May 3, 2024 by JP Powers, photos by Joshua Ross

On an absolute gem of a spring day, rowers from Duxbury and Hingham came together to renew their long-time friendly rivalry as two of the top public school rowing teams in the region. The Hingham High Crew team traditionally invites Duxbury up to compete in the Frosty Bow Sprints to cap the fall season and again for the Salty Bow Sprints to kick off the spring rowing season.

Along the shores of the back river at Bare Cove Park, friends, relatives and neighbors packed three and four deep to watch a series of tightly-contested and hard-fought races. As usual, the rivalry between the two programs brought out fierce competition as both teams submitted strong performances.

Girls’ head coach Sydney Blasetti described the festive atmosphere, “It’s always a great day when you can race in your own backyard with your hometown community surrounding you. We had fans of every age lining the shore cheering! I continue to be proud of each and every athlete on our team, their hard work and determination show and pay off on the water. I’m excited to see where the rest of the season goes. Thank you to everyone who came out to support us!”

Oli Rosenbladt, head coach of Duxbury said of the race, “The Salty Bow is always one of the most hotly anticipated races on our spring calendar, and once again this year, the racing was fierce and exciting. Hingham always fields a big team, and a strong team, and we knew that we would have to be our absolute best if we wanted to do well.”

Weather conditions were ideal for racing, with plenty of sun, a light south westerly breeze and calm surface conditions on the 1,250 meter course.

The sprints kicked off with the two teams splitting the 4V races. The Hingham boys boat, coxed by Owen Weinstein, with Aqueel Bharmal in the stroke seat, followed by Ryan Potter, Brian Magner, Seph Darlington, Owen Lefort, Jack O’Leary, Michael Catalfano, and Brent Strauss in bow seat, battled hard over the course of the race, but came up just a bit short as Duxbury crossed the line 15 seconds ahead. Head Coach Alix Howie described the hard work that allows these rowers to adapt and overcome obstacles, “This boat has the most heart on the river. They show up every day to row, erg and run, whatever they can do to get faster. We don’t always have coxswain or enough rowerss, but they are adaptable and determined.”

The girls 4V struck back in the second race, finishing 18 seconds ahead of the Duxbury boat. Emily Gu coxed Rose Lovendale, Lauren Newth, Hayley Kost, Dillon Turner, Stella Gutierrez, Anne Kyriss, and Abrielle Beaudoin to an extremely strong effort as the girls demonstrated the depth and talent of the HHS program.

The two teams also split the incredibly tight 3V races. In the boys’ boat, Tyler Bastia coxed Will Whitrap, Niko Mangili, Brendan Engel, Oliver McLucas, Lachlan Knies, Zak Robbins, Owen Cerrato, and Liam Connelly to an exhilarating win, finishing 4 seconds ahead of the Duxbury boat. Coach Howie described the pre-race preparations that went into the win, “They worked all week on maintaining pace and building into an effective sprint. They did a fantastic job, never giving up and hauling through the last 500 to pull down a win.  It was a very exciting race and they are looking forward to the rest of the season!”

In the girls’ 3V race, Shayla St. Croix coxed stroke seat Louisa Orth, Dania Thayer, Madeline Kittinger, Bianca Kiley, Elsie Olin, Aubrey Fairfield, Emme Bowdoin, and Annie Sargent to a finish just 7 seconds back of their competition. The Hingham girls looked as if they were going to close the distance as the two boats sprinted towards the finish line, but came up just a bit short.

The boys’ 1V race featured the closest and most tightly-contested match of the day. Amid roars from the nearby shore, the two boats battled for the lead as neither team was able to separate themselves from the other. The Hingham boat, coxed by Jack Levy, with Dylan Drew at stroke, James Feeley, Sam Ackerman, Walker Bogen, Slater Fairfield, James Barry, Will Barry, and Josh Bradshaw in bow seat, could not quite break through as they finished a mere half second behind Duxbury. “Duxbury is always tough competition and Sunday was no different. Despite starting a few seats down, they rowed calm and confidently through the whole piece. Climbing into a sprint, they took seats quickly, walking up on Duxbury,” said Coach Howie. “The two boats battled back and forth for the last two hundred meters, with Duxbury hitting the finish less than half a second ahead.”

