Radnor Crew Headed To U.S. Nationals

It’s happened more than a few times this spring. A coach or rower from another team would come by the varsity four shaking their heads in disbelief and mumbling that they were blindsided by this Radnor team that came from nowhere. That was usually the cause of another frequent occurrence this spring—Radnor rowing by every team in the water.

It happened at the prestigious Stotesbury Regatta, and again in the Scholastic Rowing Association of America’s (SRAA) national championship two weeks ago. Radnor’s crew of coxswain Ben Croop, JP Aftring, Declan Carbery, Cameron Staines and Jimmy Puckette have experienced nothing but winning this spring.

They’ll hope to continue that trend this weekend at the U.S. Rowing Youth Championship Regatta in Oak Ridge, Tennessee on June 10 to 12.

Though it wasn’t that long ago that the Radnor program struggled. The Radnor boys’ crew team is about 10 years old and once used to draw 15 to 20 kids out for what is generally perceived as a try-it-out sport. Now Radnor is getting numbers in the mid-30s. The crew team has a committed, loyal, hard-working cast that’s created history this spring and seems primed for more.

“You have to know something up front, before this year, we never even made it to the Stotesbury finals, let alone win it,” said Radnor coach Ken Piree.

“These guys are very hard workers and the program has been building the last few years. They’ve finally seen the results and last year we put out a varsity eight for the first time ever. We were doing well against the major powerhouses in Philly. But we made some real jumps this year, and that speaks volumes of the dedication of the boys and my coaching staff, Valeria Gospodinov, Bill Bragdon and Alec Hurley. We wouldn’t be where we are without that group.”

Aftring, 6-foot-6-inch tall senior heading to Boston University to row, was first introduced to crew as a freshman, as was Croop, who’s bound for the University of Michigan crew team.

Because of his size, Aftring played basketball off-and-on until sixth grade. So when he attended a club day for eighth graders going to Radnor High School, the crew presentation caught his attention. He’s been hooked ever since.

“I can’t pin it on one thing, the mental toughness thing took some time,” Aftring said. “It’s a sport you grow to love. We sort of anticipated we could be a good four this year. We didn’t anticipate it to be as good as it has been. We set a lot of milestones this year. It’s kind of crazy thinking about everything we’ve done, and we still have one more to go.”

Like Aftring, Croop became interested in crew his freshman year. A few of his friends had liked the idea, but when it came time to commit, they all balked at the last minute, leaving only Croop to come forward. It’s a choice he certainly doesn’t regret. He’s the eyes and ears of the Radnor boat. Kind of like an on-field coach.

“The whole year has been proving what the team can do, because we are a really young program,” Croop said. “It has been crazy having coaches come up to us and tell us we’ve come out of nowhere. It’s crazy to see all of this. I’m excited for Tennessee, and after that, I don’t know where we’ll end up. We’ll see.”

If this spring is any indication, it’s back up on the winner’s podium.