Category: News

The podium was busy for CBC at the Regional Championship Regatta! The River Rats competed in multiple sculling and sweeping events throughout the weekend. Building off of the teams incredible performance at Saratoga Invitational Regatta a few weeks back, the girls found more speed which led to more medals!

If you can imagine perfect conditions (no wind, full sunshine), incredible food, happy teenagers and fun coaches that is exactly what this weekend represented. Maybe ice cream is what makes the girls so fast, because ice cream was certainly on the menu every dinner!

Jumping into results: Most boats had time trials on Saturday. All CBC boats advanced to the A grand final based on their spectacular performance in the time trials. Sunday was your standard spring sprint racing style of competition. Sunday morning kicked off with the 4- race where Junior stroke seat, Camilla Calderwood led the boat to a gold medal and invitation to compete at USRowing Nationals. Calderwood was supported by Freshman Emily Goetel, and bow pair Brooke Lebron and Layla Sisca. CBC’s all senior 4+ was coxed by Allison Murray to a 6th place finish (13 boats total). Murray’s rowers were Sophia Kearns, Kam Morgenstern, Norah Surette and Katie Estabrook.

Incoming Sacred Heart Freshman, Tanaya Dixit led her 2V4x to a massive first place finish with a time of 7:22.77 ahead of second place finisher Great Bay (7:39.57). Alex Maniatty who is committed to rowing at Indiana University in the Fall supported her fellow senior in the bow pair. Stern pair was led by Juniors, Kirsten Borner and Olivia Macaluso. The quad success did not end with the 2v, it continued with the 1v4x! The magician, Noelle Basta also led her crew to a massive first place victory with a time of 6:59.40 (9 seconds ahead of 2nd place finisher). Leighton Busby stroked, Christina Charnin powered in 3 seat and Westport’s Skye Coats was crafty in 2 seat.

For the first time in program history, CBC competed in the U16 8+ event and the girls came ready to concur! With a bronze medal finish the 8+ full of youngsters have secured their invitation to the last dance in Florida. Coxswain, Chloe Katzner was spectacular as she led her boat in the dog fight. It was an extremely tight race coming into the last 500 meters. Katzner in tandem with her stroke, Hana Lee battled it out on the course. Grace Mickels rowed 7 seat, Catherine Cardone 6 seat, Sloane Keane 5 seat, Sophie Hart 4 seat, Norah Salami 3 seat, Lia Coats 2 seat and Harper Do in bow.

The Nationals qualifying boats continued after the lunch break with the U174+. Coxswain, Mishi Khamish led her 4+ to a silver finish. Khamish’s four finished with a time of 7:53.85, first place finisher Saugatuck a time of 7:49.09. We are extremely proud of our girls for battling it out till the end and cannot wait to see them do it all over again at Nationals in Florida! CBC continued the Regionals domination in the 2V4+ with two boats racing and both medaling. The B Boat was full of young magic and led the A final by open water until the last 300 meters. Of course in the sport of rowing it is always any boats race. Coxswain Maddy Scholl led the B boat to bronze medal and a ton of racing take aways. Scholl’s leading ladies were Nora McGrath and Chloe Katzner in stern pair with Mila Lencyk and Norah Salami in bow pair. Connecticut’s A boat pushed out in front of the B boat in the sprint to finish 2 seconds ahead and 5 seconds behind first place finisher. Congratulations to Coxswain Jiah Baak for commanding her crew and steering her final high school regatta. Baak’s crew as composed of stroke seat Layla Morris, 3 seat Tanaya Dixit, 2 seat Emily Dearosiers and bow seat Caitlyn Getty.

The weekend wrapped up with another podium finish for the Novice 4+. This is a crew we have been following all spring long as they have been a force on the 2k course. Novice coxswain, Frida Allers coxed her heart out to finish the season with a medal around her neck. In every rowers second race of the day, Darien Freshman Catherine Cardone stroked her 4+ to a bronze medal supported by her other half, Sloane Keane (the two other wise known as Caloan). The fierce bow pair was led by Lia Coats in 2 seat and bowed by Junior superstar Jackie Elsener.

