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CLRA Competes At 39th Mercyhurst Prep Regatta

The Chautauqua Lake Rowing Association varsity girls team of, from the left, Shannon McKee, Lilli Baer, Leah Saxton, Alexis Barron and steersman Makenna Graham won a bronze medal at the 39th Mercyhurst Prep Regatta. Photo by Jim Odrzywolski

The Chautauqua Lake High School rowing team attended the 39th Mercyhurst Prep Regatta recently. Last year’s regatta was cancelled due to unrowable water with small-craft warnings and two-three foot waves in Presque Isle Bay. With steady winds at 20 mph and gusting to 28 mph, and thunderstorms predicted, the team was anticipating a similar cancellation. However, since the wind was directly from the south, the water near the city shore was reasonably protected. Although the course was shortened to 1,200 meters to stay away from the waves further out in the bay, the regatta was held.

The team brought five crews to race — novice women 4+, novice men 4+, varsity men 4+, varsity women 4+, and varsity men 8+. First up to row was Jake Carlson, Blake Terry, Carson Hanson, Drew Laurin,and steersman Joe Dahlgren as the VM’s 4. Since there were eight boats entered, two heats were set up. In an exciting finish, the CLRA boys finished first, pushing past Marietta “A” by 1.43 seconds and Allderdice by 2.75 seconds. The varsity boys would race a final later in the day.

Since there were too many boats to fit on the course in the novice events, they were set up as two heats. Each heat was considered a final, though. Up next, Berit Abers, Sophia Simons, Zara Miles, Shannon McKee, and steersman Anna Jones raced in the novice women’s category. They finished the 1,200 meters in fourth position. The boys 4, Joe Dahlgren, Cooper Thomas, Tage Roehm, Frankie Farrell, and steersman Emma Abers, also finished in fourth position.

The varsity girls of CLRA had a single heat with seven boats in their race. Together for the first time this season, Alexis Barron, Leah Saxton, Shannon McKee, Lilli Baer and steersman Makenna Graham raced hard, pushing Mercyhurst right to the finish line. They were just edged out by 1.13 seconds to finish third, earning them a bronze medal.

The varsity boys entered their finals race with seven boats to row against. The boys again moved the boat well, playing tag with the crew from Mercyhurst down the course. In the end CLRA was edged out for the second spot by Mercyhurst with CLRA less than two seconds back. They also earned a bronze medal for the third-place finish.

The final race of the day for CLRA was the men’s varsity 8. Jake Carlson, Blake Terry, Drew Laurin, Cooper Thomas, Joe Dahlgren, Carson Hanson, Tage Roehm, Frankie Farrell and steersman Makenna Graham took to the water. Four of the CLRA boys would be challenged physically by this race since it was the third event in a single day. The crew raced well anyway finishing third overall and once again earning the team another bronze medal. In all, it was a very successful regatta for the CLRA team.

For more information on high school rowing, see the high school links at www.rowchautauqua.org.

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