B-CC High School Athletics: Crew Results

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Coaching his last race in the Washington area, Gonzaga Coach Tom Spooner went out in style. His boys' first eight boat won the first ever Washington Metropolitan Interscholastic Rowing Association Championship yesterday on the Anacostia River. The Eagles finished in 4 minutes 45.5 seconds, 4.5 seconds ahead of Bethesda-Chevy Chase. Gonzaga's second eight won as well. ...

B-CC won the girls' first eight race in 5:22.8, easily beating Wilson by eight seconds. Wilson had narrowly beaten B-CC two weeks ago at the Al Urquia Regatta.

"The seniors have been together four years through a lot of ups and downs, I told them now is their time," Bethesda-Chevy Chase Coach Chris Graves said.

Crew's 2008 season is off to a spectacular start! At the season opener races, held on the Potomac River against Gonzaga College High School, DeMatha Catholic High School and Georgetown Visitation High School, both the boys' and girls' 1st Varsity 8s won first place. The girls' 2nd and 3rd Varsity 8 boats also were first to row across the finish line. The boys' 2nd and 3rd Varsity 8s came in second, and their Varsity 4+ came in third.

The Barons then headed up to the Middletown, DE, for St. Andrew's Invitational Regatta, which attracted local teams Walt Whitman and West Springfield, and Mid-Atlantic area teams St. Andrew's, Archbishop Prendergast HS (PA), Ocean City HS (NJ), and Chaminade HS (NY). The competition was fierce, and B-CC crew showed its strength on the water! All three of the girls' boats captured second place – the 1st Varsity 8 was only 2 seconds behind first place winner Ocean City (NJ) and the 3rd Varsity 8 was only .6 seconds behind first place winner St. Andrew's. The boys' 1st Varsity 8 grabbed third place, only 1.1 seconds behind Ocean City; the 2nd Varsity 8 came in fourth place with only .8 seconds separating it from third place winner St. Andrews; and, the 3rd Varsity 8 grabbed third place as did the 1st Varsity 4.

The competition at Nationals was fierce. Athletes from 145 high schools rowing teams made their way to Oak Ridge, Tennessee, to race in almost 170 events. The best of the Midwest and Southeast teams joined the strongest teams from the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions. B-CC’s Men’s and Women’s Senior 8s and 2nd 8s earned qualifying bids based on their competitive performance this season. Of the four boats, the Women’s Senior 8, Women’s 2nd 8 and the Men’s Senior 8 advanced in their opening races. The Women’s 2nd 8 rowed into the semifinals. The Men’s 1st 8 won third place in the Third Final in a very close race against 1st place winner Chaminade High School (NY) and 2nd place winner Loyola Academy (IL).

B-CC Crew traveled to Philadelphia for the 82th Annual Stotesbury Cup Regatta, the largest high school rowing regatta in the world. Almost 1,000 boats and more 5,100 athletics from 175 high schools competed over a two-day period in 124 racing events. Competing at Stotes this year were the Barons’ Women’s Senior 8, 2nd 8, and Senior 4+ and the Men’s Senior 8, 2nd 8 and Junior 8.

Rowing in torrential rains, four boats advanced to the semifinals: both the Men’s Senior 8 and 2nd 8, coming in 13th and 10th, respectively, in the time trials; and the Women’s Senior 8 and 2nd 8, coming in 8th and 3rd in the time trials. The Women’s 2nd 8 then went on to beat Visitation, Wilson and Absegami (NJ) to gain a spot in a six-boat final. Rowing strong in the 6th lane of the Schuylkill River, the Barons came in fourth to Mount St. Joseph’s (Philly), Thomas Jefferson, Atlantic City (NJ), and beat TC Williams and Mainland (NJ).

May 10: 1st Annual Washington Interscholastic Rowing Association Championship Regatta

B-CC Crew concluded its regular season of racing with medal-winning performances. It was open water for the Women’s 1st 8 as it crossed the finish line, beating Woodrow Wilson, Walt Whitman, Holy Cross Lightweight and Elizabeth Seton. The Women’s 2nd 8 handily won its race against Wilson, Whitman and Holton Arms. The Women’s 3rd 8 came in second in a two-boat race against Whitman. On the men’s side, the 1st and 2nd both came in second to Gonzaga, beating Wilson, Whitman and Walter Johnson. The Men’s 3rd 8 came in third. The Men’s Varsity 4+ won its petit final over Walter Johnson.