Congratulations to all 26 Connecticut Boat Club athletes that will represent the team, Norwalk and state of Connecticut at Nationals in Saratoga Florida in a few weeks. Live streaming will be available, so please tune in to support the girls.

What a weekend for Connecticut Boat Club! The girls raced in 16 events with many of the athletes competing in multiple categories both sweep and sculling. Freshman Gracie Mickels shared how the team as a whole focused on their individual boats this weekend. “I feel like we raced our hardest” said Mickels which certainly paid off for her as she finished the weekend on the podium with two medals!

Bowing her first sprint race in the Novice 4x, eighth grader from Westport Chloe Katzner shared her excitement to have led the boat to a gold medal. As the bow of this quad with no coxswain, Chloe was responsible for steering the boat (turning her head to look/using the buoy line), communicating to the rest of the crew the distance left, and making any calls she felt could help the boat win. It sounds like she did an incredible job as the crew took home the first place prize!

It was said by many of the athletes that the entire weekend in Mercer was full of high energy and positivity. Noelle Basta added to the positive remarks by sharing, “The vibes were up this weekend! One of my favorite moments was in my 2V8 race when we were down 6 seats and in the last 500 meters we took off. We knew that we had to place top 2 in order to go to the A final and with our 500 meter sprint we were able to walk through the Saugatuck boat and secure the A final.”

Congratulations to all of our girls and their competitors on a great racing weekend. Below is a summary of our team results.

• Novice 8+ 5th place
• Novice 4+ 2nd place
• Novice 4x 1st place
• Varsity 8 5th place
• Varsity 2V8 6th place
• Varsity 3V8 2nd place
• Varsity 4V8 3rd place
• Varsity 2V4x 2nd place
• Varsity 4+ 2nd place
• Varsity 2V4+ 3rd place
• Varsity 4x 2nd place
• Varsity 3V4+ 5th place
• U17 4+ 4th place
• Varsity 2- 3rd and 4th place
• Varsity 4- 3rd place
• U17 8+ 3rd place

Spring racing can only properly kick off in one place for CBC and that place is San Diego! Racing in the Youth Womens 8+ category has been a long standing tradition for all 15 generations of River Rats. It is a beloved race by our team as the girls love California, the venue, eating at in-n-out burger, and it’s the most sunshine the girls have seen in several months.

Winter 2026 in Connecticut was historically cold. Which means that the girls didn’t begin their on the water training until a few weeks prior to competing at the San Diego Crew Classic. As much as everyone would have loved a few more weeks of seat racing and water time at the end of the day, nothing really gets these girls monkeyed up (they are ready and up for any challenge)!

The 8+ had a great swing row practice on Friday giving Sophomore coxswain, Mishi Khamish the opportunity to run the course for the first time. Although young, Khamish has excelled in leading her boats across many finish lines in various East Coast venues. The opportunity to add her first West Coast course was something she was looking forward to. To which she delivered, the crew had a good and clean heats race on Saturday. Program Head Coach Liz Trond shared how the boat discussed their heats race and made their goal, tangible changes (improvements) for the B final on Sunday.

Northeastern commit Layla Sisca stroked the boat, a seat she is very comfortable dominating from. Working together with Khamish, they gave their crew outstanding leadership. Junior powerhouses Brooke LeBaron and Camilla Calderwood added tremendous speed to the boat in 7 and 6 seat. Emily Goertel and Skye Coats raced in the middle of the haul where their power and technique was critical to the boats success. Three fast seniors sat in bow 3 of the 8+ where they were the first to cross the finish line: University of North Carolina Chapel Hill commit, Christina Charnin (3 seat) and University of Boston commits, Norah Surette (2 seat) and Kamryn Morgenstern (1 seat).

Christina Charnin commented, ‘We had a great collective competitive mindset and I was happy to race my heart out!’ This reflection came hours after the B Finals race on Sunday. The River Rats had a strong start but they weren’t the only ones! CBC battled down the course with Saint Ignatius’s crew, giving the crowd at the beach more than one reason to cheer. Ultimately, CBC crossed the finish line first with a time of 7:15 (2 seconds ahead of Saint Ignatius). The crew was thrilled to have finished first in their final! Charnin continued, ‘Our finals race went well because we pinpointed what we wanted to work on and executed a great change in our ratio.’

