By MIKE HALLORAN

Duxbury’s Varsity and Novice high school rowing teams competed in the “One in Eight” Regatta on Cape Cod earlier this month and had their best showing of the season, bringing home four gold medals, two silver, two bronze and the team trophy.{sidebar id=4}

The DBMS squad knocked off Cape Cod Rowing, Hingham High School, Worcester High School, G-Row, Greater Lawrence and Community Rowing in taking home the crown.

DHS Rowing Team

The girls’ Novice Four crew started the day and surprised everyone by winning the event, despite never having competed in fours all year. The boys’ Novice Four was up next and dominated the race by taking first and second place.

The girls’ Varsity Four race was next on the agenda and Duxbury’s  #2 boat brought home a gold medal, while its #1 boat took third despite a collision with Cape Cod Rowing. {sidebar id=1}

Duxbury’s girls’ Varsity Eights had a strong showing, as the #1 boat clinched second and the #2 boat took third.

The final event of the day was the boys’ first Varsity Four in which Duxbury beat out the rest of the field to win gold medals.

DBMS finished in first place in the team standings, as they brought home medals in eight events in the regatta that was held as a breast cancer awareness fundraiser. 

The dominating performance on the Cape came on the heels of a solid showing at the Lowell Invitational on a gloomy, rainy Sunday afternoon, where four of the six DBMS crews medalled. After disappointing results at the season’s first two races, the boys’ and girls’ crews seem to have finally found their groove.

With 23 schools entered in the regatta and a 1500-meter course, all crews competed for a spot in the finals through heats. The top two crews of each heat advanced to the finals in the afternoon.

The first heat of the day was the boys’ first Novice Four race. The DBMS boat with coxswain Amanda Woodgate, along with rowers Kyle Dame, John Frye, Alex Kosharek, and Nick Mulone won their heat by open water to win a place in the finals. After a disappointing start, the boys battled their way back to a second-place finish and a silver medal.

Meanwhile, the boys’ second Novice boat of 8th-grader coxswain Caroline Hickey, Connor Clark, Anthony Umbrianna, Andrew Whalen, and Nick Tinkham also made it to the finals where they brought home Duxbury’s first gold medal.

The boys’ first Varsity 4 of Ben Potash, Alex Porter, Pat Sullivan, Buzz Ryan and coxswain Andrew Oberholzer was in the next race of the day — the first time all season the quartet rowed together. The boys won their heat and advanced to the finals with the fastest qualifying time of all 23 schools. They went into the finals with confidence and won the silver medal, as rowing powerhouse, Manchester Central NH, edged them at the finish.

Boys Varsity 4

Expectations were running high for the powerful girls’ first Varsity 4 boat rowed by Emily Desmery, Tess Wankum, Amanda Doolin, and Emmi O’Day, and coxed by Marissa Demos. The girls won their heat by open water and advanced to the finals where they dominated the race and brought home DBMS’s second gold.

Despite having the smallest team at the Lowell Invitational, Duxbury turned a lot of heads by winning four medals, and showed the rest of the rowing community that the season looks very bright for the DBMS rowers. {sidebar id=6}