Photo courtesy Oli Rosenbladt
(From left) Jack O’Malley, Walter Stanwood, Brendan Sarles, Declan Driscoll and Sean Carlisle guided the men’s second varsity four to a first-place finish.
By Trevor Hass, Sports Editor/Reporter
sports@duxburyclipper.com
Twitter: @DuxburySports
The Duxbury boys crew team traveled to Lawrence on Saturday to face off against Greater Lawrence Rowing and Riverfront Recapture (Hartford, Conn.). Duxbury captured first place in three of four races and took second in the other, resulting in a strong showing all around.
Sean Carlisle, Brendan Sarles, Walt Stanwood, Declan Driscoll and coxswain Jack O’Malley took first in the men’s second varsity four with a time of 4:52.15, narrowly edging the second-place team by just over two seconds.
The third varsity four grouping of Tom White, Michael O’Sullivan, Paul O’Neil, Chris Beckerman and coxswain Taidhg Driscoll earned first as well, finishing in 4:30.85, while the men’s fourth varsity four of Phil Fassnacht, Henry Figler, Will Rubin, Aaron Wang and coxswain Emma Collins (4:46.32) won by more than 20 seconds.
The first varsity four of Ethan Donnelly, Jonny Campbell, Charlie Rubin, Beckerman and coxswain Nick Rubin seized second place (4:45.97) out of the three teams.
Coach Oli Rosenbladt highlighted senior co-captain Chris Beckerman’s role in playing double duty on the day. Beckerman raced with the first varsity four to start the day, then filled in for an ill teammate in the third varsity race just an hour later.
This three-team race wasn’t initially on the schedule, but the Dragons wanted to get another race in before starting league racing in earnest.
“We took advantage of April vacation to schedule a few two-a-day practices toward the end of the week, and the team responded really well in their racing,” Rosenbladt said. “We know we need to get a lot faster by May, but we’re in a good spot right now, and everyone is working hard.”
Beckerman said this was a confident boost for Duxbury, showing that the team’s hard work is paying off. It’s clear Duxbury has plenty of depth, featuring experienced rowers throughout the team.
The captain praised the third varsity boat, in particular, noting that he was impressed when he temporarily joined the group Saturday.