New Trier Rowers Medal and Make Program History at Head of the Charles

New Trier High School Rowing sent its top varsity girls and boys eights to compete at the Head of the Charles Regatta in Boston, October 20-22, bringing home a 5th place medal for the boys amongst 90 crews, and a 6th place finish for the girls in a field of 89 crews. This was New Trier’s highest overall team performance in the same year at the Head of the Charles, which is the largest 3-day regatta in the world with 11,000 competitors and 400,000 spectators.

“This group of young men has been impressive all season long with the fastest times on and off the water in our program's history,” said Boys Head Coach Nate Kelp-Lenane. “We knew that the racing would be tight in the top boats at the Head of the Charles with incredibly deep and fast teams from across the country and internationally. Starting 15th out of 90 crews we had to execute an exceptional race plan. Our coxswain, Kannan Alford, navigated a masterful racecourse and maneuvered past crews at the best possible parts to finish 5th place - half a second in front of 6th place and one-tenth of a second behind 4th place. Kannan's path and the rower's efforts in the boat made for an incredible race with a great finish.This was the sixth time that New Trier has finished in the top 5 at Head of the Charles, which is a record for any high school program in the country.”

According to the boys coxswain, and senior captain, Kannan Alford, “Heading into the HOCR weekend, the squad felt like we were going into a test we had thoroughly studied for. [Jack]Skinner and I had already run the course the year prior, so we knew what we were heading into, while the rest of the guys were feeling confident in our speed and our race plan.... During the race itself, we were in the position to take the course on our own terms, forcing crews to yield and setting ourselves up for the ideal line; the boys executed our race plan to the best of their abilities. Crossing the finish line, none of us had any regrets—we felt proud of our piece.”

The New Trier girls’ boat was the only scholastic (high school) crew to finish in the top 20 boats of the 89 mostly club programs in the Youth Eight category. Finishing 6th, just behind five other club crews was a feat, the second highest finish ever for the Trevian girls.

“We knew we had a lot of speed in the girls’ boat, and we also knew that starting in 32nd place (our seeding from last year’s finish) was going to require a ton of power under pressure from each rower, and a steely mindset from our coxswain, Evelyn Orsic, to fight our way through the pack,” said Girls Head Coach Sandy Culver. “They call this a coxswain’s race for a reason: it’s a serpentine course with narrow stretches, sharp turns, six bridges, and the deafening cheer of spectators. Evelyn did an incredible job steering this tricky course and passing four other boats. We had a little setback at the last minute as our 3-seat rower, Elise Kahler, fell ill and we had to put in an alternate, Zoe Staelens, who rose to the challenge. I couldn’t be prouder of the way these 9 girls raced.”

Varsity captain and senior Lucy Rush, who “stroked” (8th seat) this boat in Boston for the second year in a row, said “Our Head of the Charles race this past weekend was the culmination of a lot of hard work and preparation from the entire team. We were excited about what was possible going into the race, and we’re thrilled with our finish against some of the best teams across the country. Our greatest asset was our team camaraderie.”

“Although each team has placed higher in previous years, this is the first year that New Trier has placed so high as a program,” said Rose Marchuk, New Trier Director of Rowing.

“If New Trier High School Rowing wasn't on the radar of college coaches before, it certainly is now. New Trier rowers know how to compete and were able to demonstrate that on race day.”

New Trier HOCR Girls Crew

C: Evelyn Orsic (senior)

S Lucy Rush (senior)

7 Catherine Salvi (sophomore)

6 Sophie Kahler (senior)

5 Lydia Hales (senior)

4 Piper Ritchie (junior)

3 Zoe Staelens (junior)

2 Brigid Bachman (sophomore)

1 Sidney Hollis (senior)

Alternate: Ruby Barnett

Sick: Elise Kahler

New Trier HOCR Boys Crew:

C: Kannon Alford (Senior)

S Jack Skinner (Senior)

7 Alek Balassa (Senior)

6 Noah Silverstein (Senior)

5 Kyle Fox (Junior)

4 John Salvi (Senior)

3 Alex Farkas (Senior)

2 William O’Donnell (Junior)

B Jackson Bucklew (Junior)

Spares:

Preston Lodolce (Senior)

JM Blake (Junior)