Back in 2010 when CBC was established we took the San Diego Crew Classic Regatta by storm with two 8+ boats. This past weekend we did it again! The River Rats traveled out West and put on a show for the fans watching live on the beach and the fans live-streaming at home. Both the 1V8+ and the 2V8+ had exciting heat and finals races which had CBC tied at the first 200 meters with top finishing crews and complete dog fights down the course.
CBC’s 1V8 was led by the dynamic duo, Varsity Coxswain Izzy Khamish and Stroke seat Callaghan Nickerson. This was Khamish’s first time down the course but quickly got up to speed on the lay of the land. Nickerson is in her senior year at CBC and heading to Boston College in the Fall, which means it is unlikely that she will ever race at the San Diego Crew Classic again as a result she made sure to empty her boats tank every race. Callaghan was supported by 7 seat Sophie Bell, 6 seat Lila Seidenberg, 5 seat Annika Nelson, 4 seat Caroline Krantz, 3 seat Charlotte Maschoff, 2 seat Maddy Dodge and Bow seat Ava Weneck.
The San Diego Crew Classic is for many crews (definitely the East Coast crews) the first race of the spring season. It is a sprint race meaning it is a 2000 meter buoy course (like you see in the olympics) with eight boats lined up across from each other. This year San Diego provided some great racing weather on both Saturday and Sunday, lots of sunshine and a slight breeze. With the water launch at this race it is ideal to have warmer temperatures.
Our 2V8 was a boat led by High School Freshman, Allison Murray who studied the race course ahead of traveling and executed flawlessly. Murray had the support of her stroke seat Iso McCoy (High School Junior) who has had a lot of Varsity race level experience. The rest of the powerhouse squad consisted of 7 seat Miya Lee, 6 seat Audrey Sears, 5 seat Sylvia Freidenrich, 4 seat Ellie Lennon, 3 seat Elle Arnold, 2 seat Kate MacDonald, bow seat Charlotte Mickelborough.
Head Coach Liz Trond shared her thoughts on the weekend, “It was a great weekend of competing, learning and racing. Both boats really understood what National level speed is at the beginning of the season, and equally as important, it was a great weekend of teamwork and team bonding. I feel that this group of 18 athletes has set up Spring 2024 to be a great season.”
On Saturday’s heat races, both boats secured their spot in the Sunday A Final race. On Sunday our 1V8 raced at 11:50am in lane 7 stroke for stroke with Norcal Crew, Capital Crew and Holy Names Academy. The crew finished in 6th place ahead of both Norcal and Holy Names. CBC only made two changes to this years 1V8+ line up, Izzy and Lila. With this event being the most subscribed to event of the weekend, the improvement from an 8th place finish last year to a 6th place finish this year is a significant jump up. Senior leader and future Drexel Dragon, Lila Seidenberg commented,”One of my favorite things about rowing is the sense of camaraderie and our boat meetings always get me pumped up for the race. Everyone in the boat is always on the same page and has the same expectations going into the race which allows me to get excited and stay excited. Our signature hands in, ‘4-3-2-ONE’ is the last bit of assurance that we are ready to crush whatever comes our way!”
The 2V8 raced shortly after at 12:22pm in lane 8 coming off a first place start in the final and then hanging for the first half of the race with Newport and Saugatuck Rowing Clubs. As the finals race continued to unfold Murray led her crew with grit and poise as kept her foot on the gas and competed side by side with Oakland Strokes, Marin Rowing and Norcal Rowing. After an exciting 7 minutes and 44 seconds the raced ended with a strong 7th place finish for CBC. In this final CBC was one of two East Coast crews competing, all other crews were West Coast based and have been on the water training for a good amount of time. Sylvia Freidenrich from 5 seat weighed in on her experience this weekend, “We planned to have an aggressive start for both races. We definitely worked through the first 1250 meters of each race well, but lost steam towards the sprint. All in all, we exceeded our expectations of how we thought we would perform, and we are excited to work through the portions of the race we need to improve on!”
CBC is back on the East Coast and will be lining up to race this weekend at the Nereid/Port Scrimmage. Here we go CBC! Cheers to a healthy, successful and happy Spring 2024 racing season!
