Heavy Lifting...

In a quiet section of the South River in Annapolis, over 65 Scholastic Rowers (grades 8 – 12) train daily in the sport of rowing. Annapolis Junior Rowing (AJR) has been training youth athletes for over 20 years, with much success, scholarships, and even Olympic tryouts. These men and women come from nearly every school – public and private in Anne Arundel County and spend five days a week in training with racing nearly every weekend in both the Spring season (March – May) and Fall (August – November).

This weekend, AJR is sending the Men’s Varsity 8 and Women’s Varsity 4 to represent our area and to compete in the Head of the Charles Regatta in Boston, the largest rowing regatta in the US. There are 619 rowing clubs/schools representing 9,222 athletes from Youth to Masters competing in 70 events from 40 states.

On Sunday, the Women’s 4 with Coxswain event will feature AJR competing against 83 other schools and clubs from around the country on this 3-mile winding river course. The Men’s Varsity 8 later competes with 79 other schools and clubs. Each race will take approximately 18 minutes to complete, under 7 bridges and turns on the Charles River in Cambridge. Some of the country’s premier college and youth rowing teams have beautiful boathouses on the banks of the Charles River, including Harvard, Cambridge, MIT, Northeastern and Boston University to name a few.

Representing the Women’s 4 with Coxswain: Lara Batrouni (cox), Sarah Martin, Ella Fowler, Ruby Ondatje and Katherine Gordon. AJR Head Coach Bridget Fitzpatrick has worked with this group to qualify for this event, and their speed and experience rowing on rivers is a major plus for this competition.

Representing the Men’s 8 with Coxswain: Jedin Truong (cox), Rohan Lakhanpal, Sean Merriam, Sean May, Gunner Denius, Ryan Fenelly, Jake Henceroth, Liam Swick and Lance Lauer. AJR Head Men’s Coach Steve Hall feels this is a fast boat and feels his team will row the course well. A Top 20 would be a terrific finish, given the number of entries and level of competition from traditional rowing powerhouses. The team recently finish 1st place in the Head of the James River in Richmond two weeks ago against a smaller field.

Other local representation includes the US Naval Academy with entries in the Men’s Lightweight Eights, Men’s Club Eights and the Men’s Championship Eights. In the Master’s category (older adults) include the Navy Masters Rowing Club and the Annapolis Rowing Club. A full list of competitors and results (after racing) can be found at www.HOCR.org.