Next up in our preview of the 2025 spring collegiate season is an interview with Ohio State junior Amelia Boes. We chat with Boes on novice rowing at Ohio State, the worst racing conditions, and more.

row2k - You started rowing as a novice at Ohio State, what was your athletic background prior to enrolling and how did you end up in Columbus?

Amelia Boes - Before enrolling at Ohio State, I was active in cross country, basketball, and track and field. I started running cross country and playing basketball in elementary school and picked up track in junior high. In track, I tried almost every event but my main ones were the 4x800m relay, 4x400m relay, and high jump. I am from Ohio and have been a Buckeyes fan all my life, so attending college here has been an idea for as long as I’ve known what college was. I was a little late to the game in deciding that I might want to continue my athletic career in college, but I looked into a few schools for basketball during my senior year and also came on an unofficial visit for rowing at OSU that fall. I ended up choosing in the winter of my senior year.

row2k - How did you find your way into the rowing program?

Amelia Boes - I first learned that there was such a thing as a rowing program at Ohio State or really anywhere in my junior year of high school. One day my history teacher, who was also the volleyball coach at my high school and had begged me to play for years, pulled me aside and showed me a flyer for the walk-on program at Ohio State and mentioned that it seemed like it was right up my alley. And right he was. After learning a little bit about what rowing is, I got in contact with Emily Gackowski, who was the walk-on coach at the time and is now my head coach. I came on a visit in the fall of my senior year and got to watch practice from the launch with her dog on my lap. It was 7 a.m., about 40 degrees, cloudy, and wintry mix-ing but many of the girls were wearing shorts and minimal layers and were out there hard at work. It was awesome. I left this visit 99% sure that this is where I would be the following fall despite being offered a scholarship to play basketball somewhere else.

I took some time to consider my options and hoped for some sort of sign that I should or should not base my college decision on a sport I had never tried. But one day I was applying for scholarships and got into the attic to find a certificate, and when I opened the box, there was a red notebook on the top. It was from 7th grade English class and the first page held my bucket list. Number one on the list: go to college at Ohio State. That was enough for me. I knew that I couldn’t really make a wrong choice with the schools I had narrowed down, but this seemed like the opportunity of a lifetime and I really wanted to try. So, I committed shortly after and learned to row as a recruited walk-on. I was hooked from the very first practice and have loved it ever since! Funnily enough, I found out later that Emily was fully convinced I hated rowing and would certainly quit by the end of the year. Little did she know there wasn’t a single day that I wasn’t happy to be at practice. Even on the toughest days, there was nowhere else I wanted to be, and that has remained true throughout my career.

row2k - What are some similarities and differences between rowing and the other sports you competed in?

Amelia Boes - After we got into our training plan a little bit, I noticed a lot of similarities to cross-country pretty quickly. Both training regimens consist of longer steady-state workouts and shorter, harder pieces, and even the schedule lined up for me. In high school, we did longer runs on Monday and Wednesday, speed work on Tuesday and Thursday, and raced on the weekends, which is almost exactly what we do now for a lot of our training.

Of course, there is a significant volume difference and an added technical aspect, but cross-country was a great segway into rowing for me and I think any endurance sport would be. The other similarity I drew rather quickly was the mental challenge that rowing provides. It is similar to running in the way that it’s almost more mental than physical and our minds can be our biggest advantage or biggest barrier in our performance, but rowing is also a bit different. To me, rowing is more of a team sport because each member of the crew must not only perform individually but also physically move together to be fast. Regardless, both sports have helped me to grow in mental toughness, learn how to talk to myself in times of extreme discomfort, and how to push my body past what I thought was possible time and time again.

I don’t draw as many similarities to basketball but there are some. Rowing, basketball, and all the sports I’ve ever been a part of have helped me learn how to be a good teammate and have allowed me to experience the value of being coachable. Basketball, like rowing, also takes a lot of repetition and muscle memory. Otherwise, basketball is a game and is pretty different from rowing. Sometimes I miss playing a ‘game’ sport but racing is an experience like no other. We put in months and months of work with just a few opportunities to show for it and I think that is what makes it so thrilling and so rewarding when you win.

row2k - What was it like going from complete novice to racing in the Ohio State varsity eight by the end of your sophomore year?

Amelia Boes - In my novice year, I raced every race of the season in the first Novice 8. It was such an awesome experience. There’s nothing like the novice mentality and just getting in there and pulling as hard as you can, doing everything you know how to do to get across the line first. There is this sort of blindfold over your expectations and you don’t know what is fast and what isn’t so you just go out there and do your best, and sometimes the results are impressive.

As I progressed into the year I began to understand my ranking in relation to the members on the varsity crew and learned that I was in the upper part of the mix as far as my erg times. Going into my second year of rowing, I knew that I would become part of the varsity team and that I would have the opportunity to earn a spot in one of those boats. I worked hard over the summer to make sure that I could contribute to the team.

Buckeyes launching at '24 NCAAs

I spent most of racing season in the 2V, but a few weeks before the conference championship I found myself sitting in the Varsity 8 and I finished the season there. I hadn’t set that as a specific goal but instead focused on showing up every day and making as much progress as possible. Yes, I wanted to be in the highest boat possible, but I was much less concerned with what boat it was and more concerned about making the boat I was in faster and having fun doing so.

