Cardinals Soar at their 1st “Head of the Charles” race in Boston

This past weekend, for the first time ever, the Bishop Ireton Rowing Team traveled to Boston, Massachusetts to compete in the 48th Annual Head of the Charles Regatta – the largest 2-day rowing race in the world with over 300,000 spectators each year – and came away with strong results.

Competing in the Youth 8+ event, the Men’s team qualified for next year’s race by finishing in the top half of the field of 85 teams in 34th place overall. The boat of Kevin Shoop, Joseph Gorman, Weston Birkett, Stephen Barlow, Josh Martini, William Colbert, Drew Woods, James Lewiski, and Conor Padden finished the day as the 18th fastest American high school.

Also in the Youth 8+, the Women’s side finished 49th in a field of 85 boats. The crew of Ashley Aust, Catherine Babiec, Allison Lee, Lyndsay Martini, Brianna Burke, Jessica Kammen, Esther Bouquet, Anna Rapp, and Noelle Chaney covered the course in barely 20 minutes – only a few seconds out of qualifying for next year’s regatta.

Both boats competed to the best of their abilities on the unfamiliar course in heavy winds and, in doing so, represented the Bishop Ireton Cardinals well. When asked about his thoughts on the race, Head Coach Eric Gehrke replied, “I am very proud of the the entire team today – not just the athletes that earned a trip to Boston, but also those at home that helped push our entire program to a higher level. Everyone that picks up a Bishop Ireton oar was a part of today’s racing and deserves some of the credit for getting us here. I look forward to coming back next year and continuing our improvement.”