The entire team will be back on the race course at the upcoming Mercer Sprints Regatta! Please continue to follow/support our team on social media.

See you next year, San Diego! Congratulations to all crews!

Welcome to Fall 2025 racing River Rats fan club! The girls kicked off the official racing season with the Head of the Housatonic last weekend. Although the small boats races were cancelled due to bad Shelton CT storms the four and eight boat races remained unaffected. The Housatonic line-ups ultimately ended up being the Head of the Charles (HOCR) line-ups. The athletes mentioned how great of a foundation last weekend served leading into the highly anticipated weekend in Boston MA!

There were many races to watch for the CBC followers as current, alumni and coaches raced the famous Charles River this weekend. The 3-day largest international regatta kicked off for CBC fans on Saturday with 4 CBC alums racing the Club 8 category for each of their respective universities. 2025 Captain, Izzy Khamish (Princeton Freshman) steered the Club 8 to a 7th place finish and absolutely nailed every turn on the Charles River! This event felt like a Class of 2024 reunion for Ava Weneck (Harvard), Lila Seidenberg (Drexel) and Callaghan Nickerson (Boston College). With I.Khamish’s crew winning best time overall for the alums, Callaghan Nickerson raced fiercely in her BC 7 seat and finished 2 seconds after I.Khamish’s Princeton boat. Nickerson and I.Khamish won the Head of the Charles together as CBC teammates in 2023. Lila and Ava’s boats led the times for the middle of the pack in this event (Drexel finished 1 second ahead of Harvard). Seidenberg dominated from 6 seat while Weneck mastered the craft of 2 seat and helped her boat move from 42nd place to finishing 25th overall! Varsity Coach, Mitz Carr not only raced but won first place in the Directors’ Challenge Mixed Quad. Carr supported her stroke seat with her power and blade strike in 3 seat. Two CBC legendary River Rat Captains, Meg Galloway (Yale Alum) and Bridget Galloway (Harvard Alum) raced as well in the Mixed Quad event along with their brother, Liam Galloway and amazing mother, Colleen Galloway!

“It was my first HOCR! It was so exciting and I couldn’t be more proud of my boat!” Shared Mishi Khamish as her boat kicked off the High School River Rats racing on Sunday. M.Khamish’s first time down the course was definitely a classic HOCR thriller…yielding calls, 4 boats under Anderson at the same time, blades 5 inches away from the bridge and starboard pressure calls. Following in her two older sisters foot steps, she steered a course that her boat was proud of. M.Khamish’s U17 4+ was stroked by Emily Goertel, 3 seat Leighton Busby, 2 seat Brooke LeBaron and bowed by Noelle Basta. The crew started 22nd this year and after passing boats and taking inside turns they finished in 7th place (fastest on the Norwalk River and in Connecticut!)

The morning continued with the Youth Coxed Quads race. The CBC quad was driven by Senior Coxswain, Jiah Baak, stroked by senior captain Sophia Kearns, 3 seat powerhouse Christina Charnin, 2 seat junior boat mover Skye Coats, and bow seat force Katie Estabrook. The crew came off of an amazing gold medal finish last weekend at the Head of the Housatonic. Baak is an incredible senior leader and led this boat to a strong start and a strong finish! The River Rats finished 3rd against Connecticut crews and 25th overall in the event. We will miss this boat (almost) full of seniors next year but are so proud of them.

In the third and final CBC event, Junior coxswain Allison Murray led the Varsity 4+ to an 11th place finish. Murray shared with excitement, “I AM SO HAPPY” after the race where fans watched her perfect peel off of the big turn and into the Elliott Bridge. The crew was stroked by senior captain, Layla Sisca for the 2nd year in a row. This year, with more experience and confidence in the stroke seat Sisca led the boat to an outstanding finish after starting in bow 15. Layla was supported by 3 seat Norah Surette, 2 seat Camilla Calderwood and senior captain Kam Morgenstern in bow. Sisca shared, “The race went great. It was fun getting to come off the start line and immediately close in on another boat. Getting to pass another boat that early on in the race helped us with our momentum during the rest of the race.”