Hingham’s resiliency and strong effort during the race showed the coaches that this team has a great season ahead, “This was a tough race and my heart was in my throat the whole time. These guys are working so hard, and I know the result is not what they wanted,” noted Coach Howie. “At the same time, it shows they have speed and can hang with all of their competition this season. They have so much potential going into the rest of the season and I’m really excited to see them continue to make gains.”

The girls’ 1V race was equally hard-fought, but a very strong Duxbury side managed to finish 19 seconds ahead of the Hingham boat. Maeve Schnorr rowed in the stroke seat for Hingham, followed by Izzy Wagner, Sophie Kerr, Nina Murphy, Ava Sugrue, Natalie Shaw, Marissa Matthews, and Nayah Ryan, with Grace Ji in the cox seat.

The next races featured both the boys and girls 2V boats. The boys 2V race was incredibly tight and came down to roughly half a boat length as Duxbury managed to cross the finish line 3 seconds ahead of Hingham. Lucas Mangili coxed Owen Franklin, Jack Burns, Will Cassidy, Arlo Maxwell, Alex Doggett, Cullen Moriarty, Hanley Stroka, and Trevor Steiner in what would be the second-closest race of the day. Coach Howie described the close contest, “Like the other races on Sunday, this race was a nail biter; tight right from the start with neither crew letting up the entire length of the course. With two strong performances behind them, they are looking forward to another tough race on Sunday to showcase their speed.”

Similarly, the girls 2V boat raced neck and neck against Duxbury all the way to the finish line, closing the distance in the final sprint, but coming up just 5 seconds behind. Sophia Santarelli rowed in the stroke seat with Maisie Knies, Eliza Powers, Thea Migliaccio, Taylor Sargent, Genevieve Vale, Lydia D’Arcy, and Maddie Owens coxed by Jane Betti.

In the novice boys race, Duxbury crossed the line 18 seconds ahead of HHS. The HHS novice crew continues to show improvement as Henry Hoch coxed Michael Catalfano at stroke, Noah Rawoof, Aedan Sullivan, Gerard Bottini, Liam Govoni, Johnny O’Dwyer, Luca Arienti, and Seph Darlington to a strong result.

The final race of the day featured the HHS girls 5V and 6V boats against the Duxbury 5V boat. Hingham’s 5V boat managed a strong win, with coxswain Octavia Atkins, stroke Veronica Webb, Ginger Neihoff, June Rogan, Tag Tomlinson, Lena Angel, Eva O’Sullivan, Lexi Messina, and Celia McCarthy powering across the finish line 18 seconds ahead of the Duxbury entry. The Hingham 6V boat, consisting of a mix of novice rowers and more experienced rowers “hot seating” in their second race of the day, finished 23 seconds back. Emily Gu was the Coxswain with Rose Lovendale at stroke, Haley Kost, Dillon Turner, Eme Bias, Anne Kyriss, Stella Gutierrez, Kalianna Stockbridge, and Peyton Burke in the bow seat.

After the race, the members of both teams gathered to shake hands with opposing team members and celebrate a great day for both clubs. The large and enthusiastic crowd, along with the pristine April weather brought out the best in both teams as they demonstrated both the strength and depth of their respective rowing programs.

Coach Rosenbladt observed, “As always, the Hingham crew organization, the board, the parents and the volunteers, delivered a really well-organized, classy event, and we are always grateful to be hosted for this race. I don’t know how many non-rowing people appreciate what a great venue Bare Cove Park is for our sport – you can see so much of the racing, and the kids always talk about how much the cheering from the bank motivates them.”

As both teams continue to get faster and stronger, Coach Rosenbladt predicted another exciting matchup when the teams meet later in the season, “The Hingham coaches are very good at what they do, and we know that they will be well prepared. Given how close the racing was this weekend, we’ve told our athletes that you can never count Hingham out at the end of May.”

HHS Crew now turns their attention to the upcoming Dual Meet against Friends of Brookline on Cinco de Mayo where they will face a formidable Brookline crew on the Powerhouse stretch of the Charles River in Boston. The 1,000 meter race course begins just downstream of the Weeks footbridge and ends just below the Riverside dock and boathouse.

Coach Howie believes that this team will be well prepared to face the new challenges, “They come together as a crew on race day and give 110%. We are hoping to make some more improvements in the next couple of weeks with races against Brookline and Bedford to be ready to race at States!”