As the sun set on the river and athletes put their oars away for the last time as summer nears, Malden High School crew said goodbye to six seniors: Henry Wallis, Catherine Alayane, and Sandra Tang, and three graduating captains Daniel O’Toole, Cynthia Chen, and Yonghao Chen. The graduating crew seniors reminisced about the times that they have had these past few months.
Though the season was not easy, the team had many personal victories with rowers achieving new PRs every race. Captains Mack Keating and Daniel O’Toole, who are both journalists for The Blue and Gold, faced a personal victory together.
“There was an issue with our boat and me and Mack had to go up against Everett’s 8-person boat and we were able to beat them by 40 seconds. That’s been the motto of the team this year it’s being able to push through adversity and learn from experiences”, stated O’Toole, a 3-year crew member and graduating senior.
With a mix of new rowers and veterans, the team pushed through the difficulties of exhausting early morning practices, Saturday meets, and aged equipment as the team still did their best every meet and each reached amazing achievements. Though some may find PR’s every race to be the main accomplishment, for Assistant Coach Tiffany Cane it is the team’s positive energy.
“They rise up to the challenge and even if they don’t win, still walk away with a smile. That’s truly what it is all about, having an experience and going for it,” stated Cane.
Every year there is a Mayor’s Cup, which is considered one of the biggest competitions of the season. This year for the first time Malden High School’s crew placed second and were ten seconds faster than their competitors at the Waynflete School from Maine.
“I think that was really good for the team morale overall because even though you were not on the boat that won, the team still had a boat that won in our biggest competition,” stated junior captain and founder member Mack Keating.
Crew is not an easy sport and it is not something to be taken lightly. It is a full-body workout with rowers using 70% legs and 30% upper body. Rowers are required to come early and be prepared every day after school and on the weekends to get a full-body workout in.
“Schedule conflict is the main concern. During the first few weeks of crew season, I was dealing with a lot of clubs and extracurricular activities. Crew is a very different sport, we work together as one individual,” stated Cynthia Chen a graduating captain.
Looking ahead into future seasons the team may have major changes and may need more improvement in general. With the seniors leaving, the “team could benefit from conditioning over the summer and fall seasons. Many of our rowers only participate in crew at the beginning of the season and it is always a struggle,” stated Cane.
For the new coming rowers as Cane always says, “eat well, sleep well, stay hydrated, have fun, and keep in touch with your teammates and coaches. We will always be there.”
The MHS crew team’s three main captains leaving is going to feel like the team is missing a limb. “Cynthia, Daniel, and I have gained most on water experience. Additionally, we’ve also taught 6-9th graders over the summer to teach them how to row. Previous experience showed that we were able to bring on the responsibilities and challenges as a crew captains,” stated Chen.
As we say goodbye to another rowing season, the team acknowledged the crew team’s challenges and accomplishments. Returning crew members said one last farewell to the seniors during their last meet by hitting personal records on their boats every race.
“I’ve had a blast these last three years and this sport has given me so much and helped me learn a lot more about myself that I would not have learned otherwise and made my high school experience infinitely better than it would have been without it,” concluded O’Toole.