All of the River Rats bleed green forever but Class of 2024 alums Caroline Krantz and Annika Nelson bleed green 2x as they represented Dartmouth College in the Women’s Championship 8 event. Not only did these two Dartmouth sophomores earn their seat in Dartmouth’s top boat but they are back to the high school days of being stern pair, pair partners!! The Big Green girls finished 5th in the College Championship Category. After not making the trip up to Boston last year, Duke University made a strong return to the Head of the Charles this year. The legendary High School teammates Sophia Greco (Duke Senior Rower) and Mia Khamish (Duke Senior Coxswain) took the Women’s Championship 8 by storm! Mia last raced the event in October 2023 when she won a gold medal for Duke. Starting with bow 22 this year (last to start the head race) she quickly started to make her move and steer her best line. Mia and Sophia led their Varsity 8 to a 10th place finish in the College Championship Category ahead of both Rhode Island University and Fordham University, and only 1 second behind Northeastern (whom the Charles River is their home course).

Yes, you read this correctly for the first time in Head of the Charles history, there were 3 coxswain sisters racing on the same weekend! CBC is notorious for starting trends and I suppose this is our newest one. The girls loved seeing/supporting US Rowing National Team athletes, Erin Reelick (CBC Class of 2012, Princeton Alum) and Kaitlyn Kynast (CBC Class of 2017, Stanford Alum). As always, this weekend brings together multiple generations of River Rats, it is full of hugs, lessons learned, world class racing and hard work paying off in multiple ways.

We are back on the race course next weekend at the Head of the Fish!

USRowing Nationals 2025 wrapped up on Sunday June 15th with an outstanding performance across the board by the River Rats! While the weather was spotty the Nationals organizers did an incredible job finding a way to continue the big stage racing.

CBC qualified 6 boats, each in a different event. The 4- was a completely new crew of girls with the exception of Sophie Bell (whom was in the 4- boat in 2024 where the boat won gold medals). With captain Bell (returning champion, familiar with the event) leading the crew from the bow the crew had great races across the board. Reagan Weneck stroked the boat fearlessly, followed by Layla Sisca, and Camilla Calderwood in 2 seat. The straight four finished in second place at the A Final and were all smiles, super proud of all of their hard work!

The teams youngest gals were the U16 4x+ led by coxswain, Mishi Khamish from Staples High School. Stern pair was a returning duo from last years event, LeeLee Alix and Emily Goertel. With bow pair being Catherine Parent and Kate Surette (whom finished her novice season in the spring!). Khamish’s boat finished 5th in the country on the grand stage of the A final. It sure was a nail biter at the finish line as a photo finish took place with both CBC and Parati’s boats within a second of finishing in 3rd place.

It was a great 6th in the nation finish for the U17 4x! The boat was led by Westport’s Skye Coats, New Canaan’s Leighton Busby in 3 seat, in 2 seat Darien’s Brooke LeBaron, and bowed by Noelle Basta of Stamford. This diverse Fairfield County representation was exciting to see blend together and perform as outstanding as they did. The girls worked so hard all season and deserved to be top 10 in the country.

Under primarily coach Steve Baranoski’s leadership, the club’s V4x also had a great nationals experience! The crew finished 8th in the country, 2 seconds behind 7th place finisher. It was a tight race as 9th place finisher, Nereid finished with a time difference of .8 behind the CBC boat led by Captain, Iso McCoy in bow seat. Christina Charnin rowed in 2 seat, Charlotte Mickelborough (3 seat), and stroked by Sophia Dranchak.

A crew primarily of rising seniors earned their seats in the 2V4x event. Sophia Kearns sat in stroke seat, followed by Alex Maniatty in 3 seat, Holly Hulme in 2 seat and Tanaya Dixit in bow seat. Their finals race didn’t require a photo finish but that doesn’t mean that it wasn’t a strong race/battle down the course. Baranoski’s boat fought off the start line and hung in the race, pushing themselves to new limits and learning new skills in racing at the Nationals level.

