CHA crew gets early start on the Schuylkill
by TOM UTESCHER
The Chestnut Hill Academy and Springside School crews usually skip the
first of the five races in the Manny Flick series that launches the spring
rowing season.
Springside continued that trend this spring, but its brother school sent
four boats out on the water Sunday for the first Flick of 2006. The early
outing revealed that the Blue Devils have a way to go before they round
into competitive form, but of course that’s what mid-March racing
is supposed to do.
“It was pretty much a training day for us,” said CHA coach
Steve McGuinn. “It was a chance to get the guys down to the boathouse
and get them ready for the whole routine. It’s the first chance
to see how we react in a real race situation. We’ll be experimenting
with our line-ups for a while. I’d say we’re still about five
weeks away from setting our boats.”
Resuming their partnership in the JV double, CHA juniors Chris Pittman
(stroke) and Walt Wynne finished third in a field of four with a time
of six minutes, 35.41 seconds. Conestoga High School (6:12.98) won a duel
for first place over CHA’s Inter-Ac colleague Malvern Prep (6:13.49),
while Roman Catholic brought up the rear in 6:56.09.
Those last two teams, in particular, are the Blue Devils’ traditional
rivals in the sculling races.
“Being out for the first race lets us see where Malvern and Roman
are putting their speed, see what events they’re concentrating on,”
McGuinn noted.
Chestnut Hill was fourth among six crews in the JV quad, with the foursome
of sophomore Peter Miller (stroke), juniors Nick Turner and Kip Powell,
and sophomore Sam Franklin clocking in at 6:04.09. Almost a minute separated
victorious Conestoga (5:38.16) from the last-place crew, one of two entries
from North Jersey’s Don Bosco Prep (6:36.34).
Later in the day, the Blue Devils competed in each of the two senior
quad races. Senior Tom Samph (stroke), junior Matt Letner, senior Matt
Wiedemer and junior Will Rhoda powered the CHA “A” boat, and
with a time of 5:27.76 they came up a little short as they battled Conestoga
(5:26.23) to avoid finishing last in the four-boat affair. Malvern looked
strong as it won in 5:05.51, and Roman (5:14.19) was the runner-up.
Malvern and Roman again went one-two in the other V-quad event (the Friars
in 5:15.80, the Cahillites in 5:20.94), while a Chestnut Hill vessel staffed
by Sam Lichmira, Pete Jacobelli, Jamie Baker and Ryan Boutcher came in
third (5:31.70). Lichmira is a junior, and the other crew members are
seniors.
“We’re trying to work on our body swing right now, getting
all the bodies moving together,” CHA’s McGuinn said. “We’re
keeping it simple at this point; later on is when you focus on the little
details.”
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