By Kristen Loszewski and Cathy Mizgerd
On Saturday, May 20, twenty-five high school teams from across Michigan gathered at Kensington Metropark in Milford, Michigan, for the 2023 Michigan State Rowing Championships. For the second year in a row, the statewide competition—which is sponsored by the Scholastic Rowing Association of Michigan—was held on the park’s Kathryn Bennett Race Course, a 1,500-meter course along the northwestern edge of 1,200-acre Kent Lake.
Heavy cloud cover remaining from the previous night’s strong rains created surprisingly chilly late spring conditions, with bundled-up spectators huddling under blankets at the finish line. Temperatures climbed only a few degrees from 48℉ at the 8:30 a.m. start to 51℉, where they remained for the afternoon. Steadily increasing winds from the northwest were clocked at 9 mph during the first part of the morning, with gusts reaching 14 mph before noon and holding steady for the remainder of the day’s races. The northwest tail wind made for quick races. By the time the last two V8+ finals concluded, the clouds were dispersing and much-welcomed sunshine warmed the beach. The day concluded with the team medal ceremony at 7 p.m.
Of the 293 boats entered into the regatta’s 24 different events, Pioneer entered 15; in addition to its 4+ and 8+ boats, Pioneer entered three small boats: a men’s varsity single scull (1x), a men’s junior varsity single (1x) scull, and a men’s varsity coxless pair (2-).
Pioneer rowed hard, with 13 of its 15 boats advancing from semifinals to final races. Ultimately, the team brought home four medals, with a huge quorum of the team arriving to provide dock support when Pioneer’s bronze medal-winning men’s varsity coxless pair (2-), one of the team’s less-frequently-rowed boats, arrived back to shore. Pioneer’s 4+ boats performed especially well, with novice women earning silver and the novice men’s and varsity women’s boats earning bronze.
Teams from the Grand Rapids area and Wyandotte have emerged as tough competitors for Pioneer this season, performing well alongside long-standing rivals including Skyline (Ann Arbor), Northville, and Orchard Lake Saint Mary’s. At the State Championships, Northville, Skyline (Ann Arbor), and Forest Hills Central (Grand Rapids) took the top three spots (by points). Pioneer finished 7th in the men’s overall points category and 10th in the women’s, for an overall team placing of 7th this year.
“What I saw from the program across the board was that our boats went to finals because of the work you put in every day. We raced teams that are taller, bigger, and stronger than we are, and we took them out anyway,” said Scott Menoch, Pioneer Crew Head Coach, addressing the team after medals were distributed. “You put it all out on the water, and regardless of the results, that’s what makes you good competitors and good teammates. I’m proud to say that this is my team.”
To wrap up their season, the team then traveled to St. Catharines, Ontario, in Canada on the following weekend, June 2-4, 2023, for the 76th Canadian Secondary School Rowing Association Regatta (CSSRA).
SILVER
Women’s Freshman 4+ (photo above) with a time of 6:15.182: Sofia Mackler, Jordan Davis, Maeve Coffman, Sofia Becker, with Carlie Lehrmann as coxswain
BRONZE
Men’s Varsity 2- (photo above) with a time of 5:55.726: Brendan Kracht, Cooper Duke
Women’s Varsity 4+ (photo above) with a time of 6:05.104: Anne Stroud, Alita Cunningham, Emmanuel Davis, Michelle Mobius, with Cecilia Fortson as coxswain
Men’s Freshman 4+ (above) with a time of 5:49.798: Austin Sexton, Sam Price, Kellum Colquitt, Ben Wemert, with Rocco Romeri as coxswain
Photos courtesy of David Fulkerson and Amanda Gray.
