The Boys’ Rowing Team kicked of their 2025 season by heading to Methuen, MA for a full day of racing on the Merrimack River. Hosted by Phillips Academy, this new event provided opportunity for the NEIRA-eligible crews (1V8, 2V8, and 3V8) to race twice while the 4V8 and 5V8 raced once against a multi-boat field. Along with Andover, Deerfield was joined by perennial NEIRA contenders BC High School and St. John’s Prep.
The day began with the Deerfield crews lining up against a strong Andover program. In the first race of the day, the Deerfield 1V8 matched a fast Andover start and stayed with them through the first couple hundred meters. As both crews settled into their base speed, Deerfield began to edge out, eventually opening an advantage they held through the finish line, crossing 7.7 seconds ahead of Andover.
Following that race, the Deerfield 2V8 lined up with Andover and again matched their start before showing slightly better base speed over the balance of the race. They edged away continuously, hitting the finish line almost 14 seconds ahead of Andover.
In the 3V8 race, a similar scenario played out with both crews executing solid starts before the Deerfield crew began to move away throughout the second half of the race. They maintained good composure and stayed on the attack, finishing the race 12 seconds ahead of the Andover boat.
After a short break, the Deerfield 4V8 took to the water and raced down the course against a field made up of crews from Andover, BC High School, and St. John’s Prep. All four boats launched off the start, but it was Deerfield who was able to push their bow out first, earning an advantage they wouldn’t give back. They cross the line ahead of Andover with BC High coming in 3rd and St. John’s Prep right behind in 4th.
The Deerfield 5V8 wrapped up the first round of racing with an exceptionally exciting race. They started fast and led the field early before a big push from Andover propelled them to the front. The Deerfield crew did well to respond and were closing fast as they approached the finish line, only to run out of racetrack, finishing second to Andover by .6 seconds with the Andover 6V8 almost 20 seconds behind. St. John’s Prep finished 4th.
Following a second break, the top three crews returned to the water to race BC High School, who has finished ahead of St. John’s Prep during their morning racing. In a matchup between the winning crews from the morning racing, Deerfield against earned victories in all three events, crossing the line ahead of BC High by 12.3 seconds in the 1V8, by 14 seconds in the 2V8, and by 12.6 seconds in the 3V8.
The day proved to be a successful start to the season with all Deerfield crews racing well against very strong competition. A special note to acknowledge those athletes who were competing in GREEN for the first time:
Jackson Violich ’25 (1V8)
Leo Friedman ’26 (2V8)
Harrison Mankey ’27 (2V8)
William Wiegand-Hammond ’27 (2V8)
Peter Andren ’28 (3V8)
Clark Hess ’28 (3V8)
JJ Kicza ’28 (3V8)
Thomas Schwarting ’27 (3V8)
Peter Van Nice ’28 (3V8)
Ian Henry ’28 (4V8)
PJ Pirsch ’28 (4V8)
Nate Ugwonali ’27 (4V8)
Thomas Forrest ’28 (5V8)
Peter Lakey ’28 (5V8)
Arthur Manice ’27 (5V8)
Anthony Mariani ’26 (5V8)
Robert Wickenden ’28 (5V8)
Full race results can be found here (Andover), here (BC High) and here (the 4V8 and 5V8).
Up next, the team will travel to Hanover, NH on May 3 to compete against Hanover High School and Phillips Exeter Academy.