The entire season was such a valuable experience, but I will never forget the time that I spent with the crew I ended the season with. I was the youngest person in the boat and the most inexperienced by far. Most of the rowers in that boat had been rowing for many years and were (are) really, really good. I knew that at that point I could take the route of having imposter syndrome or I could take advantage of the unique opportunity I had, be a sponge, and learn as much as I possibly could from these people that I admire so much not only for their excellence in rowing but for the great humans that they are.

We ended up racing well at NCAAs and had an absolute blast in the process. I am so grateful that they welcomed me in and trusted me to be a part of their lineup, and we ended up growing very close as a group in a short time. We still keep in touch and I hope it stays that way for a long time. I’m also grateful that my coaches believed in me and saw my potential. It’s hard to gauge where you really are when you’re new to the sport and still have so much to learn but if nothing else, I knew that they believed in me and I certainly wouldn’t be where I am without them.

row2k - What do you like most about the sport of rowing?

Amelia Boes - Gosh, most people who know me well, know that I’ve become a bit of a nerd about rowing. There’s a lot to love about it: the grind that it takes to be successful, the team aspect, the opportunity to compete, the balance of art and science, the little technicalities that make crucial differences, the power of our minds in the boat, the fact that I often get to train in front of the sunrise; the list goes on. I think that what I like the most about rowing though is the relationships I have built through the sport and the person it helps me become.

I have met so many incredible people through this sport and built friendships I will cherish for life. Having the chance to become teammates and friends with people from all around the world and from so many different backgrounds is something I never imagined would happen for me. I feel so privileged to know all of my teammates and coaches. The trust that this sport requires draws us very close as a team and allows us to push one another toward common goals. Competing not just for myself but for the women in front of and behind me pushes me to do more than I ever thought I could and to give absolutely everything I’ve got when I get in the boat.

This sport, to me, is also like a controlled space to practice life- but it is also not separate from life. I practice making mistakes every single day with lots of opportunities to learn from them in each stroke that follows. The lessons I have learned in this sport and will continue to learn are applicable in every aspect of my life. I can continue to become the best version of myself every day when I buy into all that this sport entails, especially in the program established at Ohio State.

I have experienced firsthand the impact of the fact that who you choose to surround yourself with matters. I am surrounded by driven, supportive teammates and coaches who have shaped my experience and share in my desire to compete and win. Rowing makes me a better athlete, teammate, and human being. It encourages me to be relentless in the pursuit of excellence, resilient in the face of adversity, and to never stop learning, and this will be immensely valuable to me no matter where I find myself down the line. It has shown me the value of consistency, that joy and hardship can coincide, and that pushing yourself into extreme discomfort can be fun if you are crazy enough to make it that way.

row2k - What has been your most memorable race and why?

Amelia Boes - Not my most memorable specific race, but my most memorable weekend of racing was the Big 10/Ivy Dust-Up in Camden, New Jersey last year. Circumstantially, it was probably the worst weekend of racing I’ve experienced and I think most of my teammates who were there would say the same. But I also think it was one of the most fun weekends of my career so far.

When we arrived after our 9-hour drive from Columbus, the race course was drained to prepare for the copious amount of rain that was forecasted for the next day, so from there we did a lot of moving around. Long story short, I think we unloaded, rigged, de-rigged, and loaded our boats and equipment more times in one weekend than I can count on my fingers. Then race day came. And it was cold and it poured buckets for the entirety of the time we were out there. We almost found out for sure if ergs could float because our tent was in such a large puddle. We were all freezing cold and drenched to the bone, wearing trash bags over our rain jackets, and eventually ravenous. We also were locked out of our hotel rooms more than once throughout the weekend. I don’t actually remember the results of the racing but I think it went fairly well.

In the end, though, everyone was safe and we got to race so I figured the best response was to laugh and have fun anyway. It was one of many moments where I was reminded that I am surrounded by the right people because not everyone would choose to dance in the cold and rain, keep a positive attitude, and give their best in a race in these circumstances. But my team is full of resilient people who were able to bring joy into the ‘suckiness’ of the weekend and not just get through it, but even make it fun. I think this is the most ‘referred to’ race now as we all remember it very well and compare it to many other situations as a reminder to be resilient.

row2k - How has this season gone so far and what are your goals for the spring racing season?

Amelia Boes - This season has been great so far! We began this year with a completely new coaching staff so we have been navigating the changes that come with this. Emily and the staff that she has hired are on a mission to help our team succeed and they’re doing an awesome job. We have re-established who we are as a team and what it is that we’re trying to do. We have put in a lot of really good work so far, competed in some scrimmages, and went on a very productive winter training trip. I have learned an incredible amount in a short time and it’s been so cool to watch this year’s team start to come together. We are excited to begin racing in the spring and have lots of work to do in the meantime.

The goal for racing season is of course to win as much as possible. Along with that, we have talked a lot this year within our team about being elite athletes and figuring out what that looks like for us. I am excited to continue to actively pursue this goal as a team and see where it takes us. My goal is to take every opportunity to grow in both physical and mental fitness, to feel like I did everything I possibly could to positively impact the speed of the boats I am in (and then execute), and to build lasting relationships with my teammates in the process.

row2k - What are you studying at Ohio State and do you have any plans for after graduation?

Amelia Boes - I began my college career studying Integrated Language Arts Education but recently changed my major to Sport Industry. After being immersed in the collegiate sports world for even just a short time I have grown in fascination with it and making a career out of it in some way seems like a dream come true. As of now, I’m not sure where I will end up but I hope to continue rowing after college and coach rowing in the future.