Stotesbury Race Report

The hawks had a great weekend on the Schuylkill River. The team headed to Boathouse Row early Friday morning for the annual Stotesbury Regatta, the oldest and largest high school regatta across the world. They were greeted on Friday by over 5,000 competitors, all seeking to crush their time trails and move on to a semi-final or final. The team has been looking forward to this race more than most; it brings the most competition and prestige.


JV 2x: Colin & Matteo kick started the team’s weekend in the first time. They competed in the JV double category and fearlessly lined up against older and more experienced crews. The novice pair rowed a controlled race and finished 31st with a time of 7:22.24. Colin and Matteo have worked so hard this season. They showed up to every practice committed to becoming stronger and faster rowers. The coach’s couldn’t ask for two more eager and willing athletes, they are an awesome pair to work with and coach.

MF4x: Erik, Dan M, Luke, and Paul foreshadowed the day’s success by finishing 2nd in their time trail. They finished just behind first place in the head race and finished ahead of many of their Philadelphia school rivals. Their final time was 5:10.10 which sent them to a straight final which was held on Saturday afternoon. In the final, the novice quad lined up against many of their season’s rivals, Haverford, Conestoga, Malvern Prep, Roman Catholic, and the head race winner, Saratoga. The novice crew finished with an amazingly fast time of 4:25.74 and won the Stotesbury Gold! The boys were greeted by tons of admiring supporters as they rowed up to the medals dock and held up the Stotesbury Cup. This is the second ever Stotesbury Gold the Haddon Township Crew Club has won.

GF4x: Next up to compete in time trials were the freshman girls. Amanda, Olivia H, Sophia, and Olivia E competed against 15 other crews and finished 7th with a time of 6:15.35. The girls just missed the top 6 ticket to the straight final. They were 6.59 seconds away from 6th place which would have secured their seat in the final. However, the girls kept a positive attitude and immediately started preparing themselves for Sunday’s City Championship race. Impressively, they began reviewing the elements of their race that they needed to improve upon, and vowed to bring what they needed to the race on Sunday.

GLwt2x: Noa and Angela competed in their time trial early in the morning and finished 6th out of 20, securing their spot in the semi-final. As races continued to delay the girls set their sights on the prize. They concentrated more on crushing their semi to make it to the final, and less on getting themselves primped for prom! This fierce pair showed some major dedication to their team and the sport; they finished their semi-final and secured their spot in the final, and then headed off to prom. Angela and Noa’s final was held late Saturday evening and they came in 5th. The race started from the 1000 meter mark due to harsh water conditions; therefore the girls finished a quick race in 3:32.64.

GJr4x: Brie, Rachel, Kara, and Becca lined up for their time trial Friday afternoon and braved the downpour. They finished their 1500 meter race in 5:45.30. They managed to beat 10 boats, finishing 16th out of 26th. The girls fearlessly competed against some tough competition despite having two novice rowers among their lineup. This group has been a great bunch to coach; they encourage each other and manage to have fun in any situation.

MJr4x: Liam, Mike, Nick, and Parker competed in the JV quad category in Friday’s time trials. This group of novice boys competed in a tough category racing against some older crews. They boys held their own and finished in 25th place with a time of 5:23.59. They came down the racecourse swinging together and fit right in amongst the more experienced crews. This group worked hard all season competing against the other novice quad on HT’s team. They proved to be tough competition while piecing during practice. We look forward to what this group will bring next year.


GSr2x: Maddie and Lauren competed in the senior double and finished 11th in their time trail, placing them in the semi-final scheduled for Saturday morning. However, as conditions worsened from the down pours of Friday, Saturday’s semi’s were cancelled, knocking the pair out of the race to the final. The girl’s quickly focused their attention on Sunday’s City Championship.


MSr4x: The men’s quad had a strong time trial on Friday finishing 8th out of 24 boats. They flew down the racecourse with determination and finished the 1500 meter race in 5:26.01. This category called for the top 12 head racers to continue to the final; however, the boys also lost the chance to compete for their spot in the final due to harsh water conditions. Saturday morning’s semi’s were cancelled and the top 6 from time trials went right to the final. If given the chance, I’m sure we would have seen a vengeful showing from this group of four. The boys have grown tremendously this year, and the coaching staff is thankful to have all four athletes returning next year.


MSr1x: Joey competed in the team’s last head race on Friday afternoon in the men’s single. He looked powerful and strong coming down the racecourse at an impressively high rate. He snagged the 12th place spot during the time trial, which would have brought him to the semi-final had they not been cancelled. The top 6 from time trials in the men’s singles also went straight to the final.




We can’t thank the HT parents and supporters enough! They braved the rain on Friday and stuck it out all weekend to cheer on the team. The food tent was on top of its game this weekend! We loved the lasagnas, tacos, mac & cheese, salads, and countless other snacks and desserts. Thank you, parents, for providing the athletes with the fuel they needed for race day. And thank you to the Fanelli’s, once again, for safely transporting the trailer this weekend. We appreciate everything you do.