscholastic Regatta). They'll be looking for revenge, and I'm looking forward to seeing how much they improve in the next few weeks. As for now, we're just focusing on the next race, and improving a little every day. We have a very determined and dedicated team this year and will be working incredibly hard over the next few weeks to become as fast as possible,” Kim concluded.