Crews row Lake Waramaug in Kent Invitational

NEW PRESTON — The 29th annual Kent Invitational boys and girls rowing regatta took place on Lake Waramaug Saturday, May 11.

This sun-filled day of racing featured eight high school teams: Kent School, The Hotchkiss School, Salisbury School, Farmington High School, Simsbury High School, Sacred Heart Greenwich, Brunswick School, and East Lyme High School.

Multiple rowing teams from each school faced off on the 1,500-meter course as hundreds of attendees took in the races from shore.

Kent Coach Eric Houston described racing conditions as “almost perfect,” aside from a slight tailwind, and thanked all the volunteers who contributed to a successful day on the water.

“There were some very good and close races today,” Houston stated.

For the girls, the race between first boat crews was won by Kent with a time of 5:12.1. Hotchkiss placed second in 5:23.2 and Simsbury took third with 5:29.7.

Kent won the girls second boat race as well in 5:32.8, followed by Hotchkiss in second place with a time of 5:40.2 and Farmington in third with 5:46.9. During this race, Hotchkiss’s boat caught a blade in the buoy line, which delayed them for a few strokes about midway through the course. They recovered and finished the race less than eight seconds behind Kent.

The girls third boat race was won by Kent in 5:43.7. Simsbury took second in 6:03.5 and Farmington placed third in 6:46.3.

The fourth boat race for the girls was won by Farmington with a time of 6:13.2, followed by East Lyme in 6:34.1 for second and Kent took third in 6:45.4.

Boys rowing teams from Salisbury School, Kent School, and Brunswick School hit Lake Waramaug May 11 for the 29th annual Kent Invitational.Lans Christensen

The boys first boat race was won by Salisbury in 4:29.5. Kent followed closely behind, earning second in 4:30.3 and Brunswick took third in 4:33.4.

Kent won the boys second boat race in a photo finish, a half second ahead of Salisbury. Kent finished in 4:46.4, Salisbury finished in 4:46.9 and Brunswick took third in 4:51.8.

Brunswick placed first in the boys third boat race with 4:57.4. Kent followed in second with a time of 5:02.2 and Salisbury took third in 5:15.5.

The boys fourth boat race was won by Brunswick in 5:07.8, followed by Farmington in second with a time of 5:16.9 and Kent in third at 5:25.6.

When the regatta was done, crews broke down the boats and loaded them back onto the buses.Lans Christensen