middletowneye

                                                     The MHS Boys' Varsity 8

Middletown High School Boys' and Girls' Crews Raced Guilford High School Crews on Lake Quonnipaug

     The MHS rowing teams traveled torace the teams from Guilford High School on the pristine Lake Quonnipaug in Guilford.  As every year we travel south, Guilford does a wonderful job of making us feel welcome and hosting well run races.
    This was the first race of the season for the MHS boys' crews and the second race for the girls.  All crews had very strong showings and came off the water feeling good about where the team is at this early part of the season and are eager to see the next opponents.  As senior Kiene Hannah said, "For our first race, even with technical difficulties we rowed with heart, power, and passion. I couldn’t ask for more from my boat." 
    The conditions were good with a tail wind and very small chop. Racing began at 4pm.  The order of races was girls' JV (2V), boys' JV (2V), girls' varsity, boys' varsity. 
Here are the results of the races:
Girls 2nd Varsity (Guilford included their 3rd varsity also - we did not bring a 3V)
Guilford 2V  5:03.2
Middletown  5:05.7
Guilford 3V  5:11.9

Boys 2nd Varsity (We raced our 2nd and 3rd V - GHS had only a 2V)
Guilford  4:40.8
Middletown 2V  4:53.0 
Middletown 3V  4:57.4

Girls 1st Varsity
Guilford   4:51.8
Middletown  5:06.3

Boys 1st Varsity
Middletown 4:22.0
Guilford  4:28.7

     Boys' Captain Kyle Breton shared his thought on the boys' varsity race saying, "Awesome way to start the season. All the double practices over vacation totally paid off.  Now we know how good we are."   The boys did work extremely hard over their spring break this past week logging lots of hours on the river and showed an intense commitment to improving.
    Although not all MHS boats came across the line first there were strong performances by many of the rowers and most came off the water ready to continue the hard work necessary to go into the rest of the season with even stronger showings.  Many of the team members felt motivated by today's results, especially in the boys' varsity boat as Jack Winters enthusiastically shared, "The row felt great, we did great and I can’t wait for the rest of the season!"  Senior and varsity rower, Simon Arias, added, "By far the best way to start the season. It felt outstanding!"
     The team will spend the next week and a half preparing for their next race, practicing each afternoon on the Connecticut River, launching from the boathouse at Harbor Park.  We launch at about 3pm.  Feel free to come down to the river to watch the kids.  It's a great way to spend the afternoon.
    The next race is on Saturday, April 28th in Worcester, MA on Lake Quinsigamond.  This will be the Q-Cup which features 6 different teams for the girls and 7 for the boys.  Connecticut teams represented are Middletown, Simsbury and East Lyme High Schools.

                               Coxswain Justin Curneal and Stroke Tyler Sheil celebrating their win!