The Jesuit crew team has had a spectacular season, rowing successfully throughout the spring in hopes of reaching Nationals. More specifically, Jesuit has dominated the competition at two particular events, the Route 66 Regatta and the Central District Regional Championship.
The first event, the Route 66 Regatta, was held on April 26 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. An invitational race, this regatta hosted three other teams besides Jesuit: Tulsa Rowing Club, Dallas United Crew, and Oklahoma City Riversport. As for the race itself, it was a four-lane, 1250 meter race, which is around half the length Jesuit usually races.
In the Varsity 8, one of the first races of the day, Jesuit won 1st. The team consisted of Elliot Stone ‘15, Joey Merkel ‘16, J.W. Schwab ‘14, Jay Hofmeister ‘16, Christian Taylor ‘15, Jordi Perez ‘14, Sam Todora ‘15, Liam McCormack ‘16, and Conar Ehring ‘15.
In the Novice 4, Jesuit also won 1st. In the Lightweight 8, the team came in 2nd by six one-thousandths of a second. In the Junior Varsity 8, Jesuit also came in 2nd to Oklahoma City Riversport.
“With this race, we are just looking to gauge our speed against our regional competitors,” explained Head Coach John Fife. “It’s really just a test to see where we are and see what we need to change to get ready for our championship.”
This was the last true regular season race for the team, as the team would next compete in the Central District Regional Championship.
The second event, the Central District Regional Championship, was held on May 10-11 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The race is comprised of teams from Texas, Kansas, Oklahoma, Colorado, and Missouri, and is held on the Oklahoma River. This regatta is not only the regional championship, but also the qualifier for the National Championship in June.
On day 1, in the Varsity 8, Jesuit took home the gold. Jesuit won by about 7.5 seconds over rival Oklahoma City Riversport, an outstanding feat, with White Rock Rowing finishing 3rd, Dallas United finishing 4th, Austin Rowing Club finishing 5th, Mile High finishing 6th, and Tulsa finishing 7th. The boat was comprised of Elliot Stone ’15, Joey Merkel ’16, J.W. Schwab ’14, Jay Hofmeister ’16, Christian Taylor ’15, Jordi Perez ’14, Sam Todora ’15, Jake Gossett ’15, and Mitchell Opatowsky ’15.
In the Junior Varsity 8, the team took the silver medal behind Oklahoma City Riversport by about 1.5 seconds. And in the Novice 4, the team took bronze in their final.
On day 2, Jesuit was unfortunately unable to race in the Novice 8, Lightweight 8, Varsity 4, and Junior Varsity 4 races due to the high winds, which were so bad that officials couldn’t even get the races started.
“This is the time of year where we want to be doing our very best and going our fastest, and I felt that, especially in the Varsity 8, those guys put everything together, we’ve been making some changes throughout the year, and it felt great,” explained Fife. “I was really proud of those guys. They put together a great race, and they executed it exactly as we planned.”
And with this Varsity 8 stellar performance, the team was able to qualify for the U.S. National Championship next month in Sacramento, California. Be sure to cheer the team on and follow them as they prepare to take down the competition in June!
