April 3, 2008 Issue                                       

©2007 The Chestnut Hill Local

CHA, Springside quads making progress
by TOM UTESCHER

In the second installment of the annual Manny Flick racing series on the Schuylkill, Chestnut Hill Academy and Springside School scullers each came away with a second and a third place finish last Sunday.

CHA’s Blue Devils were runner-up in the junior varsity quad and took third in the JV double, while Springside’s JV Quad came in second in its race and the Lions’ varsity quad was third.

It was the end of spring break for both crews, who usually undergo some of their most intensive workouts of the season during this academic hiatus, weathering two-a-day practices down at their University Barge Club home base, and also getting in some training at the rowing tank and fitness center in Springside’s field house.

Leading off last Sunday’s action were two CHA entries in the JV single. Brendan Spearing, who enjoyed a successful winter as a member of the school’s wrestling team, finished fourth in the race, and fellow sophomore Will Standish placed fifth.

The JV doubles were up next, starting with the girls’ race in which Springside took fourth place through the efforts of sophomores Katie Fitzkee (stroke) and Larissa Sfedu. CHA’s James Wolters and Sam Bissell, both juniors, pulled their double to a third-place finish in a race won by an out-of-town combo from Montclair, NJ.

The Lions’ foursome of Jen Arcidiacono (stroke), Kelsey Trueblood, Laura Chisholm, and Allie Colina placed second in the JV quad to always- powerful Conestoga, and finished ahead of two Sacred Heart vessels. All of these Springsiders are sophomores save Trueblood, who is a junior.

In the boys’ JV quad, the Chestnut Hill craft manned by Don Leatherwood (stroke) Marty Schardt, Phil Schweitzer and Jack Anthony crossed the finish line in third place, but when one of the crews ahead of them was disqualified for unsportsmanlike behavior, the Devils were officially moved up to second place behind victorious Roman Catholic. Anthony is a sophomore, and his mates are all juniors.

It was the turn of two Springside doubles to come downriver, and in these races seniors Jeanne Shotzbarger and Lucy Rice placed fourth in the varsity contest, while fellow upperclassmen Wallis Furman and Christina Sfedu were fifth in the lightweight doubles. A few of the other rowers in the lightweight race looked suspiciously large; some schools take advantage of the fact that official weigh-ins for the lightweight classes don’t start until the fourth Manny Flick race.

CHA and Springside’s Sunday schedule concluded with the varsity quad races, with Carolyn Chisholm (stroke), Tija Bross, Julia Ryan, and Katherine Roberts going for the Lions, and Pete Miller, Henry Meigs, Sam Baker and Sam Franklin forming up the CHA line-up.

While Conestoga topped Episcopal to win the girls event, the third-place Lions finished more than 25 seconds ahead of the first of the three boats that brought up the rear. The Blue Devils didn’t fare as well, coming in fifth in their event.