The Deerfield Boys’ Rowing team opened their 2022 spring season on Saturday, April 23, on Lake Quinsigamond in Worcester, MA. Under blue skies with a light following tailwind, Deerfield boats lined up for their first official races in three years and despite the long layoff and the many new faces in the various lineups, each boat seized the opportunity to compete with energy and excitement.
The second varsity four led the day off as they matched up against strong crews from Brooks, St. Mark’s, and Middlesex. The Deerfield boat, comprised of Morgan Haisman ’23 (stroke), Charles Richards ’23 (3), Granger Savage ’22 (2), Casey Smith ’22 (bow) and coxed by Darien Chiang ’23, started well and found themselves locked in a good battle with Brooks, who had put together a very aggressive start. Both crews began to pull away from St. Mark’s and Middlesex, but neither could shake the other. As the race moved into the second 500 meters, the Deerfield boat slowly began to edge out and established a small lead. In the final 500 meters, Deerfield was able to add to their advantage before crossing the line with a time of 4:58.5, almost 5 seconds ahead of Brooks. Middlesex came through in 3rd with St. Mark’s finishing in 4th.
Up next was the first varsity race which featured the Deerfield combination of John Patton ’23 (stroke), Oscar Patton ’23 (3), Nick Gaensler ’22 (2), George Fauver ’22 (bow) and coxswain Lucas Zheng ’23. This crew was lined up against talented boats from Brooks, Middlesex, St. Mark’s, and the Frederick Gunn School. Strong starts from all crews saw a tightly packed field in the opening strokes before Deerfield and Brooks began to pull away from the field. These two boats battled through the first 500 meters before Deerfield was able to establish an advantage in the middle 500. The crew was able to continue to push out and eventually hit the line with a time of 4:45.3, a little more than 9 seconds ahead of a hard charging Brooks crew. Middlesex finished in 3rd with a very tight finished between St. Mark’s and Frederick Gunn wrapping up the race.
The fourth varsity followed and featured just two crews – Deerfield and Brooks. It was another great race that unfolded in similar fashion to the earlier races with both boats very competitive in the opening strokes before Deerfield was able to begin to move to the lead in the middle 500. The group of Erol Barrett ’22 (stroke), Jamie Weymouth ’23 (3), Johnnie Moriarty ’23 (2), Hudson McGuinness ’23 (bow), and Jackson Collins ’23 (coxswain) continue to push their advantage in the final 500 meters and cross the line with a time of 5:20.9, almost 8 seconds ahead of Brooks.
The racing concluded with an impressive effort from the third varsity four who employed a slightly different race strategy that saw launch off the line and establish an early advantage, which they never gave up. The crew of Alex Judelson ’22 (stroke), Trey Souder ’22 (3), Finn Broder ’23 (2), Theo Deinard ’23 (bow), and Ginger Bernstein ’25 (coxswain) were aggressive from the opening strokes and never let up. They hit the line in a time of 4:59.7, almost 22 seconds ahead of Brooks. St. Mark’s finished in 3rd.
Full results can be found here.
Overall, it was a solid day of racing and exciting for everyone to be back on a race course. The team looks forward to traveling to Wappaquasset Pond on Saturday, April 30 for their match up with Dexter-Southfield, Groton, Pomfret, and Taft.
In addition to their race on the Pomfret home course, the boys 1V4 and 2V4 will travel to the Saratoga Invitational in Saratoga Spring, NY for racing on Sunday, May 1.
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For directions to the Quinsigamond Rowing Association, click here.
Address: Donahue Rowing Center at 237 N Quinsigamond Ave, Shrewsbury, MA 01545