The Varsity 4+ event is one of the toughest events to race in at Nationals (in my opinion). Head Coach Liz Trond and Steve Baranoski put together an incredible 4+ to race this challenging event. Coxswain, Allison Murray steered and instructed the boat down the course. Murray had her close friend, Kam Morgenstern in bow, Katie Estabrook in 2 seat, Ohio State commit Avril MacHale in 3 seat, and stroking the boat was Norah Surette. The crew finished 22nd in the country, ahead of local competitor, Row America Rye.

The club is so proud of all of the girls that raced at Nationals and the girls that stayed home and continued training. Summer Camps are running all summer long so don’t forget to sign up!

Congrats to the River Rats and to all crews at USRowing Nationals 2025!

After some pretty amazing years with these superstars, they are taking their last strokes as high schoolers on the Norwalk River. Their collegiate careers await them and we may be bias but we feel that these universities so incredibly lucky to have these girls join their programs in the Fall!

Avril MacHale turned in her Volleyball and joined the rowing community at CBC in the Fall of her senior year, her recruiting process with rowing was exciting. MacHale is committed to rowing at The Ohio State University where she will continue to develop and crush it. Reagan Weneck and Iso McCoy are setting their course to University of Michigan. These two besties are ready to represent the Big Blue and give the midwest a try.

Darien Captain, Sophie Bell is soon to be a Virginian as she relocates to wear orange at the University of Virginia! Similar to Bell, Westport Captain, Izzy Khamish will be proudly wearing orange as she will be a Princeton University Tiger in the Fall!

Baylor University has been awaiting Kate MacDonald’s graduation as she will join the family legacy down in Waco Texas. There is something so special about being part of a legacy and we are so happy that Kate’s dream came true. Fairfield’s very own, Lucia Noekker is joining many CBC alums wearing red and white at Indiana University! Not too far from Noekker, Gwyn Horn(Greenwich Academy) is joining Lafayette College. Sophia Dranand is going to be spending the next 4 years in New York at Colgate University. Dranand will have the incredible opportunity to row on this great team, coached by Jim Lister and we believe that she will continue to do amazing things!

Fili Keszti is signed sealed and (almost) delivered to head up North to Maine. Keszti has been accepted to be a part of the next class of Bobcats at Bates College. Watch out

International student-athletes alert!!! Wilton Senior, Charlotte Mickelborough is off to St. Andrews. As a duo citizen, Mickelborough is very excited to be spending an extended period of time in Scotland. St Andrews is Scotland’s first university founded in 1413 and the rowing program is coached by a former Olympian. Holly Hulme is off to Canada! As she heads west to The University of Calgary we will absolutely miss her tremendously but know what great things she will do.

The Class of 2025 is a crew of 12 amazing young women. They are respected, admired and loved by their peers! We will miss them so much but we look forward to the visits when they are home from break.

Congratulations to the Class of 2025!

The Saratoga Invitational regatta was a successful racing weekend for the Connecticut Boat Club girls ahead of their next major regatta, Northeast Regionals. The girls were all smiles embracing the sunshine, wind and rain. But of course, it isn’t too hard to do so when your coach spoils the whole team by treating to some delicious ice cream!

Saratoga Springs, NY turned its attention to our water based sport (instead of the horses) for this annual event. With a 6 lane course laid out, the CBC River Rats saddled up and let their blades do the talking…well other than their coxswains!

Below are the team results:

Yep, that is in fact a lot of hardware! What an incredible weekend for the team, many of the athletes raced in multiple events having the opportunity to showcase their skills. This team of champions works hard day in and day out.

Congratulations to this talented group of young women and the coaching staff!

Northeast Regionals will take place the weekend of May 16th, stay tuned for more on the CBC River Rats Spring 2025 season.

The CBC girls had one big slummer party in New Jersey this past weekend! For the novice team it was some of their first multi-day racing. The weather was perhaps not their favorite BUT the results made it all worth it.

The Novice squad proudly represented the club with the Novice A 8+ earning a silver medal in the first race of day on Saturday and the Novice B 8+ earning a gold medal in their category. In the Novice 4+ race the crew earned a silver medal, their second of medal of the day!

