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Saugatuck Junior Girls Row To Gold For 4th Year At Head Of Charles Regatta

WESTPORT, Conn. – The Saugatuck Rowing Club junior women brought home gold for the fourth straight year at the Head of the Charles Regatta, setting a new course record and extending an unprecedented winning streak at the prestigious event.

Saugatuck Rowing Club's women’s youth 8+ brings home the gold medal at the Head of the Charles Regatta, the crew’s fourth win in a row. See story for IDs.

Saugatuck Rowing Club's women’s youth 8+ brings home the gold medal at the Head of the Charles Regatta, the crew’s fourth win in a row. See story for IDs.

Photo Credit: Contributed
The Saugatuck Rowing Club's women’s youth 8+ races to a gold-medal finish at the Head of the Charles Regatta, the crew's fourth win in a row.

The Saugatuck Rowing Club's women’s youth 8+ races to a gold-medal finish at the Head of the Charles Regatta, the crew's fourth win in a row.

Photo Credit: Contributed
The Saugatuck Rowing Club's men’s youth 8+ crew rowing to a ninth-place finish out of 85 entrants in the Head of the Charles Regatta on Sunday.

The Saugatuck Rowing Club's men’s youth 8+ crew rowing to a ninth-place finish out of 85 entrants in the Head of the Charles Regatta on Sunday.

Photo Credit: Contributed

The SRC women’s youth 8+ won with a record time of 16:24.895, besting a field of 85 entrants in the storied 5-kilometer course on Boston’s Charles River. The crew’s winning time was 20 seconds faster than the previous record, set by SRC in 2015. 

Also powering to a top-10 finish in a tight field was the SRC men’s youth 8+, which finished ninth out of 85 boats with a time of 14:53.264. 

SRC juniors also raced a second varsity women’s youth 8+ boat and a women’s youth 4+ crew in the regatta. All the Saugatuck boats earned automatic entries for next year’s regatta.

“The course conditions this year were nearly ideal, with low wind and flat waters, making for a fast race,” said Sharon Kriz, SRC director of rowing and junior boys head coach. “Our boys were only 7 seconds off from the top three finishers, which is a promising result.”

The SRC girls’ performance in this year’s race also was noteworthy, as a number of athletes who previously had rowed in the team’s varsity 8+ boat graduated last spring.

“With seven out of nine girls new to our first varsity boat for this year’s race, it was impressive how confident and strong they were coming out of the gate. They are well trained and ready to row fast throughout the season,” said Gordon Getsinger, SRC junior girls head coach.

Every year, athletes from around the world compete at the Head of the Charles Regatta, a 3-mile race upstream on a river full of bends and bridges. The regatta, billed as the world’s largest, features more than 10,000 athletes from 820 clubs competing in 66 events over two days.

The winning SRC boats included, as pictured in the photos above:

Women’s Youth 8+, winning gold, are, from left: Clara Everett, Fairfield; Parker Cuthbertson, Westport; Sydney Kend, New Canaan; Caitlin Esse, New Canaan; Isabelle Grosgogeat, coxswain, Westport; Kelsey McGinley, Westport; Bonnie Pushner, Fairfield; Noelle Amlicke, Westport; Justine McGuire, New Canaan, and SRC Junior Girls Head Coach Gordon Getsinger.

Men’s Youth 8+, rowing to ninth place, are, from left in boat (3rd photo above): Alin Pasa (white shirt), coxswain, Westport; Sawyer Banbury, Weston: Andrew Warshavsky, Westport; Harrison Burke, Westport; Jared Edwards, Westport; James Pushner, Fairfield; Michael Woods, Westport; Andrew Woods, Westport; and Justin Schmidt, Westport.

The Saugatuck Rowing Club provides world-class rowing instruction for youths and adults, beginners to experienced. Visit Saugatuckrowing.com for more info.

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