From Thursday, June 9 to Sunday, June 12, Deerfield’s boys’ and girls’ rowing teams participated in the US Rowing Youth National Championship, placing first and fifth, respectively. The event was held in Sarasota, FL, at Nathan Benderson Park. Both teams raced in coxed fours, featuring four rowers and one coxswain.
Nationals began with a 1900-meter time trial on Thursday in which the top twelve finishers from each team advanced to the semi-final on Friday. In the semi-finals, both Deerfield’s boys’ and girls’ placed in the top three and advanced into the A Final on Sunday. The boys’ race was especially intense and the team won with a strong final sprint, passing a talented Greenwich crew.
The championships encompassed a variety of ages, categories, and boat classes, from singles to eights. Participating in the New England Championship granted both the boys and girls team an invitation to the nationals in the regatta of varsity fours which Deerfield continued to use for the nationals.
Despite the confidence gained by the boys’ first boat from their huge victory in New Englands, Nationals required the team to adjust its line-up. The competition did not permit post-graduate students to participate, so the team had to replace Nick Gaensler ’22 with Casey Smith ’22. Despite this sudden change, Casey was able to adapt quickly to the upcoming race. Moreover, the training in the Princeton and the team’s fast times gave the crew confidence that they had the speed to compete at the top of the event, although with all of the nation’s top crews, the result was unpredictable.
Unlike most races during the season, which were 1500 meters in length, Nationals was 2000 meters. Both boys’ and girls’ teams prepared for weeks before the race. Directly after graduation, both teams went to Lake Carnegie in Princeton, NJ, which has minimal current, allowing the team to assess their speed while also focusing on the various parts and techniques involved in a race, including the start, base speed, and finishing sequence. Once the team arrived in Florida, physical training was reduced. Instead, the team spent most of their time discussing their goals in approaching races. At Princeton, the girls’ team also conducted several workouts to adjust their race fitness and cadence to a slightly longer race. A typical practice included a drilling component, focusing on technical elements, and a fitness component, including interval training.
The weather conditions during the race were favorable. In Florida, as is typical in early June, the weather was hot and humid with occasional thunderstorms. Fortunately, the races took place without delays or cancellations due to thunder. Although the heat and humidity were not ideal for the teams, both teams were prepared for it.
The success at Nationals was inseparable from the supportive team culture of both teams. The boys’ team was one of the biggest that Deerfield ever had, with 60 athletes, all of whom were willing to support and challenge one another. According to Spencer Washburn, coach of the boys’ rowing team and Associate Director of Admission, “there aren’t many shortcuts on the water – you just have to be willing to challenge yourself and to be challenged by others. Also, they really seemed to like each other, which goes a long way when you’re spending as much time together as this group does.”
Additionally, Parker Washburn (unrelated to Spencer Washburn), the coach of the girls’ rowing team and science teacher, spoke about the importance of creating a positive and supportive team culture with the two captains of the girls’ rowing team, Lila Nottage ‘22 and Nicole Xing ’22.
Speaking of the girls’ team, Mr. S. Washburn also commented, “To have a team that is strong in the same boathouse was inspiring for us, and the collaborative effort really helped to raise the level of performance for everyone…at the end of the day, the culture at the boathouse is built around hard work and enjoying what you do.”
Following the competition, cousins Oscar Patton ’23 and John Patton ’23 traveled along with Natalie Meyers ’23 and Charles Richards ’23 from Florida to California to attend the US Junior National Team Selection Camp in hopes of racing at the Junior World Championships later this summer. Both Pattons and Richards competed in the US Junior National Team Selection Camp for the USA.