June 13, 2022 By Holly Moriarty
The Hingham High School Crew team competed in back to back regattas over the Memorial Day weekend, bringing home silver and bronze medals. While all eight HHS Crew boats qualified for the finals at the Massachusetts Public School Rowing Association (MPSRA) Spring Championship Regatta, the girls third varsity boat earned silver and boys third varsity boat came away with the bronze.
“We are learning how to compete when the pressure intensifies,” said Sydney Blasetti, head coach of the girls HHS Crew team. “I am so proud of our athletes maturation process this year. This is something we are excited to build on in the future. We continued to rise to the challenge and ended the season on a very positive note.”
The top three varsity boys and girls boats competed at the New England Interscholastic Rowing Association (NEIRA) Championships on Saturday, May 28 on Lake Quinsigamond in Worcester. All boats made strong showings in their heats with rain and wind halting the afternoon races.
The following day, the novice (first year) boat joined the first, second, and third varsity boats on both the girls and boys teams at the MPSRA Spring Championship on the Merrimack River in Lowell on a much sunnier, balmy day.
"The MPSRA and NEIRA spring championship regattas have not been held since 2019 due to Covid," said Ted Matthews, President of the Hingham High School Rowing Association (HHSRA). "It takes time to get used to training on the water during such a competitive season to build up to these important regattas, especially for the younger athletes. However, HHS Crew was well prepared to get the athletes in their best condition to succeed in these high stakes races."
All eight HHS Crew boats raced in the morning and qualified for the MPSRA finals that afternoon. In the final races, the girls third varsity boat took second and boys third varsity boat came in third across the finish line, earning silver and bronze medals respectively.
“Watching these athletes grow this season has been an incredibly rewarding experience,” said Olivia Vita, head coach of the boys HHS Crew team. “They learned what they needed to do to compete at the level we’re surrounded by. We ended this season hungry for more, and these guys are ready for the challenge.”
HHS Girls First Varsity Boat: Charlotte Bogen, Abby Brown, Devon Moriarty, Teagan Schnorr, Maeve Schnorr, Maisie Knies, Sophie Kerr, Anna Capodilupo, and coxswain Maddie McPhillips.
HHS Boys First Varsity Boat: Will D’Arcy, Gabe Wagner, Colin Menuchi, Tasman Claridge, Owen Burleigh, Theo Grossman, Josh Bradshaw, Brennan Beitler, and coxswain Michael Wegener
HHS Girls Second Varsity Boat: Sadie Neidecker, Kathryn Feeley, Grace Desai, Helena Orth, Marissa Matthews, Genevieve Vale, Sofia Scholund, Jane Betti, and coxswain Alexa Fox.
HHS Boys Second Varsity Boat: Cam Santarelli, Eamon Murphy, Nathan Tesler, James Feeley, Michael Magner, Dylan Drew, Ned Macdonald, Joey DeCola, and coxswain Alex Jacob.
HHS Girls Third Varsity Boat with the silver: Ella Niehoff, Patti Ricci, Allison Dasco, Mazie Neidecker, Ava Lydotes, Dania Thayer (for NEIRAs), Julia Lopes (for MPSRAs), Sasha Coleman, Ellie Dodd, and coxswain Nora Pluto.
HHS Boys Third Varsity Boat with the bronze: Walker Shetty, Jack Burns, Nick Germain, Alex Hart, Joe Delmonico, Oskar Scholund, A.J. Rubel, Cullen Moriarty, and coxswain James Donnelly.
HHS Girls Novice Boat: Ava Green, Grace LaFond, Denley Bellows, Dania Thayer, Grace Ji, Nina Murphy, Jordan Peterson, Sophia Poetschke, and coxswain Greta Campbell.
HHS Boys Novice Boat: Slater Fairfield, Arlo Maxwell, Will Cassidy, Brian Magner, Ethan Parnell, James Barry, Owen Franklin, Trevor Steiner, and coxswain Quinn Gainey.
That’s a wrap for the HHS spring crew season! Anyone HHS students interested in joining the crew team or who would like to learn more, please visit www.hinghamhighcrew.com, follow us on Facebook and Instagram @hinghamhighcrew, or email secretary@hinghamhighcrew.com.