Simsbury Crew Achieves OAR-some Results at State Regatta

The Connecticut Public School Rowing Association (CPSRA) held its, much anticipated, 24th Championship Regatta for public high school crews at Lake Waramaug on Sunday, May 20. Simsbury competed against other Connecticut public high school rowing teams. Simsbury locked oars with formidable opponents from Avon, Stonington, Farmington, Glastonbury, Guilford, Lyme/Old Lyme, East Lyme, Lewis Mills, Middletown, EO Smith and Valley Regional. After an exciting day of rowing, both the girl’s varsity 1 and 2 boats came in third place respectively and the boy’s 1st varsity boat took the first spot.

The girl's novice boat took the 5th spot in the final with a time of 6:50.2. The girl’s 2nd varsity won bronze, coming in 3rd with a time of 6:19.9. The girl’s 1st varsity boat, with Stonington hot on their heels, claimed the 3rd spot with a time of 5:49.1

The boy’s novice boat rowed over the finish line in 6th place with a time of 6:21.4. The boy’s 2nd varsity boat, rowed to a nail-biting finish, beating East Lyme by less than a second, grabbing fourth spot with a time of 5:40.7. The final race of the day was the boy’s 1st varsity boat, and it was also a very exciting finish, with spectators thundering cheers urging their teams on. Simsbury’s V1 boys gave it their all and crossed the finish line first, earning themselves the title of state champions. Rowing on the boy’s V1 boat, Grit, was Liam Praise (coxswain), Dante Oliveira (8th seat), Andrew Orosz (7th seat), Aaron Harris (6th seat), Christopher Morris (5th seat), Gianni Perdikis (4th seat), Nelson Perry (3rd seat), Brady Quinn (2nd seat) and Luke Williams (bow seat). The boy’s proud coach, Adam Askam, said, 'I am proud of how well the 1V performed. This was, as a whole, the race we have been looking for them to put together. I am also happy to see the girl's medals and the novices do well. It was a team effort and we got third place in the team point trophy.'

Simsbury’s girl’s head coach, Ann Carabillo, has shown true dedication and passion, and has done a formidable job running the Connecticut Public Schools Rowing Association from its inception and has been regatta director for the past 23 years. This year she has handed over the reins to Scott Mahon, the East Lyme’s girl's head coach.

The Spring rowing season concludes for Simsbury Crew on Memorial Day weekend at the New England Interscholastic Rowing Association (NEIRA) Championships at Lake Quinsigamond in Worcester, MA. Two girl’s boats have qualified to race in this regatta.