On Sunday, October 23rd, 2022, the Belmont Hill and Winsor boathouse was packed with families and friends to spectate one of the world’s largest rowing regattas, the Head of the Charles. The regatta has become a tradition at Belmont Hill as students, alumni, and others descend onto the dock to watch the race from one of the best viewing locations on the Charles. The weather was also fantastic for rowing; despite the overcast sky, the slight tailwind and calm waters were perfect for fast, smooth racing.
This year, Belmont Hill entered into three events in the regatta: the usual Youth Fours and Youth Eights and the newly introduced entry into the U17 Fours category. In the Youth Fours event, the Belmont Hill boat consisted of coxswain Aaron Stanger ’24, stroke seat Andrew Bittner ’24, Bennett Carroll ’23, Sean Egan ’23, and Luca Mezzanote ’23. With the bow number 14, this boat placed 10th overall in the event out of 90 crews, with a very competitive 16:54.868 time for the three-mile course, only 1 second slower than the Ukrainian national team, which was coxed by Belmont Hill’s very own Thomas Danahy ’26.
In the Youth Eights event, Belmont Hill’s boat was coxed by Brian Lee ’24, with rowers Nathan Pappas ’24, Mac Bobo ’23, Ian Schmidek ’24, Connor Smirl ’23, Lev Tolkoff ’24, Joshua Houston-Davis ’23, Ezra Lee ’25, and Luke Guleserian ’24, and achieved a time of 16:49.611, placing 77th out of 90 boats entered. Finally, in the U17 Fours event, Belmont Hill’s boat was coxed by Max Glick ’24, with rowers William Walton ’25, Jack Kastner ’25, Ryan Pohl ’25, and Will Yakoobian ’24, achieving a time of 18:33.267, placing 16th out of 18 boats entered.
The Head of the Charles is truly an event that must be experienced in person, either as a rower or a spectator. The magnitude of the event is surreal, with the riversides, bridges, and docks packed with jubilant spectators, and to be on the water during the race is simply magical. Belmont Hill has always been incredibly strong in the regatta, especially in the Youth Fours event, and this year certainly did not disappoint. The regatta also serves as a way for the team to get in some strokes before the spring crew season, where the Belmont Hill crew team looks to make waves soon.
