Yesterday, in the championship A final at the 2018 US Rowing Youth National Championships in Gold River, CA the boys varsity rowing team captured the gold medal in the men’s 4+ division. It is the second time in as many years that Deerfield has captured this prestigious trophy, securing the title of the fastest 4+ youth boat in the country in back-to-back years.
Again this year, the boys rowing team captured the New England Interscholastic Rowing Association Championships team title to further this season’s theme of back-to-back titles! Furthermore, the team collected additional hardware throughout the course of the regular season as they went undefeated in their five races leading up to the NEIRA Championships at the end of May.
In the two weeks between the NEIRA Championships and the National Championships, the Deerfield crew incorporated two new members (Phil Weymouth ’18 and Tommy Gilmore ’19 replaced Lachlan Cormie ’18 and Vanja Obradovic ’18, who, as post-graduates, are not eligible to race at the Youth National Championships). Additionally, the crew adjusted to the added 500 meter distance (Nationals is raced over 2000 meters whereas crews race 1500 meters at the NEIRA Championships).
The Big Green crew which included Phil Weymouth ’18, Tommy Gilmore ’20, Henry Lowe ’19, Jimmy Patton ’20, and Henry Hayden ’18 earned their spot in the finals by winning the opening time trial on Friday morning. They then won their semifinal heat on Saturday to secure their berth into the six-boat championship race.
In the championship race on Sunday, the boys rowed out to an early lead and never looked back. The Deerfield crew gained an open water advantage over the other five boats in the field. In the final 250 meters of the race, the boats from Belmont Hill and PNRA/Mercer made a push for the lead, but the Deerfield boys made a final push of their own to be the first boat to cross the finish line with a time of 6:43.475. Fellow east coast crew Belmont Hill earned the silver medal crossing the finish line at 6:45.565. Belmont Hill also captured the silver medal at the 2018 NEIRA Championships behind the Big Green crew. PNRA/Mercer finished in third place, crossing the finish line at 6:45.964.
A huge congratulations to Phil Weymouth ’18, Tommy Gilmore ’20, Henry Lowe ’19, Jimmy Patton ’20, Henry Hayden ’18, and the coaches, Coach Washburn, Chapin and Morris on another epic season!
Results from the 2018 US Rowing Youth National Championships can be found here.
Video from the 2018 US Rowing Youth National Championship Finals can be found here.