As an active participant in the Wayland-Weston Novice Crew Team, I can say that this season has been the most exciting, but the hardest season yet. Keep in mind that this is only my second season. This season has been a huge ride for all of us, not to mention the waking up at 4:30am to leave for a regatta at 5 and the dreadful, high pressured 2K tests. On the other hand, we have also gone paint balling, gotten in the best shape and have had long, strong and contentious debates on whether you can choke on pancakes or not.

Besides our heated discussions during practice, we have had many successful regattas. Our coach, Karl, aka Iceman, has taught us well, getting us in shape and bringing us to our first regatta in Saratoga Springs, New York. We took one 8 (an 8 man boat, holding 8 rowers, and one coxswain, a person that yells at you what to do). Our boat included Johnny Saylor-Cox (Weston), Oliver Pucker-Stroke (Weston), Brandon Blaesser (Weston), Henry Gula (Weston), Kep Edwards (Wayland), Peter Wynant (Weston), Nick Kossack (Wayland), Stuart Yamartino (Wayland), and last but not least, me-Bow (most definitely Wayland). After a good, healthy breakfast in our hotel room (we stayed overnight), we headed out to our race, where we made 2nd place. We were the second fastest boat in all of the heats, so we advanced to the finals, where we took home a silver medal. We lost to Saratoga by .9 of a second. (They had home field advantage anyway)

Our next regatta, or more of a scrimmage should I say, took place on the Charles River where we basically crushed everyone. The end. We took 2 boats, which included Johnny Saylor-Cox (Weston), Oliver Pucker-Stroke (Weston), Brandon Blaesser (Weston), Henry Gula (Weston), Kep Edwards (Wayland), Bobby Dresser (Wayland), Richard Ting (Wayland), Stuart Yamartino-Bow (Wayland). For our second boat, we had Jordan Saylor-Cox (Weston), Jack McDonald-Stroke (Weston), Trevor Dixson (Wayland), Will Caro (Weston) Peter Wynant (Weston) and there were more, but I can’t remember the names. Sorry.

We have taken home gold and silver so far, not including the race that was held on Sunday. I am hoping for another great medal from that race. Good luck!