Over the weekend, Medford High School Rowing earned the right to compete at the 58th racing of the Head of the Charles Regatta (HOCR). With over 11,000 athletes across 2,500 boats racing over a three-day span, the HOCR is the largest race of its kind in the world! This year, MHS Crew was grateful to be invited to compete in the Boys Under 17 race. For this race, each athlete can’t turn 17 anytime during the year. With the threat of a nor’easter, along with wind gusts up to 35 miles per hour, the team knew it was going to be a tough race.
MHS Crew's Under 17 boat was made up of James Cluggish, Henry Gregor, James Sloan, Matthew Stricker, and coxswain Henrique Matos.
As they crossed the first checkpoint at the Riverside Boat Club, the boys were in 24th place, almost a full minute behind the leading team. Yet, this did not discourage them. They knew, in order to be competitive, they had to concentrate and focus on their own race plan. They had to fight through the wind and the many boats on the water, which made turning almost impossible! We are sure that our rowers heard the loud cheers from their fans on the Cambridge Boat Club Bridge, along with supportive teammates holding gigantic pictures of their faces!
Even though they weren’t able to improve on 24th place, they all had gained invaluable racing experience! After the race, the boys were informed that they were the youngest team in the races.
According to Coach Stavros, “the experience of racing at the Charles, for most, is a once in a lifetime experience, and we should all be extremely proud of all five boys and how they represented the City of Medford and Medford High School.”
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