Augusta, Georgia – High Point Rowing Club teamed up with Greensboro Crew to race as HPG Rowing at the Head of the South regatta over the weekend.
The combination proved to be a powerful one-two punch for HPG with the combined squads coming away with two victories and multiple other medals on the Savannah River.
HPG won the men’s youth lightweight single sculls and then the women’s youth quadruple sculls title at the prestigious season capping regatta.
All up thousands of rowers of all ages in 725 boats raced down the 5,000 meter Savannah River course in Augusta.
William Hundley made history for his HPG club in the opening race of the day when he won the youth lightweight singles title. Hundley sculled his shell with ease down the 5,000m winding river course, finishing in the time of 19 minutes 2 seconds, well ahead of Stanton River Boat Club’s Sanjay Mohka. Atomic Rowing Club’s Benjamin Marshall rounded out the medals. finishing almost 90 seconds later.
HPG then won a pair of silver medals in the middle school boat races. Silver medals could easily have been gold but for the eight being trapped by the earlier masters singles event and forced to stop on the race course. “The crew raced so fast we caught up to the previous event,” recounted High Point’s skillful navigator Collin Greene after the race. “We were forced to stop. It was either that or mow them down like road kill on the Savannah River.”
Greene commended his crew of stroke Matthew Hronich, Ben Huitt, Stratton Murphy, Keagan O’Connell, Ethan Mangum, Abigail Higgins, Samantha Hogsett, and bowseat Hannah Tooley for remaining cool under the pressures of boat racing on a fast flowing river due to the current.
HPG Rowing’s middle school four enjoyed their best race of the Autumn season to also win silver on Saturday morning. Ellie Schroeder set up the perfect rhythm from stroke seat for her crew of William Thompson, Charles Richards, Savannah Royals. “We had a great race,” said Charles after the race. “We passed some of the middle school eights so we knew we were in serious contention for medals.”
HPG’s next medal was won in the women’s junior novice eights event. The all-Greensboro crew of Margaret McIntyre, stroke Katherine Messick, 7 Grace Denenny, 6 Eduarda Blaschke, 5 Corinne Alt, 4 Eva Keel, 3 Claire Howard 2 Holly Spong, and bow Anna Hicks showed poise and grace as they swept their 60 foot long shell with the river current passing half a dozen other crews during the race.
“It was an incredible feeling rowing so fast down the Savannah with such strong, powerful young women,” said Eva Keel. “It feels like yesterday that we introduced rowing to Greensboro. Now we are introducing Greensboro rowing to the world.”
HPG’s next medal came from an all High Point cast of masters rowers in the Masters women’s eight-oared event. HPG finished third in the age handicapped fleet of crews.
High Point-Greensboro’s next medals were won in the women’s youth quad sculls event. HPG had two boats entered in the event, which finished first and third fastest times on the day.
High Point has announced plans to send a women’s quad sculls crew to England’s Henley Royal Regatta and competition for seats in the boat has been intense ever since.
Charlotte Curri, Ainsley Fox, Ashley Walker and Junior Ognovich were in the winning crew, setting the fastest time of any female quad scull on the day. The feat earned them the Igor Grinko Plate, which they beat out all club and collegiate crews for.
Emily Winberg, Anna Lewis, Lindsay York, and Molly Hilemn won bronze in the same event, an indication of the strength of the High Point sculling program.
HPG rowers then won bronze in the mixed U16 eight-oared event and William Hundley then lead his fellow scullers Harry Capizzi, William Scarpa III, and Govind Harish to bronze in the men’s youth quad sculls event.
The club would like to express its gratitude to Holly Messick and Shelli York for their service as parent chaperones to the team during its weekend travels.
