'Stoga Scullers Bring Home Stotesbury Regatta Hardware

BERWYN, PA – Members of Conestoga High School's Crew Club might have heavy necks after a recent regatta, as the club brought home some nice hardware over the weekend at the Stotesbury Cup Regatta on the Schuylkill River.

After the largest high school regatta in the country came to a close, Conestoga's Crew Club walked away with five medals and earned first place in the team points category for sculling-only clubs, earning 65.5 points.

The club entered 12 boats in Friday’s time trials. In an impressive showing, 10 of the 12 boats advanced to the semi-finals.

After a day and a half of competitive racing, three ladies boats and three mens moved on to the Saturday afternoon finals.

In the first final for Conestoga, the Girls Freshman Quad – which placed first in their time trial of 12 crews – finished 1.67 seconds behind Saratoga to capture a silver medal.

The Boys Junior Quad – which placed third of 27 in their time trial and second in their semi-final – finished third behind Shenendehowa and Haverford bringing home a bronze medal with a time of 4:44.29.

The Girls Junior Quad was up next. The ladies finished second of 24 in their time trial, first in their semi-final heat and 5.48 seconds behind to E.L. Crossley of Ontario, Canada to win a silver medal in their final.

Facing some of the most competitive racing of the weekend, the Boys Senior Double finished sixth of 27 in their time trial on Friday. During their Saturday morning semi-final – where only 1.31 seconds separated the top three competitors – Conestoga came in third, earning a berth in to the afternoon finals where they took fifth place.

The final two races of the afternoon were the Ladies and Men’s Senior Quads.

Competing for the The Bride’s Plate, the ladies were looking to uphold a five-year tradition of excellence at the Stotesbury Cup. The ladies took first place out of 19 in their Friday time trial and first place in their Saturday morning semi-final. With a time of 5:09.50, they captured their sixth gold medal in six years beating Western Albermarle by 5.18 seconds.

The varsity men competed in the final event of the day for Conestoga. They finished in third of 17 in their time trial and third in their semi-final where 2.5 seconds separated the top three places. In another very competitive race, Conestoga captured fourth place with a time of 4:44.35; 3.43 seconds behind Haddon Township and 0.15 seconds ahead of Roman Catholic.

The entire event featured 963 entries, nearly 6,000 athletes, and 191 clubs from across the US and Canada.

Congratulations, Conestoga rowers!

Story by Marsha Z, Patch Poster

Image via Marsha Z