Wow! Competing against 21 mostly Northern Virginia high school teams, B-CC Crew delivered another great rowing performance at the Al Urquia Regatta on the Occoquan Reservoir. With parents, family and friends cheering madly from the grandstand, the Barons rowed hard under sunny skies. Both the Men's and Women's 1st and 2nd 8s finished first or second in their respective heats. Once into the finals, the Barons continued to leave little on the water. The Women's 1st 8 raced head-to-head with Wilson High School in the final stretches of their race and crossed the final line less than one second behind first-place winner Wilson. The Men's 2nd 8, in another very close race, finished three seconds behind first-place winner Thomas Jefferson High School (last year's silver medal winner at Stotesbury). The Men's 1st 8 also finished second to TJ (last year's gold medal winner at Stotesbury). The Women's 2nd 8 finished second to TJ (also last year's gold medal winner at Stotesbury). The Men's 3rd 8 finished second to TJ, and the Women's 3rd 8 came in third. The Men's 1st 4 came in 4th in its heat.

Race results and photos are posted on the web site. Congrats to coaches and athletes!

This upcoming weekend B-CC Crew won't be on the water, but will be definitely be getting wet. The B-CC Crew Car Wash is slated for Saturday, May 3, from 10 am to 3 pm at Getty Gas Station on River Road. Wanted: All makes and models!

With sunny skies over the Potomac River and a host of parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, alumni and B-CC Principal Sean Bulson cheering from water’s edge, B-CC Crew won the 2008 Montgomery Cup. First place victories over Walt Whitman and Walter Johnson included our Men’s and Women’s 1st 8 and the Men’s 2nd 8. The Women’s 2nd 8 and the Men’s 1st 4+ came in second to Whitman. The Men’s and Women’s 3rd 8, boats comprised mostly of our novice rowers, also finished second to Whitman.

Thanks to all B-CC Crew alumni and B-CC Principal Bulson for joining us at the 6th Annual Montgomery County Rowing Championship! Go Barons!

Hosted by The Philadelphia Scholastic Rowing Association, the 4th Manny Flick (there are five of them during the season) brought together on the Schuylkill River some of the best teams in the Pennsylvania/New Jersey area.

The Men's Varsity 1st 8 beat out Monsignor Bonner High School (PA) and Great Bridge High School (VA) to come in second to Ocean City High School (NJ). The Men's Varsity 2nd 8 rowed past the B boats of Holy Spirit High School (NJ) and St. Joseph's Preparatory School (Philadelphia) and placed third against Ocean City and Holy Spirit's A boat. The Men's JV 8 finished 11th out of 20 in the head race—a terrific performance considering that our boat included six novices of whom three were freshmen!

The Women's JV 8 finished 3rd in a field of 16, edging out Archbishop Prendergast High School (NJ) by 3/4th of a second with Mainland (NJ) Regional High School B boat and Bishop Eustace Preparatory High School (NJ) coming in first and second respectively. The Women's 2nd 8 came in third to Radnor High School (PA) and Mainland. The Women's 1st 8 saw some of the toughest competition of the day, coming in fourth to 2007 Stotesbury gold medal winner Bishop Eustace, then Atlantic City and Mount St. Joseph's Academy (PA).

On Saturday, April 19, the Barons defend the Montgomery Cup and compete on the Potomac River against local rival schools Walt Whitman and Walter Johnson.

The Barons continued the 2008 season with outstanding racing at the St. Andrew’s Invitational Regatta in Middletown, DE. Film site location for the Dead Poet’s Society, St. Andrew’s High School brought together local-area teams of Walt Whitman and West Springfield and Mid-Atlantic-area teams of St. Andrew’s, Archbishop Prendergast High School (Drexel Hill, PA), Ocean City High School (Ocean City, NJ), and Chaminade High School (Mineola, NY).

The competition was fierce, and B-CC Crew showed its strength on the water! On the women’s side, all three of our boats captured second place—the 1st Varsity 8, only 2 seconds behind first-place winner Ocean City (NJ) and the 3rd Varsity 8, only .6 seconds behind first-place winner St. Andrew’s. The men were equally strong. The 1st Varsity 8 grabbed third place, only 1.1 seconds behind Ocean City; the 2nd Varsity 8 came in fourth place with only .8 seconds separating it from third-place winner St. Andrews; the 3rd Varsity 8 grabbed third place, as did the 1st Varsity 4.

Mar. 29: B-CC Captures Men’s and Women’s Trophies in Season’s First Races

B-CC Crew opened its 2008 season on the Potomac River hosting Georgetown Visitation Preparatory School, DeMatha Catholic High School and Gonzaga College High School. The weather may have been cold, but the Barons were hot, bringing home both the men’s and women’s 1st Varsity 8+ trophies. In their dual meet against Georgetown Visitation, all three women’s boats—the 1st Varsity 8+, the 2nd Varsity 8+, and the 3rd Varsity 8+ came in first in their respective events. The men also got off to an excellent start in their triple meet against DeMatha and Gonzaga. In addition to a first place victory for the men’s 1st Varsity 8+, the 2nd Varsity 8+ and the 3rd Varsity 8+ came in second and the Varsity 4+ took third place. Congrats to all!

The Barons head up to Middletown, Delaware, on April 5 to compete against St. Andrew’s School and other Mid-Atlantic rowing teams.