The boys varsity crew team competed in the 60th annual Head of the Charles Regatta (HOCR) on Sunday, Oct. 19, at the Charles River. The team raced in two different categories: the youth double and the youth four.
HOCR is one of the largest rowing competitions in the world, attracting thousands of spectators and athletes each year. The 5K course, which starts at the Boston University boathouse and ends at the Eliot Bridge, is extremely curvy, making steering the boats challenging.
Head coach Catie Szymanosk said the team is lucky to be able to mock-race on the Charles to practice the difficult turns.
“We know the standards we need to hit for the boats. We had two boats this year, so just getting them to be cohesive units within each crew is important,” Szymanoski said. “We work on mindset as well as application of power and technique. Every day is just a different skill that we’ll work on.”
Because of the competitive nature of the HOCR, getting entries into events is difficult. Boats can qualify by placing in the top half of times in their event the previous year, or by lottery selection. Szymanoski said that the HOCR is a big deal for the team.
“Even though it’s not the whole team competing, it’s a lot of pressure on a select few, so trying to figure out how they can hold on to that pressure while still going fast and having fun at a big race is what’s important,” Szysmanoski said.
The day of racing kicked off with the youth double, stroked by senior William Mountjoy and bowed by junior Trevor Bozzuto, and placed 45th out of 57, with a time of 19:17. Though unable to qualify for next year’s HOCR, Bozzuto said he was still proud of the race.
“I think we gave it everything we had,” Bozzuto said. “It’s really cool and it’s a lot of fun. I feel really honored to have gotten to race in it.”
The youth four, coxed by senior Khalid Tikriti and rowed by seniors Maxwell Cappelletti, Luke Humblias, Max Gallentine and Gavin Murphy, finished in 56th place, missing the qualification cut-off of 43rd place.
Humblias said that although the boat started fast, there was tough competition and a loss in technique from the four. However, Humblias said he was happy about recent changes in the team.
“I’m happy with the big mental shift the team has taken recently,” Humblias said. “But there’s still more work to be done. I think a big thing is trust and attitude towards racing.”
Szysmanoski said that though the competition was tough, the HOCR was a learning experience.
“While it didn’t go in our favor, we’re gonna take what we learned and continue on for the rest of the season and the rest of the year,” Szysmanoski said. “Hopefully, we come back next year and compete at the highest level.”
