Trey Farley
tlf001@marietta.edu
In the sport of rowing, few races are able to captivate an entire city. One of those races is the Head of the Charles, which started 52 years ago and takes place on the Charles River in Boston. This regatta has been one of the largest gatherings of rowing in the entire world for the last half century, and Marietta has made its mark on the Charles during that time. In recent years, the Pioneers Men’s 4+ shell has finished second and fourth in 2014 and 2015, respectively. This year’s crew added to that impressive run after finishing eighth on Sunday, crossing the finish line in 18 minutes and 23 seconds.
The shell consisted of two oarsmen, both of which were in the boat in the last two races when the Pioneers placed in the top ten. Seniors Jack Gleim and Matt Bush made up the middle of the boat with sophomores Angelo Leitner-Wise and Ethan Schaufhausen in stroke and bow respectively.
“There was a 20mph head wind and 40mph gusts so our relatively light weight put us at a big disadvantage,” Bush said. “I believe that some boats had an advantage by starting at later times when the wind had died down some.”
Winds affected all crews on the course on Sunday, as wining school Florida Tech finished nearly a minute slower than last year’s winner.
However, despite such a great finish in one of the most competitive races of the year, the Pioneers are turning their focus towards the Muskie Chase this weekend.
“Sure it’s nice to finish well at a race like the Charles, but now we’re focused on our home race,” Gleim said.
Crews from the University of Cincinnati and Washington University-St. Louis will come to Marietta to race down the Muskingum River on Saturday. Racing is set to begin at approximately 8:00 a.m. on Saturday Oct. 29.
