Cuyahoga River Tune-Up for Saint Ignatius Crew
/Cleveland's scholastic rowing season is winding down as teams from the Cleveland Rowing Foundation and The Foundry make final preparations for the Scholastic Rowing Association of America Nationals May 26-27 on the Cooper River in Camden, NJ. We got a chance to ride along with Saint Ignatius High School Crew's final practice on the Cuyahoga River before they packed up for their trip.
After Head Coach Pat Connor laid out the morning practice plans with coxswains and assistant coaches, we asked about his team's chances: "We had a strong showing at Midwest Scholastic Rowing Association Championships but all of our top boats needed to find a few more seconds to be competitive at nationals. We had a great two weeks of practice and all three boats are going faster -- we're all excited to see what they can do this weekend. Should be fun to watch. Go Cats!". Saint Ignatius will race in the men's Varsity 8+, Junior 8+ and Lightweight 8+.
Saint Ignatius Crew will be joined at Nationals by hometown rival St. Edward High School who will have three boats competing: their men's Varsity 8+, Varsity 4+ and Freshman 8+. Saint Joseph Academy Crew will compete in the women's Varsity 8+, 2nd Varsity 8+, and Freshman 8+. It's the first time the Jaguars will race a Varsity 8+ and 2nd Varsity 8+ at Nationals. Shaker Heights Crew will send a girl's JV 4+ and a men's JV 4+.
SRAA Nationals event details and results are at https://www.regattacentral.com/regatta/?job_id=5126
40 Photos of SIHS Crew's Final Practice of 2017
Here's a slow-mo look at Saint Ignatius Crew on their final practice run down the Tower City stretch of the Cuyahoga River. Good luck to all the teams competing at Nationals!