May 8, 2008 Issue                                       

©2007 The Chestnut Hill Local

Local crews take 11 medals at City Championships
by TOM UTESCHER

Chestnut Hill Academy’s JV Quad rowers won the silver medal in their event at the Philadelphia City Championships, but their expressions at the finish line show they were hoping for more. (Photo by Tom Utescher)

Overall, area rowers had a good outing at the Philadelphia City Championships last Sunday, although there were a few surprises and disappointments along the way.

More than regional bragging rights were at stake at the regatta, since the event is also a regional qualifier for the annual U.S. Rowing Youth National Championships. Crews which finished either first or second at City’s earned the right to row at the national event in Cincinnati in the middle of June.

Mount St. Joseph Academy came home with three gold medals, two silvers and a bronze, but the most prestigious prize, a varsity eight medal, eluded the Magic. Chestnut Hill Academy had a third of its entries eliminated in the qualifying rounds, but the boats that got through to the finals garnered one gold medal and three silvers.

All of Springside’s boats made it through qualifying, but the Lions’ fast JV quad “A” boat encountered a calamity while rowing upriver towards the starting line for the finals. Instead, it was up to the “B” JV quad to step up and collect a silver medal.

Mount head coach megan Kennedy (left) joins members of the magic’s second Eight as they are awarded the gold medal at the City’s last Sunday.

Because of the limited number of entries in their categories, Springside’s lightweight double and its two freshman quads went straight into a final race without qualifying, but none came away with medals.

The Lions’ varsity double (Julia Ryan [stroke], Jeanne Shotzbarger) qualified second out of eight boats in their head race and the varsity quad [Carolyn Chisholm (stroke), Tija Bross, Lucy Rice, Holly Bailey] was timed third out of nine vessels in its qualifying run. Both would finish fourth in the finals.

Staffed by Jenn Arcidiacono (stroke), Katherine Roberts, Katie Fitzkee, and Kelsey Trueblood, the “A” JV Quad has been Springside’s most successful boat this spring, and it was the fastest of 15 quads in the head racing on Sunday. Later, the Lions were rushing upriver along the west bank to line-up for the finals when they strayed too close to shore. The boat struck an overhanging tree limb, which delivered a bone bruise to the shoulder of Trueblood, the bow rower, while also destroying the rigger that held her oar. Race over.

Springside’s less experienced “B” boat [Laura Chisholm (stroke), Meg Speight, Victoria Iannarone, Larissa Sfedu], which had undergone a line-up change just that morning when one of the original members fell sick overnight, was left as the lone Lions entry in the JV final. They had qualified fifth, but they surged to a silver medal in the final race, coming in just 1.6 seconds behind victorious Montclair (NJ) and ahead of third-place Sacred Heart.

“I think they took it upon themselves to redeem Springside,” coach Silke Brunner observed. “I’m very proud of them, because they’re a younger group of girls and they’ve played second fiddle to the other quad most of the season.”

At Mount St. Joseph Academy, eights are the thing, but one of the Mount fours earned a moment in the limelight last Sunday. Timed second in a field of 25 in the head racing, the Magic’s JV four found itself neck-and-neck with top qualifier Haddonfield in the final as the two broke from the rest of the field. The Mount sprinted first and held off its Jersey rival to win the gold medal by 1.7 seconds.

The Mount’s second eight left no doubt that it was the best crew out of the eight original entries in its category, putting up the best qualifying time and then taking the gold over runner-up Atlantic City with a split of 5.59 seconds.

The lightweight eight has had its hands full all season with a determined Holy Spirit octet. The Magic qualified first, 2.24 second ahead of Spirit, but the final race was closer. Beginning to come alongside the grandstand, Mount St. Joe was holding only about a seat over Spirit, but the Magic’s final strokes gave them the victory by about half-a-length, with a one-and-a-half second margin.

After qualifying first, the JV eight came within about half-a-second of copping a fourth gold medal for the Mount. At the bottom of Peter’s Island with a few hundred meters to go, the Magic were roughly even with Mainland, which then began its sprint. The counter by the Mount came just a tad too late; they were closing the gap at the finish line, but fell short by 0.52 seconds and settled for silver.

Mount St. Joe’s younger eights also medaled, with the freshmen qualifying second and maintaining that spot for the silver medallion, while the novices were third both in the head racing and in the championship contest.

The lightweight four “A” boat qualified second out of 15 hopefuls, but then came in fourth in the finals, the same place earned by the Mount’s varsity eight. Instead of starting off with head races, the V-8’s competed in two regular heats, with the top three boats in each section moving on to the finals. The Magic finished second it its heat behind Holy Spirit and ahead of surprisingly feisty Radnor.

For spectators gazing far up the course during the final, it was already apparent that the Magic weren’t in it. Bishop Eustace defended its 2007 city title in convincing fashion, and was followed by medalists Mainland and Holy Spirit. The Magic were fourth, 5.81 seconds off the lead, while Oakcrest and Radnor were well back in fifth and sixth. One of the Magic rowers had been racing while suffering from a stomach virus, but it’s a good bet that Mount practices will focus on more than intestinal issues in the two weeks leading up to the Stotesbury Cup Regatta.

Chestnut Hill Academy didn’t get off to the best start last Sunday, as its novice single, novice quad “B” boat, and its JV four all fell by the wayside during qualifying. Going straight into the final round, CHA’s freshman quad was one of just two entries, and the other boat won. The Blue Devils’ varsity single didn’t have to qualify either, but it suffered a similar fate in the finals.

At the end of the day, however, things looked better for Chestnut Hill, as all of its rowers who were left standing came away with at least a silver medal. After serving in the JV quad all spring, junior Phil Schweitzer went off in a JV single last Sunday. He was timed first out of a dozen boats in the head race, then he produced the Devils’ lone gold medal of the day, winning the final by 3.66 seconds over a Conestoga competitor.

Pete Miller and Sam Franklin, who’d also begun their season in a quad before their varsity boat was disbanded several weeks ago, took the silver medal in the varsity double. They qualified first out of 11 duos, and in the finals they came in 2.27 seconds behind Haverford School and 3.2 seconds ahead of the number two qualifier, Roman Catholic.

The Devils’ “A” novice quad proved consistent as it finished second in both the head racing and in the finals. Here, the silver medals went to Gordon Anthony (stroke), Ian Thompson, Zack Baron, and Ethan Wang.

CHA’s JV quad crew (Don Leatherwood [stroke], Marty Schardt, Jack Anthony, Sam Baker) were not quite as satisfied with their silver medal.