The Youth singles turned out to be a big day for bow #2, with both of last year's runners-up making good on this year's chance to take the win.
In the Youth Men's race, Devan Godfrey rowed down Henry Davison, last year's winner who went on to represent the US at the U19 Worlds, and Olivia Petri--whose second place last year had already earned her an HOCR U17 medal--won the Youth Women's event outright this time around.
Youth Men's 1x - Woodland's Devan Godfrey
Godfrey came into the race as the 2023 Youth Nationals champ. That was the last time he had raced Davison, but his South African citizenship made him ineligible to challenge for the spot on the US U19 team which Davison won. Here at the Charles, they could race on equal footing again, but Godfrey said his goals were internal as he took this final chance to win the Youth event before he ages out.
"I was just going in with the idea of rowing my own race. The goal wasn't necessarily to pass him as quickly as possible. I had my own race plan in my head, and I was implementing that as I rowed down the course.
"What my coach wanted me to do over the Powerhouse stretch was to drop the rate down by one and really just send it, to burn some energy there because it's a long straight," he said. "That's where I closed a lot of the gap."
Once Godfrey passed bow #1 and had the open river to himself, he kept it simple.
"I was trying not to mess up the steering and add too many extra meters to the race."
Like everyone else getting set to race on Sunday, Godfrey had kept an eye on the wind forecast.
"The wind wasn't great. It was mostly a headwind. I'm pleased with the time but it would have been nice to have a shot at the course record with the wind being better, though I can't be disappointed. My lake back at home is also very windy a lot of the time, so the wind didn't intimidate me. I've spent time in it.
Godfrey's win came in his final shot at the event for the high school senior, who will row at Washington next year.
"I'm done racing because I'm about to age out. I'm going to be an assistant coach on my team and get ready for college. I'll try to go for sub six on the erg and maybe sub seven on the water."
Godfrey will also be applying for US citizenship when he becomes eligible later this year, might also try for U23 Trials if his citizenship change comes through.
"I plan on staying in the US for a long time and I'm planning on trying to race for the US. I can start my citizenship application in March, but it takes some time."
Interestingly enough, Godfrey did get a little taste of international racing here at the Charles: this year's U19 bronze medalist--Slovakia's Peter Strecansky--was charging through the pack with bow number 31. Strecansky would finish second overall, ten second's off Godfrey's pace.
"I didn't know about Strecansky until Friday, and when I found out he was racing, that shook me up a little bit," Godfrey said. "I thought, he's going to be really fast. But, at the end of the day, it's my race. I have control of how I'm going to do, so I just got ready how I always would, and just raced my race."
Youth Women's 1x - Redwood's Olivia Petri
Petri's win, at just 16 years old, meant that youth really won the day in the women's event. Like Godfrey, she had a strong row starting from the Bow #2 spot she earned last year, and left no doubt that she is a rising star by winning over all the older scullers in the field.
Petri's win pads a resume that already includes racing the single at the U19 Worlds in 2022--when she was just 15--and the U17 Youth Nationals title this past June. She even has a Polish National Championship she earned in 2021, at 14, and she has been racing with her Redwood Sculler's team in California since she was in 7th grade.
Even though Petri will have a few more chances to defend her Youth Singles crown at the Charles before she ages out, she is already a bit of an HOCR veteran, after three years of racing the Youth Single--and never finishing lower than fourth against the older scullers.
"It's my third time here so I am used to the Charles," Petri said, while waiting for the race to be marked official so she could pick up her medal. "I don't row here every day, of course, but I've been through the motions here and practiced the course so I felt pretty confident with was doing. I wasn't as nervous to take some turns a little tighter like I was the first year I raced here.
"I had a little bit trouble on the big turn but I came back from that, and I hit one buoy somewhere so I took a power 10 After that, but overall I'm pretty happy with the race."
When asked if she prefers to stay internal with her splits or to feed off of racing the other scullers, Petri said it is a bit of both.
"I didn't have many people to pass because I started off second, and I don't like to look at my speed coach too much because I think I get a little psyched out. If there's nobody in front of me, then I'll probably look at my stroke coach, but not too much.
"This time I'll admit I was looking at the person in front of me a little, seeing where they were doing highs and making sure that I didn't get gained on, but I feel like I'm pretty in tune with my body, so I know where I'm pushing the limit, where I could push a little more, and when I'm pushing maybe a little bit to hard.
"Racing so many head races and even just doing more volume, I've become more in tune with myself. I know when I'm going at a good speed and can stay there."
Going into the race, Petri was also watching the wind forecast, but said she was ready.
"I was expecting whitecaps but it was actually fairly nice, especially the Powerhouse Stretch. There was even some glass at one point. Right here after the Elliot Bridge, there was a strong headwind but I was preparing myself for that. I could see it before I launched, so I knew where it would be.
"You just have to be focusing on your catches. Catch and then just haul," she said, about handling the breeze. "The weather was blown out of proportion, for the morning at least, in my mind. It was a lot better than I expected it to be but I also didn't underestimate the weather, which was good. You just have to remember to sit up and get those catches in."
When asked what advantages her three years' worth of race experience at the Charles might offer, Petri said she just feels more and more at home out on this river, even before the race starts.
"I'm getting used to the Basin warm up, where two years ago that scared me a little bit, but going through it I've gotten a little more comfortable: stopping on the warm up between the bridges, the tight turns in the warm, making sure you don't go over the buoy line before the race starts. It's just become more of a habit, and now I can remember it's not that scary. It's fine. I've been through it.
Big races like the Charles and U19 Worlds can be "overwhelming" she admitted, but also mentioned that there is a bit less pressure in some ways because everything is so well organized. It all comes down to mindset.
"You see the entire Boston skyline from the Basin. It's awesome but also intimidating, but I think it's the way you look at it. You can either think this is an incredible opportunity or I'm scared to death. It can be both at the same time, but at race time I like to think this is an incredible opportunity and it's going to be so fun to race.
"I had fun in this race, which is hard for me to say most of the time because I'm scared, but I genuinely had fun."
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