"It’s a season of outstanding competition and close races for the boys in KENT’s first boat. What do 4:36.785 and 6:00.300 have in common? They are the times in the only two races all season where the rowers crossed the line other than first. In both cases, the photo finishes pegged them just thousandths of a second off Andover’s pace. Undefeated heading into the New England Interscholastic Rowing Championships on Lake Quinsigamond, two-tenths of a second separated KENT from Andover. In Cincinnati for the US Rowing Youth National Championships they were even closer to Andover and Newport Aquatic. The boys will represent the School at the Henley Royal Regatta like their fellow KENT rowers 82 years ago who were the first American schoolboy crew invited to participate in the prestigious rowing contest. And after that? The six seniors in the boat continue their studies; two at Brown, two at Cal Berkeley, one at the US Naval Academy and one at George Washington University.
Report from the Races
Nationals Recap - On the first day of competition, the eight won their heat with the fastest time of the day by beating crews from Florida, California, New York and Washington. In the semi-final the following day, Kent won again, beating crews from California, Ohio, Pennsylvania Tennessee and Oklahoma to qualify for the Sunday finals. The Sunday finals against three crews from California, Newport Aquatic Center, Marin Rowing Association and Capital Crew, Capital City Rowing from Florida, and their New England rival, Andover. In an exciting finish with the top five boats overlapping as they crossed the finish line, Newport took the gold medal, Andover the silver and Kent the bronze.
The eight returned to the familiar waters of the Housatonic for the last week of training before heading to Henley. During that week they adjusted to a new line-up when the four seat from the eight, Joe Savo, who will attend the U.S. Naval Academy in the fall, left to report for “plebe summer,” the Academy’s summer training program. During this final week the eight was fortunate to have an experienced training partner with an in-depth knowledge of Henley racing – an under-23 crew from Leander Club in Henley. The crew was in the U.S. preparing for the Nationals in New Jersey later that month, and Kent hosted them in exchange for the use of their Empacher eight at Henley. On Monday, June 22, the group headed for England and settled into their comfortable accommodations at a lovely home on the banks of the Thames in Shiplake, one train stop away from Henley.
At Henley the Kent crews were entered in the Temple Challenge Cup for eights and the Prince Albert Challenge Cup for coxed fours, both of which included universities and colleges as well as high schools (Henley does not have a high school four event). Because two members of the eight were already 19, they were ineligible for the Princess Elizabeth Challenge Cup, the high school event. The eight’s successful showing at Nationals meant that they did not have to row in the qualifying races held the week before the Henley Regatta. The four, however, who were untested against varsity-level crews, were required to qualify.
In the qualifying races, crews are sent off down the Henley course, one after another, 10 seconds apart, with only the top finishers making the cut. Twenty-five crews were entered in the Prince Albert qualifier – nearly all colleges and universities – with the top seven to qualify. The Kent four was sent off right after Isis Boat Club, a strong crew from Oxford University. Paced by the fast Isis crew, Kent rowed an outstanding race, finishing eighth in the field, just one place from qualifying for Henley. To come so close to qualifying was a disappointment for the four; nevertheless, they had a lot to be proud of – four boys from the second boat and one from the third, had placed in the top third of a field of colleges and universities. The few other high schools in the qualifying race finished a distant 16+ seconds behind them. Two days later both crews enjoyed successes in the Reading Regatta – a virtual sprint of 800 meters. The eight won the Senior Eight event and the four won the Junior Four event, both crews taking home the silver tankards awarded to the winners.
Throughout the season, Kent’s strength was not at the start of the race, but rather in the body of the race where they built up an unmerciful momentum that enabled them to row through crews who thought they had a sure lead. The longer Henley course (2112 meters compared with 1500 rowed in New England school races) suited Kent well. The draw that took place on the Sunday before Henley matched the Kent eight with Edinburgh University in the first round. True to form, in their first race Kent was behind at the Barrier, the first marker on the Henley course, but they had pulled ahead by Fawley and at the end won by 2 ¾ lengths. In the next round Kent faced University College, London and rowed a similar race – behind at the Barrier, moving through by Fawley and winning by 2 ¼ lengths. By Friday’s quarter-finals, the only crews remaining in the field were “selected” crews (Henley’s version of seeding), and Kent was paired with Melbourne University, a strong crew from down-under. Melbourne proved to be the stronger crew that day, beating Kent by two lengths. The eventual winner of the Temple Cup was the Princeton Varsity Lightweights, who were undefeated throughout the season, including Eastern Sprints and IRA victories. That Kent had made it to the quarter-finals in this talented field was a remarkable achievement.
Throughout the regatta the Kent boys impressed many with their accomplishments on the water, and also attracted a fair amount of attention for their sharp attire off the water, dressed in their Henley blazers and straw boaters. For the sixth formers, the experience was a memorable finish to a great season and their Kent rowing careers. For the underformers, the experience whetted their appetite for next year’s competition. The KSBC program will miss the dedication and experience of the six graduating seniors, all of whom plan to continue rowing at college, but with four returning from the Henley eight, and all five from the coxed four, coaches Eric Houston and Todd Gentry have reason to optimistic about next year. Moreover, the gold medal performance by Kent’s third eight at the New England Championships speaks well for the depth of the program and the prospects for the future.
Roster: Eight: Cory Grever ’09, Wooley Pardoe ’09, Charles Caron-Marquis ’09, Christophe Caron-Marquis ’09, Slava Chupryna ’10, Joe Savo ’09, Anthony Mantegani ’09, Alex Perkins ’11, Christian Reynolds ’10 (Jordan Traub ’10 stepped in for Joe Savo after Nationals)
Coach: Eric Houston ’80
Coxed Four: Patrick Knorring ’10, Ricky Bourke ’10, Christian Naylor ’10, David Cerami ’10, Morgan Weaver ’11
Coach: Todd Gentry
