Men's Crew Wins Four Golds in Hartford Head Race

The Trinity Men's Crew team took home four gold medals this Sunday at Riverfront Racapture's First Annual Head Race, which took place on the Connecticut River.

This was the first head race in Hartford in fifteen years, and the race showcased the new pavilion next to the Founders' Bridge on the Hartford shore. The Bantams were able to launch out of their own boathouse and row on their own river, undoubtedly putting their home course advantage to good use.

Trinity entered three crews in the Men's Open 4+ event, and the A boat won first place with a time of 15:54, defeating Coast Guard and Amherst among others. The boat was comprised of Tim Godfrey '00, Gus Poole '00, Stephen Baxter '02, Doug Carlson '01, and George McLean '02 coxing. Rough water and a tailwind made the first mile of the 3-mile course difficult for the crew, but the rowing improved through the middle and finished strongly.

The lightweight 4+ also fared very well, placing first in their division by a commanding margin of 57 seconds. Barrett Bijur '01, Greg Pagnini '00, John Mansfield '01, Reed Wilmerding '01, and coxswain Ben Sayles '01 rowed in their new bow-coxed Millennium 4. The final 4+ made up of Matt Banas '02, Ben Davis '02, Doug Lake '02, Nat Silver '02 and coxswain Emily Queen '01 placed fourth with a time of 16:27.

The two winning fours rowed together in the Men's Open 8+ and smoked the competition with a time of 14:24. The eight felt much smoother and had better rhythm, largely due to a "technical ten" that coxswain George McLean called with about 1800 meters to go at the Charter Oak Bridge.

It was hard to tell how the crew finished in the standings, because Trinity was off the starting line first and had no one to chase, but when the times were posted the crew beat their closest competitor, Dowling College, by more than thirty seconds. Some oarsmen in the boat thought it was going to be much closer and questioned the event organizers' timing. Nonetheless, eight athletes in the Varsity Men's crew wore 2 medals around their necks after the day of races. Keep in mind all the oarsmen rowing in the Open 8+ and the Club 8+ divisions also rowed in the morning, while their competition did not, demonstrating the superior strength and endurance of this year's squad.

Trinity entered two eights at the Regatta, and those racing in the Club 8+ division also took home the hardware. Matt Banas '02 stroked, with Nat Silver '02, James Cabot '02, Doug Lake '02, Ben Davis '02, Reed Whitman '02, Dave Pope '03, Joe Crail '03 and Ben Sayles '01 coxing. The crew placed first with a quick 15:37.

"It was great to finally have a race in Hartford after 15 years and do so well. It's great for the program and for the College," said satisfied Head Coach Steve Fluhr. "The fact that President Dobelle and (Director of Athletics) Rick Hazelton attended the regatta was encouraging as well," added Fluhr.

The Trinity Crew will be looking for more wins on October 23rd at the Head of the Charles Regatta in Boston, the last race of their 1999 Fall season.