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Motley Crew's 2009 HOCR entry. Dick Dreissigacker, 7 seat, with Coach Gluckman at 5 seat - row2k.com

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SBTC/Craftsbury Head Racing '09 Highlights

11.Nov.2009

If all of the good stories about scullers representing Craftsbury at this fall’s head races had their own web pages, the one getting the most hits would almost certainly involve Tom and Peter Graves.  After representing the United States as this year’s senior national team’s double sculls entry, the brothers won the Championship Double at the Head of the Charles, defeating several crews composed of members of the Great Eight.  That result was by no means entirely unexpected, as Peter had won the event the previous year rowing with Andrew Liverman, but this year’s field was deeper and faster, and for those of us who can only try to visualize going fast enough to beat crews containing all-time/all-world/more-international-medals-than-you-can-remember-scullers like Itzok Cop and Marcel Hacker, actually knowing some humble American guys who’ve done it is pretty cool.  One spectator at the Charles told Coach Larry Gluckman “I saw the Graves brothers coming past Lars Anderson bridge during the race.  My god, they looked like a wind-up toy!”  Larry replied “Yeah, I don’t think they saw the lower side of 35 (strokes per minute) the whole race.” 

The other great story of the fall that few people outside Craftsbury know about, though, is SBTC athlete Shay Seager’s comeback from a broken rib.  Seven weeks before the Charles, Shay was beginning to move the single pretty well, often really pushing U-23 national team quad member Emily Dreissigacker in workouts.  Then something snapped, and she was out for six weeks.

Initially, she tried to train through it, until it became apparent that she was just rushing the process and re-injuring herself.  Pepa took her to Craftsbury member Dr. John Keading, who diagnosed it as either a stress fracture or pulled ligaments.  Since the treatment and healing time window for either injury would be the same, she didn’t get an x-ray and got right on the stationary bike for nearly countless hours in September, as any SBTC or GRP athlete can attest.

A week before the Charles, she got back in the single for two outings, went to Boston, and came 7th in the club single.  A pair of buoy violations, neither of which gained her any advantage, kept her out of the top five.  The following weekend, she sculled confidently to a first-place finish at the Head of the Fish, 43 seconds minute ahead of the field, and then followed that up this past week with a new p.r. on a 6k erg test in preparation for the Women’s U-23 and Senior National Team I.D. camp and fall speed order trials in Princeton this month.  The short version of the story is that what could easily have been a disappointing summer and fall has really turned into something special for Shay and the SBTC.  (Editor’s note:  Shay continued to shine this weekend rowing the best 30 minute controlled rating piece at the Women’s ID at Princeton, NJ.)

Erick Winstead didn’t have to overcome an injury this summer and fall, but his SBTC experience has also been a story of ascent and improvement.  Back in June, Erick had done very little sculling and was sort of the tagalong guy in workouts with Spencer Crim and John Hood – usually needing a substantial head start and still finishing behind the pack.  No more.  At the Green Mountain Head, Erick paired up with Taylor Washburn to finish fourth in the open double in a very respectable field of scullers.  Since then, he has earned third-place finishes in the open single at the Schuyler Skiff and Head of the Fish regattas in Saratoga Springs.  Like Shay, Erick hit a convincing p.r. for last week’s 6k erg and will attend the National Team I.D. Camp and speed orders. 

Other fall racing highlights:  -
Coach Ann Holmes won the open double with Emily Dreissigacker at the Green Mountain Head, finished 7th in the Championship single at the Head of the Charles, and 2nd at the Head of the Schuylkill behind the outstanding New Zealand sculler Emma Twigg.

Taylor Washburn won open doubles race at the Textile River Regatta, with his uncle Andy. He was third (first lightweight) at the Green Mountain Head, third in the Open Lightweight Single at Schuyler Skiff, and was a member of the winning Lightweight 8+ at the Head of the Charles.   

For more detail and results, check out the this article in the SBTC blog too.