In late May, the crew team closed out their championship season with dominant performances in two of the largest high school regattas in the nation, the Stotesbury Cup (Stotes) and the Scholastic Rowing Association of America Nationals (SRAA). For the athletes on the team, the last few weeks of the spring season are filled with hard training.
“There’s about five weeks of non-stop, competitive racing which is the peak of our season,” Sixth Former Ryan Brewington said. “Prepping for Stotes and SRAAs is always a hard grind of just constant workouts and practice.”
Third Former Benas Antanavicius believes that mental preparation is the way to overcome stressful regattas. “The best way to prepare for championship races is just to be confident,” he said. “If you believe that your boat is there to win, then it can take a lot of the stress and franticness you might have during the race.”
At Stotes, the team won gold in the Boys Varsity Lightweight Double (Sixth Formers Ethan Lee and Casey Williams) and in the Boys Second Four (Sixth Former Quintin Bowers, Fifth Former Grey Benson, Sixth Former Lowen Etherington, Sixth Former Daniel Belden, and Fifth Former Miguel Duska). They also claimed bronze in the Boys Varsity Senior Four (Sixth Former William Walker, Fifth Former Michael Bartholdson, Sixth Former Lucas Putter, and Sixth Former Jackson Harrington) and Boys Varsity Senior Quad (Fourth Former Brooks Brewington, Fifth Former Ben Erskine, Fifth Former Noah Kanefsky, and Sixth Former Ryan Brewington).
“It was a really neat experience winning Stotes again,” Lee said. “The trophy for our event is called the Barker Trophy, and Coach Barker was a really influential figure in Haverford crew history, so to win a trophy named after him is always a big deal at the boathouse.”
Less than a week later, the team sent five boats to SRAAs and brought home two national championships in the Junior Varsity Quad (Fourth Former Brooks Brewington, Fourth Former Henry Biddison, Third Former Benas Antanavicius, and Fifth Former Charlie Gord) and the Boys Varsity Four (Sixth Former William Walker, Fifth Former Michael Bartholdson, Sixth Former Lucas Putter, and Sixth Former Jackson Harrington). The Boys Varsity Lightweight Double and the Boys Varsity Quad (Fifth Former Ben Erskine, Sixth Former Joseph Herd, Fifth Former Noah Kanefsky, and Sixth Former Ryan Brewington) took home bronze.
“I think what made [The JV Quad] successful at SRAAs was our ability to adapt,” Antanavicius said. “We changed boat lineups three days before going to nationals.”
Antanavicius also believes that their success was augmented by their ability to focus on themselves.
“We really focused on rowing our race. We just had to focus on ourselves and believe that if we fell behind, we could definitely come back,” Antanavicius said.
The Varsity Four also bounced back from their bronze performance at Stotes to a gold medal at SRAAs. Their loss at Stotes motivated them.
“The boat that beat us at Stotesbury was the boat we knew we were racing, so the entire weekend we were focused on catching them,” Bartholdson said. “Going into the sprint of the final, we were up about half a boat length and they walked it back to about even. Without saying anything, we all knew we had to get in front.”
For Kanefsky, winning bronze in the Varsity Quad was disappointing. However, he is more motivated than ever.
“The Haverford juniors and underclassmen are excited to bounce back,” Kanefsky said. “As of now, five out of Haverford’s six fastest guys are all juniors. This means we’re going into the next season just as fast, if not faster, than any other year.”
“We have a good chance at winning even more at SRAAs next year. A lot of the team is doing summer programs so we’ll all be getting better constantly year-round.”
Noah Kanefsky ’25
The team is looking forward to continuing their dominant performances over the past few years.
“The best way for the current juniors to continue the legacy of high performance in Haverford Crew is to lead by example,” Kanefsky said. “Passion is contagious with Haverford Crew. Coming in day after day and watching seniors be passionate and work with intensity will undoubtedly motivate anyone who wants to work.”
Antanvicius is looking forward to meeting and exceeding expectations.
“As a team, I think we have a good chance at winning even more at SRAAs next year. A lot of the team is doing summer programs so we’ll all be getting better constantly year-round,” he said. “In terms of the freshman team, I think we all have a lot of potential.”
Brewington agrees.
“I hope the underclassmen and juniors exceed [the Class of 2024’s] achievements next year and beyond,” Brewington said. “We’ve set the bar high.”