Sports
Wayland-Weston Crews Finish Fourth at Nationals
Two boats from the Wayland-Weston Crew team finished fourth in their races at the Youth National Championships.
The Wayland-Weston crew finished a successful season with a trip to the Youth National Championship Regatta on Melton Hill Lake in Oak Ridge, Tenn., from June 8 through June 10. The best crews from all over the country travelled to Oak Ridge, just outside of Knoxville, to compete for National rankings in their events.
The team qualified two boats for Nationals, a girls’ lightweight eight and a boys’ lightweight four, by finishing first and third, respectively, at the Northeast District Championships in Worcester at the end of May.
The Wayland-Weston crews continued their successful run at Nationals, as both of the boats finished first in their preliminary heats and second in their semi-final heats to qualify for the “A” final and row for tops spots in the National rankings.
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In the finals, the Wayland-Weston girls’ lightweight eight rowed very well, with coxswain Caroline Ayanian, stroke Elena Drews, Sophia Haley, Gabriela Purman, Rebecca Harris, Madison Kiefer, Hannah Brigham, Emma Conroy and Rachel Yan. The Wayland-Weston girls finished fourth in an extremely close race. The race was won by Oakland Strokes, a crew from Oakland, Calif. The next five positions were separated by just a few seconds, as the boats battled to the end and crossed the finish line in a group.
The Wayland-Weston boys' lightweight four crew had similar success in their final, also finishing fourth. With coxswain Carly Skehan, stroke John Heinlein, Ian Delany, Jakob Buczek and Jason Nazarian, the Wayland-Weston boat rowed a strong race.
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This was a successful end to a successful season for the Wayland-Weston crew team. In addition to their fourth place finishes at Nationals, the team also won their seventh straight state championship and had many victories along the way.
The team is also looking forward to next season. With only one senior on the girls’ lightweight eight and some very good novice rowers on the team, they are optimistic for their chances to continue to improve.
