After a successful opening weekend, the Deerfield Boys’ Rowing team traveled to Quasset Lake for a match up with several strong teams from Dexter-Southfield, Groton, Taft, and regatta host Pomfret. The day proved to be a beautiful one for racing (and spectating) with blue skies and good water, although a healthy head wind made for some longer racing.
The afternoon began with the Boys 6V4+, a crew that was hitting the race course for the first time this spring and which featured several newcomers to the Deerfield team. PJ Block ’25 (stroke), Fred Chrysler ’24 (3), Barron Celli ’25 (2), Thomas Harrick ’23, and Sara Hassan ’23 (coxswain) led off the racing with a dynamic start and moved ahead of the boats from Taft and Pomfret. Over the course of race, the crew from Deerfield slowly extended their advantage, eventually crossing the line in a time of 6:19.7. Taft came through in 2nd with Pomfret rounding out the three boat field.
Up next was the 4V4+, a crew guided by Jackson Collins ’23 (coxswain) and powered by Johnnie Moriarty ’23 (stroke), Ben Sackrey ’25 (3), Finn Broder ’23 (2), and Jamie Weymouth ’23 (bow). In a race that played out in similar fashion to the 6V4+, the 4V4+ employed a strong starting sequence to move into the lead where they slowly edged away from fast crews from Taft, Groton, and Pomfret. Deerfield was able to cross the line first with a time of 5:33.7, followed by the boats from Taft, Groton, and Pomfret, in that order.
The next race on the course featured another line-up that was making its season debut. The 5V4+, comprised of Peter Kurto ’23 (stroke), Hudson McGuinness ’23 (3), Teddy Pappas ’24 (2), Hallsey Souder ’24 (bow), and Cornelia Streeter ’23 (coxswain), maturely navigated a minor collision at the start of the race which prompted a restart. The second time through saw a clean start for both crews and, much like the previous races, the Deerfield crew was able to push it’s bow out in front. They consistently moved away from the Taft crew and crossed the line in a time of 6:07.6, almost 20 seconds ahead of the Rhinos.
Next up was the 3V4+, which featured a full field with crews from Dexter-Southfield, Groton, Pomfret, and Taft. Off the line, all crews were hard-charging and there was lots of overlap in the first few hundred meters. As boats shifted into the base rhythm, the Deerfield crew made a decisive move to push their bow out front and they continued to press away from the field. The boat, stroked by Erol Barrett ’22 and backed up by Theo Deinard ’23 (3), Morgan Haisman ’23 (2), Casey Smith ’22 (bow), was expertly driven down the course by Ginger Bernstein ’25 (coxswain) and crossed the line with a time of 5:31.3. Deerfield was followed by Groton in 2nd, Taft in 3rd, Pomfret in 4th, and then Dexter-Southfield.
The Boys 2V4+ set up for the second to last race of the day and did their best to mimic the race plan established by their teammates. A strong start by all boats made for a very competitive opening section of the race, but the shift to base saw the Deerfield crew of Alex Judelson ’22 (stroke), Trey Souder ’22 (3), Charles Richards ’23 (2), Granger Savage ’22 (bow) and Darien Chiang ’23 (coxswain) establish a strong rhythm that moved them out to the front of the pack. They were able to maintain their advantage throughout the final 1000 meters of the race to cross the line first with a time of 5:37.9. They were followed by Groton, Taft, and Dexter-Southfield, who just held off a strong finish from Pomfret.
The final race of the day proved to be the closest as well. The 1V4+ matched up five strong crews and saw all the competing athletes push the pace the full length of the course. The Deerfield crew of John Patton ’23 (stroke), Oscar Patton ’23 (3), Nick Gaensler ’22 (2), George Fauver ’22 (bow), and Lucas Zheng ’23 (coxswain) established a slim lead in the opening strokes and slowly nudged it out during the first half of the race. By the 750-meter mark, both Groton and Taft were still in striking distance, but a good push to start the second half of the race allowed the Deerfield boat to edge out to an open water advantage. They were able to maintain this to the finish, crossing the line with a time of 5:16.2, just a little ahead of impressive crews from Groton and Taft, who finished 2nd and 3rd, respectively. Dexter-Southfield captured 4th and Pomfret rounded out the field.
Full results can be found here.
The top four Deerfield crews will head to Lake Waramaug in Washington, CT for the Founder’s Day Regatta on Sunday, May 8, which they will race against eleven other crews from across New England in a full day regatta (heats in the morning and finals in the afternoon).
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Address for Pomfret School Blodgett Boathouse: 154-68 W Quasset Rd, Woodstock, CT 06281