By Kristen Loszewski and Cathy Mizgerd
Ann Arbor Pioneer High School’s Pioneer Rowing Club (PRC) brought home gold, silver, and bronze medals from its first official regatta entry in the spring 2023 season: the Kensington Sprints, hosted by Ann Arbor Skyline and Northville high schools on Saturday, April 29, 2023, on the Kathryn Bennett Race Course at Kensington Metropark in Milford, Mich. Kensington Sprints is part of the Mitten Racing Series, a trio of races on an eight-lane, National Championship-level race course, the first of its kind in Michigan, provided by the Washtenaw Rowing Center.
Seventeen high school rowing crews gathered from around the midwestern region of the U.S. for the regatta, which featured a 1,500-meter course along the northwestern edge of the metropark’s 1,200-acre Kent Lake. Pioneer Rowing Club placed fifth overall and third for women’s points.
Time trials began at 8:00 a.m., accompanied by damp spring weather, with cloudy skies, heavy fog, and a temperature of 47 degrees. Low winds from the west-southwest at 2mph made for calm waters. Visibility was poor, the cloud ceiling was low, and humidity reached 99 percent. By afternoon, rowing and viewing conditions had improved, with fog lifting and temperatures warming to 54 degrees. The sun peeked out for a few minutes intermittently for some of the day’s final races. When rowing concluded around 2:15 p.m., the clouds had returned, but the temperature was holding steady at 54 degrees; humidity had fallen to 72 percent, and the winds were blowing at 5mph from the west.
“We did a really good job today of putting some speed on the water,” said Pioneer Head Coach Scott Menoch at the end of the day. “Now we need to keep that momentum going to prepare for the championship races that start two weeks from now.”
For its next event after the Kensington sprints on April 29, the Pioneer Rowing Club traveled to Orchard Lake, Mich., on Saturday, May 6, to compete in the Laddie Cup regatta hosted by Orchard Lake St. Mary’s Preparatory.
GOLD
Women’s Junior Varsity 4+ with a time of 6:22.153: Catherine Neal, Madeline Houston, Madilyn Gordon, Astrid Becker, with Allison Miller as coxswain
SILVER
Women’s Varsity 4+ with a time of 6:05.302: Anne Stroud, Alita Cunningham, Emmanuel Davis, Michelle Mobius, with Georgia Busse as coxswain
Men’s Novice 4+ with a time of 5:56.699: Austin Sexton, Nicholas Turenne, Kellum Colquitt, Oliver Germano, with Alexander Hsu as coxswain
BRONZE
Women’s Novice 8+ with a time of 6:02.817: Sofia Mackler, Jordan Davis, Maeve Coffman, Sofia Becker, Padme Barclay, Chloe Parrish, Maggie Cox, Peyton Peters, with Carlie Lehrmann as coxswain
Women’s 3rd Varsity/Novice 8+ with a time of 6:20.649: Chloe Parrish, Jordan Davis, Padme Barclay, Gabby Soto-Ali, Maggie Cox, Peyton Peters, Muna Shakour, Keira McDonald, with Celeste Pinkelman as coxswain
MAIN PHOTO: Women’s V4 boat takes silver (photo by Joe Clynes)
