2011 Head of the South
Charleston Crew rebounded from Head of the Hooch to find real success at the Head of the South in Augusta, Georgia. Just the fact that this team has survived the tribulations of this fall season is worth something in and of itself.
The Men’s Varsity bore the grunt of the glory this week leading the way and taking home a nice pile of precious medals. Starting off the day Hank Hays took second in Championship 1X in a time of 19:17. Then he jumped in with the Club 4+ (Rodriquez, Hays, Farkas, Richards, & Hill) despite Rodriquez having twice injured his ankle while attempting to walk forward. They placed 6th out of 12 with a time of 19:04. The lightning weight 4+ (Berger, Tipling, Candea, Perrin, & Witkowski) carried through on their word and won the regatta in a time of 18:11, just :05 ahead of Clemson. Before learning of the outcome of the light 4+, Berger (me), launched out in the Club 1X. Having started last and passed the rest of the field in the first fifteen hundred meters, Berger cruised all the home to victory, walking a novice four containing his little sister on the way. Later that day the Varsity Men (Berger, Tipling, Candea, Hays, Farkas, Richards, Zoellner, Perrin, & Witkowski) competed in the Championship 8+ for the first time, and won. Berger stroked the 8+ at a 34 all the way down the course until the last five hundred meters where he brought it up to a 39. The men topped second-placed Virginia Tech by two seconds with a time of 17:21.
The Varsity Women displayed some quick catches on their way to 5th place in the Club 8+. The Women also put out a Club 4+ (Weber, Haney, Kilgore, Criddle, & ?) that placed 7th and a Light 4+ (Markert, John, Bieger, Kratchman, & Witkowski).
The Novice Men rowed a Novice 4+ (Alec, Luke, Josiah, Adam, & ?) and a Novice 8+ (with the guys from the four and Daniel, Conner, Tony, Dylan, & Maylin in some order). The Four placed tenth in a tight field and the Eight placed twelfth. Being a group of tall, athletic, motivated guys, these men only require more time in the boat in order to become a truly exceptional novice crew.
The Novice Women rowed an 8+ and two 4+’s. The 4+’s placed 5th and 16th. The 8+ placed 8th. The Women’s novice are an interesting group as always and have shown a lot of motivation and respect for the team and the sport. Keep it up. Also a shout out to Coxswains Stephanie Witkowski, Bekah Dunlap, Jess Coleman, & Maylin Hill. These girls have been great assets to the team and have been fundamental to the Varsity by coming out in mornings. We really appreciate what you girls are doing (i.e. for the love of God, DO NOT QUIT)
This was really a great way to end a bad season. It was validating to see our perseverance rewarded. We kept this team afloat with nothing but our determination, wonderful coaches (Landrith, Landrith, Stanko, Lawlor, Hill & Zoellner), awesome alumni, and Warren Williams. Next season we look forward to a clean slate, some major improvements, increased stability, and Victory.
This very well may be my last post as I have been elevated to the Men’s Captain position. It’s been a pleasure letting you know what’s going on with Charleston Crew this last year.
-F. Joseph Berger IV
“Never, never, never give up” – Churchill
“I saw a woman wearing a sweatshirt with Guess on it. I said, Thyroid problem?” - Schwarzenegger