Boys Crew Finishes on the Podium with Third Place Finish at NEIRA Championships
40 Deerfield Academy
30 Phillips Academy Andover
23 St. Paul's School
23 Phillips Exeter Academy
Boys' 3rd Eight: St. Paul's drew a challenging heat in the boys' 3rd eight, with Andover, St. John's Exeter, Fairfield Prep, and St. John's Prep all contending for three places in the final. SPS got off the start well, as five crews were in clear contention for second place behind an extremely fast-starting Andover crew. St. Paul's stayed clearly in contention with St. John's and Exeter, and St. Paul's started to build a lead on Fairfield Prep and St. John's Prep by 500m. In the middle 500m, Andover extended their lead over St. John's, Exeter, St. Paul's even as these crews started to separate from Fairfield Prep and St. John's Prep. In the third 500m, Andover continued their push away from the other crews, with St. John's and Exeter out-sprinting St. Paul's to the finish, with Fairfield Prep and St. John's Prep in 5th and 6th. The St. Paul's eight raced well, and they finished their season with a solid eighth place overall in a highly contested event.
Boys' 2nd Eight: St. Paul's drew a challenging heat, with Andover, Brookline, and Fairfield Prep, favored to contend for the two spots in the Grand Final. St. Paul's got out well off the start, matching the speed of the other crews, putting themselves in position compete. At 500m, St. Paul's was clearly in the mix, trailing Andover by 1/3 of a length, but very much even with Brookline and Fairfield Prep, and starting to gain advantage over St. John's Prep and Hanover. St. Paul's used the middle 500m to assert their speed, pressing into second place ahead of Fairfield Prep and Brookline. At 1000m, St. Paul's was about ½ length up on Fairfield Prep and Brookline, and pressing clear of St. John's Prep and Hanover. In the third 500m, St. Paul's held their lead over Fairfield Prep and Brookline to claim second behind Andover. In the final, Deerfield and Andover started aggressively, quickly building a lead on the other four crews. St. Paul's got off the line well, and we very much in contention for third with Exeter, Kent, and Salisbury. At 500m, Deerfield and Andover had a clear water lead on the other four crews, with Exeter, St. Paul's, Kent, and Salisbury nearly dead even in a tight race for third. In the middle 500m, Exeter and St. Paul's moved ahead of Kent and Salisbury even as Deerfield started to build a lead on Andover. In the third 500m, Deerfield extended their lead on Andover to win, with Andover a clear second. Exeter out-sprinted St. Paul's to third place, and St. Paul's pressed 3/4 of a length clear of Kent and Salisbury. This was an excellent day of racing for the boys' second eight.
Boys' 1st Eight: St. Paul's and Deerfield set the tone for the 3rd heat of the boys' 1st eight immediately, beginning to build a lead right off the start. At 500m, St. Paul's and Deerfield were well clear of the other four crews, and St. Paul's started to relax the rhythm and conserve energy for the final. In the second half of the race, Deerfield built a one length lead over St. Paul's as the two crews claimed the Grand Final places over Fairfield Prep, Tabor, St. John's, and Duxbury. In the final, Deerfield and Salisbury got out aggressively to claim the early lead, with St. Paul's running roughly even with Brunswick, Andover, and Kent. At 500m, St. Paul's was in fourth position, with Deerfield starting to edge ahead of Salisbury, Brunswick a few seats ahead in third, and St. Paul's roughly even with Andover and Kent. In the middle 500m St. Paul's made length and rhythm work for them, moving ahead of Brunswick into third place, with Andover and Kent holding pace. In the third 500m, St. Paul's pressed through Salisbury (by inches) to claim second place behind Deerfield, with Brunswick, Andover, and Kent close behind. This was an excellent day of racing for the boys' first eight.
Team Points Trophy: Overall, St. Paul's finished third in the points trophy for boys' eights, behind Deerfield and Andover. St. Paul's tied in terms of number of points (23) with Exeter, but St. Paul's finished ahead of Exeter based on the tie-breaker, the finish in the boys' first eight. This third place finish highlights the commitment to program and the work done by all of the athletes this season.
