By Jay Iraj ‘17

Coming off of a strong showing at The New York State Scholastic Championships in Saratoga Springs, Chaminade’s Crew Team traveled to Philadelphia, PA for the prestigious Stotesbury Cup Regatta.  Consisting of 189 talented schools from across the US and Canada, participating in this regatta was a tremendous accomplishment for the team.  The Flyers Crew Team had already beaten its record from years past by reaching this regatta, but with the opportunity to travel to Ohio for the National Championship in their sights, the team worked harder than ever to come out on top.

The annual two-day event in Philadelphia took place on Friday, May 20 and Saturday, May 21, with Chaminade entering seven of the 965 total boats in the Regatta.  Each boat competes in a heat for its event the first day, with the top 18 boats in each heat advancing to three separate semifinal races.  Then, the top two boats from each of the three semifinal races move on to the final race, which consists of six boats.  As every event included several races and many boats, this was a different experience for the Flyers, and provided a challenge that they faced head on.

Coming off a dominant first-place finish at the State Championships, the junior varsity-eight boat entered this regatta with the goal of another top finish.  The boat began the event by overcoming all 53 boats in their heat, and continued to show its excellence the following day.  After claiming 1st place in its subsequent semifinal race, the junior varsity-eight boat knew the toughest challenge would come in the final.  Competing against consistent powerhouses like Gonzaga College High School, the junior varsity boat achieved its best time of the event, a stunning 4:28.06 in a 1500-meter race.  More impressively, the boat won each of its three races by at least two seconds, a remarkable accomplishment in a high-caliber regatta like the Stotesbury Cup.

On the tremendous performances at both The New York State Championships and the Stotesbury Cup, member of the junior varsity-eight boat Ben Addeo ‘17 commented, “We were able to carry the momentum from the states becauses our team never settles or gets comfortable.”

Other notable performances in the regatta came from the freshman-eight boat and the lightweight-eight boat.  The freshman-eight boat made it to the semifinal, where it earned a fourth-place finish, and the lightweight-eight boat made it all the way to the final to finish in sixth place.

The two varsity-eight boats, A and B, also achieved solid finishes.  After a top-ten finish in the heat, the varsity-B vote ended up in 5th place in their semifinal round.  Similarly, the varsity-A boat finished in 5th place in the semifinal round for its event, while recording a time of 4:30.49.

After great performances from the Chaminade Crew Team at both the State Championships and the prestigious Stotesbury Cup, the Flyers have a lot to be proud of.   Congratulations on a great season!