On Saturday, May 25 the Big Green boys and girls rowing teams each captured the New England Interscholastic Rowing Association team title in the eights. The boys team earned back-to-back championships and the girls team earned its first ever team victory in the eights at the NEIRA Championship.
With the victories, both of the boys and girls top-two boats qualified for the upcoming 2024 US Rowing Youth National Championships. National championship racing will be hosted at Nathan Benderson Park in Sarasota, FL from June 6 to 9, 2024.
At the NEIRA Championship hosted at Lake Quinsigamond in Worcester, MA, the Big Green boys and girls teams each raced three eights boats with qualifying races happening in the morning. Each of the Big Green boats qualified in their early heat for their respective Grand Final races in the afternoon.
In the girls 3V eight boat, the Big Green finished in third place in their heat, earning their spot in the Grand Final. In the Grand Final, the Doors finished in second place with a time of 5:35.167 behind St. Paul’s.
The girls 2v eight boat followed with three opening qualifying heats. The Big Green paced the rest of the crews earning a first place finish and setting the best time amongst all three heats (5:24.667). The Green and White continued their winning ways into the Grand Final, crossing the finish line in first place with a commanding time of 5:29.633 with Andover trailing seven seconds behind in second place.
Up next was the girls 1V race, again there were three qualifying races to open. The Big Green won the third heat (5:10.080) to earn their sport in the Grand Final later in the evening. In a thrilling race, the Green & White crossed the finish line in second place only three seconds behind Exeter.
On the boys side, the Big Green 3V eights opened their racing with a victory in their qualify heat with a time of 4:48.391 which earned their place as one of the top-six boats in the Grand Final. With less than a second separating the first and second finishes, the Big Green claimed the silver medal with a time of 4:45.788, only slightly behind Exeter (4:44.960).
The boys 2V eights also won their opening qualifying heat (4:39.466) to earn their seed in the Grand Final. The Big Green commanded the race in the Grand Final, crossing the finish line ahead of the other five competing boats with a time of 4:44.741. They were followed at the finish by second-place Exeter with a time of 4:55.356.
Inspired by the earlier boys 2v and 3v races, the Big Green boys 1v crew took to the water in their opening heat and earned their place in the final with a first place finish and a time of 4:28.835. In another exciting race, the Green & White crew edged all of their Grand Final opponents to be the first boat to cross the finish line and capture the gold medal with a time of 4:31.782. With a sprint to the finish, the Big Green edged second-place Andover (4:32.186).
RESULTS SUMMARY
Girls Eights:
1V – 2nd Place Grand Final
2V – 1st Place Grand Final
3V – 2nd Place Grand Final
Boys Eights:
1V – 1st Place Grand Final
2V – 1st Place Grand Final
3V – 2nd Place Grand Final
Click here for the complete NEIRA results.
Congratulations to all of the Big Green rowers and coaches on their 2024 season!
The boys and girls top-two boats will continue their training and preparation for the upcoming 2024 US Rowing Youth National Championships. Stay tuned for updates on the Big Green’s racing schedule.
We look forward to continuing to cheer on both teams!