New Trier Rowing at the Milwaukee River Challenge

New Trier High School Rowing showed depth and speed at the Milwaukee River Challenge on Saturday, September 15th. This was the first regatta of the fall season.

New Trier took first place in all the Men’s and Women’s events in which it competed.

The race was held on a three-mile river course that winds through downtown Milwaukee, presenting unusual challenges for crews as they work to navigate through “no passing zones” and under numerous bridges in addition to a tight 90-degree turn about halfway through the course. The Milwaukee River Challenge features a "Head Race" format, which is typical in fall rowing. Boats start at rolling intervals and are ranked based on the time it takes for them to finish the course. More than 900 spectators cheered the 19 participating clubs with a total of 126 boats competing.

“This was the best overall performance for the varsity girls team at the Milwaukee River Challenge,” said Sandy Culver, JV/Varsity girls coach. “Finishing 1st, 2nd, 4th and 5th in the Junior 8+ category, and 1st, 2nd and 8th in the Junior 4+ race shows just how hard everyone has been working. I was particularly impressed with our Coxswains, who each steered great races on a challenging course.”

New Trier Women’s 1V coxswain, Senior Rachel Rane, reported “We knew we wanted to set the bar pretty high as this was our first real test of what this boat can do against other crews. We went into the race very strong and were able to establish a really solid rhythm. Our race got super hectic during the middle stretch but the girls kept their cool. Going into the sprint we knew we had control of our race and saw an opportunity to walk on a college boat in front of us. We took it up a notch and gave it everything we had. The girls left it all out there today.”

Nate Kelp-Lenane, Men’s Varsity head coach said, “The regatta was the squad’s first test of the season. Many rowers had to step up into new roles as we had a handful of absences, and I could not be happier with how they responded. The squad was efficient with our equipment on land, and aggressive on the water in their races. Our Varsity 8 won by a 36 second margin and the V4 won by a 20 second margin. I look forward to having the squad at full strength and testing our top speed.”

New Trier Men’s 1V coxswain, Senior Jonah Rane, reported “For the boys we were missing some of our stronger guys but everyone stepped up big time and came ready to race. We hit the ground running and came charging through the first 3k and the turn. We were a little exhausted towards the end of the piece, but were able to bounce back to have a strong finish”.

Next up for the New Trier crews is the Tough Cup regatta on September 29th.