Crew: Madison First Eight Emerges as Force

It was another banner day for Madison Crew at Saturday’s  Darrell Winslow Regatta,  with four first place finishes, three second places and  two third place finishes.

The men’s team is enjoying what is perhaps their best season ever.  While the women’s team has been earning headlines with their dominant performance over the last several years, the men’s team this year has emerged as force with which to be reckoned. 

Through its first four regattas, the men’s first eight (1 V) is undefeated by another Virginia school.  Its only loss has been to regional powerhouse St. Albans (DC) which bested the Madison men by only two seconds earlier this season.   

At last weekend’s Darrell Winslow Regatta, the Madison men’s 1 V took first place with a time 4 minutes 57.3 seconds, crossing the finish line 2.5 seconds ahead of Washington-Lee and almost 5 seconds ahead of Thomas Jefferson. 

“These boys have proven that they want to go fast. They are a small and light boat even by high school standards, yet they finished a close second behind the reigning regional champion St.Albans,” Madison men’s coach Jesse Clark said. 

Coach Clark has pushed the boys through intense workout and challenging practice sessions, including scrimmages with college boats – a strategy that is paying off for this light and relatively inexperienced boat.  Its coxswain is a rookie, and three of its rowers are new to the first varsity boat.  But mixed with a strong cadre of five returning rowers – two will row next year at division one schools – Coach Clark has found a mix that spells success on the water.  

Also on the men’s side, the freshmen eight took first place, and the men’s 2nd and 3rd varsity eights finished second and third respectively.  With the largest group of men’s rowers ever on the Madison team,  including enough to field separate novice and freshman boats, the future looks  promising for Madison men’s rowing. 

As expected, the Women’s 1st and 2nd Varsity boats kept their winning streaks alive, and both the Women’s 3rd Eight and Freshmen Eight boats finished in strong second places. 

Next week, Madison heads to Philly to compete in the Manny Flick regatta.

Treeby Brown reported for this story.