After a successful week of harsh spring training in Natchitoches, Louisiana, the Jesuit Crew Team traveled to Atlanta, Georgia for the American Youth Cup II to kick off the 2022 spring season. Though the competition was fierce, the team was able to secure victory over some of their top competitors. Many of the boats performed well.
Varsity
Eights
First, the second varsity eight placed 4th in their respective category. Although this eight performed respectively, they still have many technicalities to iron out before the rest of the season. This lineup consisted of Rodrigo Aldrey, Nico Aristobal, Hunter Colbeth, Andrew Putt, Reese Matterono, Alexander Musico, Dawson Zavala, and bow-seat Jack Krueger. The first varsity eight, composed of Mason Nothaft, Truman Mininger, Mark Villalba, Garrett Brown, Ian Smith, Jack Degroote, Landon Cowan, and Will Drabik, was able to secure a third place finish out of 12 total boats. Ian Smith expressed that “I think we raced it well, but we still have a lot of speed to pick up. I’m glad we got to line up against who we will be competing with for the rest of the season.”
Fours
Next, the fours proved their rowing prowess as well. The first varsity four included Brown, Villalba, Drabik, Nothaft, and coxswain Sebastian Esquivel. This lineup also placed extremely well, winning silver against nationally ranked programs such as Sarasota, Atlanta, and OARS. 
The 2nd varsity four lineup consisted of Rodrigo Aldrey, Nico Aristobal, Jack DeGroote, and Andrew Putt. Their boat won the B final after placing fourth in the qualifying race. The third and final four was made up of Krueger, Velasquez, Musico, Zavala, and Mario Jaar. And the 3rd varsity four placed 4th in the final as well. Coxswain Sebastian Esquivel reflected that “It felt good to be able to beat programs as well known as Sarasota. I’m excited to see what the rest of the season has in store for us.”
Pairs
Lastly, one of the most surprising races though, according to Coach Howell, was the varsity pair, made up of two jokingly named ”Skinny Nobodies,” Senior Truman Mininger, and Junior Landon Cowan, who defeated a plethora of other prestigious boats, including a pair that included stroke seat of the Junior National Team’s varsity eight. Truman described it as “an exciting opportunity to demonstrate our pair’s technical prowess”. Overall, Coach Howell’s experiment proved to be an undoubtedly huge success. The two have high hopes for future races this spring.
Freshman
The freshman team also raced proficiently in the first 2000 meter sprints of their rowing careers. In the Youth Freshman eight category, the frosh were able to secure bronze. Furthermore, In the U-17 category, placed 4th, where they had to face tough competition made up of boats filled with sophomores and juniors.
Freshman Head Coach, Eduardo Calderon, expressed his reactions to their finishes, saying “Getting third in the Freshman eight category is a good way for this crew to start their season. It gives us a medal but shows us how fast other crews truly are. I am happy with their performance because they gave their all on the water. And even when they were tired they went out for the U17 race and rowed the boat faster. Even though they didn’t get gold, they made the boat go as fast as they could every race, and now we will build on this performance.”
After a weekend filled with exciting results, the Jesuit Crew team looks forward to the rest of the season, which appears to be jam packed with tough competition.
Tune in on April 9th at White Rock Lake, where the team will defend against their southern rivals Dallas United Crew, White Rock, and Oklahoma City. They will then attend St. Andrews Invitational and Manny Flick on April 23 -24.
