The B1 boat of Andover Boys Crew made a final push to cross the finish line first, with a margin of 2.4 seconds and a time of 4:17.4, against St. John’s Prep and Tabor Academy two Saturdays ago.
That same day, Andover’s B2 boat placed in second with 4:37.1, B3 second with 4:46.58, B4 first with 4:35.78, and B5 first with 4:53.3.
Last Saturday, Andover competed against Phillips Exeter Academy, and once again, St. John’s Prep and Tabor Academy. The team’s B1 boat finished second with a time of 4:53.1, trailing Exeter’s B1 boat by 2.2 seconds. B2 placed third with 5:14.2, and B3, B4, and B5 finished second with 5:07.5, 5:52.5 and 5:42.4 respectively.
Entering the Saturday races, the team focused on maintaining its momentum, according to Henry Hearle ’20.
Hearle said, “We worked on our starts and our sprints, and keeping the same speed throughout the race and keeping our momentum. We’re a strong crew, we’re not the largest crew, but we definitely competitive.”
Due to the undesirable weather for crew both weekends, the team faced uncontrollable difficulties throughout the races, according to Logan McLennan ’19 and Hearle.
“The St. Paul’s race the conditions had a very harsh headwind. And on the Merrimack River, it makes the water super choppy, and that can alter a stroke a little bit because that makes it harder to get your hands all the way up the full length, which is something we’ve really been trying to improve,” said Logan McLennan ’19.
“Both races there were not the best conditions. Exeter was better because it wasn’t as windy, but there was still a headwind. St. Paul’s—there was a major headwind and major chop,” added Hearle.
In addition to maintaining energy, Andover looked to improve its focus on each individual stroke, according to McLennan.
“Each and every stroke is its own race. A big challenge is just making sure the focus stays within the boat the entire race. We want to make sure that, whether we’re in front or we’re behind, we’re always pushing a fight. Either opening the gap if we’re in front, or closing the gap if we’re in behind, and just always remember that if we’re racing, we’re going, we’re in it to win it,” said McLennan.
Although Andover did not finish first at its most recent race, the team is hopeful entering the Championship race this Saturday. The team takes its motto to heart- “going stupid crazy”- as it prepares for the race to cap the season off, according to McLennan.
“Going into our championships races, we’re feeling very pumped. Our motto is ‘going stupid crazy.’ At this point in the season, we have to be stupid crazy to think that we are going to crush our championships. And we have to go into the championships with that mindset—that we are going to win—we have to go in there with a positive mind and win the race,” said McLennan.
Andover Crew will compete in the Neira Championship this Saturday.