The Varsity squad took the stage next, on Saturday they finished in 2nd place with a time of 7:06. After huddling and reviewing film the crew raced the finals race on Sunday and gained some speed, finishing with a time of 7:01. CBC’s 2nd and 3rd Varsity 8+ finished in 4th place in their heats, behind Whitemarsh, Greenwich and Rye Rowing Clubs. As the girls jumped into smaller boats the 2V4x crews took the race course in two strong heats. Heat 1 with CBC’s A boat earned a first place finish, advancing to the grand final on Sunday. While Heat 2 with CBC’s 4x B boat finished in 4th place after a strong race down the course. In the 2V4x grand final CBC’s A boat fell 1 second short of earning a bronze medal, but boy did they race well!

Two podium finishes for the U17 crew! In two separate races, the U17 quads earned silver and bronze medals…it must be noted that it was .3 seconds shy of a gold medal. Don’t worry girls, next weekend gold is yours! In the U17 coxed four race the River Rats earned a silver medal behind Saugatuck’s crew. On Sunday the last of the U17 races took place in the 8+ and in CBC U17 fashion the girls emptied out their tanks and finished the weekend strong with a bronze medal!

Women’s Varsity 4x race was a great example of finding speed from the heat to the final. These fearless girls went from a 7:27 finish in their heat to a 7:23 in the final which translated to a bronze medal! One of the clubs favorite categories is the pair, this weekend there were two pairs representing the team. Both the CBC A pair and B pair finished first in their heats, congratulations girls!

Out in lane 6 with a comfortable lead over the majority of the pack, the 4- crew finished in second place in their race. In the teams last race of the day, the lightweight varsity double also earned a silver medal with a comfortable 7 second lead over Rye New York’s Crew.

Congratulations to all crews on a great racing weekend! Looking forward to seeing everyone this upcoming weekend in New York!

Connecticut Boat Club’s Captains are committed to rowing in their college years! Izzy Khamish (Staples High School), Iso McCoy (Brian McMahon High School) and Sophie Bell (Darien High School) are making big moves! As the girls get ready to embark on their next chapter of rowing, they will be joining three of the best rowing programs in the country. All three schools, Michigan University, University of Virginia and Princeton University are frequent homes for CBC alums. Connecticut Boat Club’s Head Coach, Liz Trond was sure to provide warm introductions to each captain and their respective school’s alums!

Iso McCoy originally was interested in pursuing her collegiate career in the city of Boston however, upon visiting Ann Arbor her mind and heart were convinced otherwise. “I loved the style of the University of Michigan campus, it was a true college town feel” McCoy expressed. Iso’s older brother (Leo McCoy) was instrumental in giving her advice, as he went through the process of selecting the best university for himself a few years ago. Leo advised his sister to not worry and that if it was meant to be, she would be accepted into Michigan University. Ken McCoy (Iso’s father) also played a key role in supporting Iso throughout her college selection process. Iso shared, “It was actually my dad who encouraged me at Nationals last year to attend the University of Michigan office hours. It was then when I met and instantly admired and wanted to be coached by the Michigan rowing staff. My dad loved our visit to the University of Michigan so much that who knows he might name a restaurant after them in the future!”

A lot of orange with an accent of blue, Sophie Bell will be continuing her rowing career at The University of Virginia! Joining a large rowing team can be a lot to take in but fortunately for Sophie she has a familiar face already on the UVA team. Bell was formally a ski racer and her then teammate (Isabella) also made the switch from skiing to rowing and is rowing for Virginia. Additionally, she found that during her official visit she had a lot of mutual friends with many of the girls on the team which made it feel comfortable and a place she could call home for Undergrad. As a dual citizen, Sophie always thought that she would follow in the footsteps of both of her older brothers by attend college in Canada. UVA’s gorgeous campus and wonderful community completely transformed the college image that Bell had in mind, she was determined to stay in America for her college years! Not to mention Coach Wes joining the coaching staff and them sharing the common trait of being Canadian rowers. “When I first met coach Wes I felt that we were very similar. I am incredibly interested in the mechanics of rowing (both the technique and the boats infrastructure) and I believe that he is as well. I am excited about how he goes about each practice and his mindset.” 

