Oak Hollow Lake, High Point, NC – High Point’s girls varsity eight came from behind to earn a crosstown victory over rival Greensboro Crew on Saturday.
Both teams should have been racing as Triad United at the Head of the James in Richmond, Virginia on Saturday. That is, until Hurricane Michael struck with such heavy rainfall the James River was flooded and the regatta was cancelled.
So, High Point and Greensboro made the most of the situation with a cross-town duel.
“This was a case of making the best of a disappointing situation,” said High Point coach Gene Kininmonth. “The rowers had been looking forward to the James but this was not a bad consolation, with each squad earning their share of wins.”
Although Hurricane Michael had well and truly passed through the Triad by Saturday, its after effects were still evident. Many families were still without power over the weekend and had left town, which resulted in both squads operating on limited rosters.
“This was a great opportunity for girls who would normally not be in the varsity eight to get their opportunity,” said Gene. “Ava Kanzler has only been rowing a few months and Elizabeth Richards was elevated from the middle school squad. They both performed outstandingly today.”
The roster impact of Hurricane Michael was most pronounced on the boys squad. High Point did not have enough rowers to boat a varsity eight so the duel against Greensboro Crew was battled in coxed fours instead.
Greensboro prevailed with a lead from start to finish. High Point finished second with a Greensboro ‘B’ boat in third.
The final race of the morning was between middle school eights….which were actually crewed by only 6 rowers in each boat due to limited attendance. After a hard fought battle that saw the lead change constantly, Greensboro finally took home the win albeit with some high school rowers on board.
Congratulations all rowers for both races won and battles hard fought!
