The 2021 Head of the Charles Regatta (HOCR) on the Charles River was a huge success for both Winsor and Belmont Hill crew teams! Athletes ranging from teenagers to seniors rowed in HOCR, a regatta that took place during the weekend of October 23. On Sunday, the Winsor and Belmont Hill crew teams rowed in the youth women’s and youth men’s events alongside numerous high school and club teams.
For Winsor, the day began with the Women’s Youth Four event. Rowers Imogen Cabot ’22, Evie Wells ’22, Coco FitzMaurice ’23, Oli Hochberg ’23, and coxswain Isabella Liu ’22 placed an impressive 8th out of 84 boats.
Next up was the Women’s Youth Coxed Quad event with rowers Austin Forrester ’23, Emeline Daley ’24, Amory Gordon ’23, Anissa Patel ’23, and coxswain Lauren Hogan ’23. The quad placed 29th out of 52 boats overall and 5th out of nine boats in the U17 category. Ava Kee ’23 also participated in the coxed quad event as a member of the Narragansett Rowing Club’s boat which placed 14th overall and 1st in the U17 category.
Various Winsor alumni and faculty rowed in HOCR as well. Gevvie Stone ’03 rowed in the Women’s Master (30+) event and placed 1st out of 28 rowers. Another Winsor alum and current Winsor crew coach, Abigail Parker ’13, rowed in the Women’s Championship Singles. Parker placed 7th out of 18 rowers. Ms. Sarah Pelmas, Winsor’s own Head of School, also rowed in HOCR and placed 7th out of 11 boats in the Woman’s Master Eight (40+) category.
Belmont Hill also had a successful HOCR. The Men’s Youth Fours event came first with rowers Stephen Warming ’22, Howard Huang ’22, Andrew Bittner ’24, Charles Geddes ’22, and coxswain Brian Lee ’24. They placed 14th out of 84 boats, with a final time of just over 17 minutes and 47 seconds for the three-mile race. This time was less than 0.1 seconds behind Sarasota’s boat in the same event, to which Belmont Hill ranked 10 boats behind in the previous Head.
Next was the Men’s Youth Coxed Quads event with rowers Paris Liston ’22, Bennett Carroll ’23, Gabe Klug ’22, Ezra Lee ’25, and coxswain Max Glick ’24. They placed 25th out of 48 boats, with a final time of 18:14.818.
The final event that Belmont Hill took part in was the Men’s Youth Eights with rowers Alex Schmidek ’24, Luca Mezzanotte ’23, Michael Powers ’24, Will Yakoobian ’24, Duncan Kilbride ’24, Mac Bobo ’23, Nathan Pappas ’24, Luke Guleserian ’24, and coxswain Aaron Stanger ’24. The boat placed 77th out of 80.
Additionally, multiple Belmont Hill coaches rowed in the regatta. Coach Chris Richards rowed for Cambridge Boat Club in the Men’s Grand Master Fours, placing 1st out of 16 boats. Coach Stephen George rowed for Brown Alumni in the Men’s Senior Master Fours and placed 7th out of 27 boats. Lastly, Coach Graeme Calloway rowed for Riverside in the Men’s Club Singles and placed 9th out of 43 boats.
Overall, it seems that rowers from both BH and Winsor had a fulfilling experience at HOCR to conclude the fall of 2021. According to Austin Forrester ’23 of Winsor, “Head of the Charles was a huge success, and I am looking forward to the upcoming spring and fall seasons!”