One Khamish sister is thriving at Duke University and the next is…going to Princeton University! Izzy Khamish can officially shout that she is going to Princeton, her dream school. In speaking with her she shared that she is most looking forward to joining the Tiger mentality of, ‘training to win’. This mantra is contagious and embodied from the coaching staff to every athlete on the team. Princeton University captured Khamish’s attention before even setting foot on the campus based on solely their academic reputation, however the rowing team puzzle piece was critical to her choosing to Early Decision at Princeton. Izzy shared with excitement,“The coaching is unparalleled, then I had the chance to attend a practice and I really liked seeing how the girls carried themselves on and off the water.” Katherine Garrett and Kelsey Reelick are two alumni names that we hear often as their legacy at CBC continues to live on. Izzy referenced both Garrett and Reelick as they are Princeton University alums whom she looks up to. “Kat Garrett was also a captain at CBC (as Izzy currently is) and is currently a captain at Princeton which makes her someone that I look up to. I have heard endless amounts of stories about her being a CBC legend and carrying that on to her collegiate rowing years from our coach Liz Trond. Then there is Kelsey Reelick who was part of the CBC Class of 2010, was unstoppable at Princeton and then went on to race for Team USA at the Olympics in 2024. I feel that I have two resources and fellow alumni that I can lean on at anytime!” Khamish’s parents have been supportive from the very start but there was one key family member that read Izzy’s mind and provided first hand experience. Her older sister, Mia Khamish (CBC Class of 2022) went through the D1 college rowing recruitment process a few years ago herself and was able to relate and give the best advice to Izzy. Izzy feels so fortunate to have had the support from her sister sharing that, “I couldn’t have gotten better advice than the advice Mia gave me. She and I are both coxswains and she knows me so well so she knew what I was feeling. It was really incredible to have someone there that had been through the exact same thing!”

It is with a lot of excitement that we are cheering for the continued success of our captains as they wrap up their senior years of high school and prep to move to new states! We are certain that they will succeed in everything they set their mind and hearts to do. 

Let’s Go Tigers! Let’s Go Blue! Let’s Go Hoos! 

Can we believe it is the end of the Fall 2024 season?! And what a season it has been for the Norwalk based River Rats! As the article title shares, the CBC Novice 8+ had an undefeated season which is so exciting for all of the girls. The Varsity girls improved so much throughout the season and rowed in new line ups/rowing hauls helping them have new experiences which they embraced to the fullest!

At the seasons last regatta The Head of the Fish, the temperatures could not have been better, allowing for the girls to have great conditions to show off their skills. In the singles race Sophie Bell placed 12th, Sophia Dranand 17th, Layla Sisca 11th in her U17 category, Kate McDonald 26th and Iso McCoy 27th. This was only the warm up event for the girls as they all raced in larger boat categories later in the day!

Overall it was an impressive day for CBC in all of the CBC sculling events. The middle school 4x placed second, U16 4x’s placed 3rd and 5th, the Varsity 4x earned a silver medal, the 2v4x placed 6th, V2x came in 7th and lastly the V4x+ brought home silver medal hardware!

In the sweeping boats CBC had even more show stopping results to round out the day. The V8+ earned a bronze medal, 2V8+ 6th place, U174+ bronze medal, V4+ had a strong 4th place finish, 2V4+ brought home smiles with their bronze medals, and the rest of the day was full of gold medals for the prestigious club. U168+, Novice 8+, U178+ and Novice 4’s brought home first and second place in their category!

Captain Sophie Bell shared her thoughts on the day, “The weather in Saratoga was stunning, but the wind kept us all on our toes. Still, the team’s spirit stayed high all weekend, pushing us through every stroke. That energy brought CBC an incredible first: winning four Fish Head trophies—a historic victory we’ll never forget. Closing out an incredible fall season, this final race was the perfect culmination of months of dedication and teamwork.”

CBC continues to be a team of champions! Ask about how to join the fun…we have some spots available!