Later this decade, when construction is completed, Nathan Benderson Park in Sarasota will host the World Rowing Championships. This weekend, the impressive facility will host high school crew teams from around the state for the State Championships.
Sebastian River’s boys and girls crew teams hope to earn titles and berths in the SRAA (Scholastic Rowing Association of America) Championships scheduled for May 25 to 27 at Mercer Lake in New Jersey.
“Since this is a two-day event, it’s different from other races,” Sebastian River coach Frank Campione said. “Everything is in heats. It’s not vital to win right off the bat. You want to get to where you prepare for the grand finale. You have to conserve yourself to advance to the next round and not expend too much energy in your first shot.”
The role of the coxswain becomes even more important in the qualifying rounds since the coxswain, a non-rower, is in charge of the navigation, speed and timing of the boat. Chantelle Chandonnet will be the coxswain for Sebastian River’s girls varsity four boat, which also will include Cheyenne Landry, Kaitlin O’Keefe, Savannah Todd and Tonia O’Neill.
“I’m excited – it’s been a good and long year since the fall,” said Chandonnet, a 17-year-old junior. “It took a while to get all the girls to where they felt natural and together in the boat. It’s about working together and finding the right four.”
Sebastian River’s lightweight four boat of coxswain Colleen Loo, Bailey Nelson, Kate Houck, Mayra Magana and Nichole DeRosa also should be a strong contender for a state title. The Sharks also have entered a boat in the junior four competition. Coxswain Breana Thornton, Alma Pena, Anna Scott, Erin Roberts and Samantha Brown will row for that boat.
All of Sebastian River’s boats in both the girls and boys divisions will compete in the Sweeping Championships, which entails each rower having two hands on one oar. In the Sculling Championships, each rower has two oars.
Chandonnet rowed for half a season as a freshman before she made the transition to a coxswain role.
“I like the teaching and leadership skills that I’ve learned,” Chandonnet said. “My rowing experience has helped in that I got inside the boat. I’ve made so many good friends; all of my friends are in crew.”
Besides crew, Chandonnet is a strong student whose favorite subjects are history and English. She played the violin for several years before finding that she did not have the free time to continue her lessons.
“I hadn’t thought about crew and the violin, but you do have to feel the rhythm, that you’re moving at the same rhythm in the boat. There’s a lot of tempo.”
Sophomore Brooks Spires is one of several younger rowers who has Campione excited about the future of Sebastian River’s crew program.
“Brooks has improved by leaps and bounds,” Campione said. “He was 216 pounds and he’s lost about 20 pounds – a lot of it was baby fat. He’s showing muscular definition and pushing himself physically. The younger guys are showing improvement, and we’re going to get tougher in the next few years as they buy into it. This will raise the level of talent on the team, and I’m excited about that.”
Spires will row for the varsity eight boat which consists of Ronnie Rupchis, Jordan Ray, Scott Adams, Clay Chambliss, Ben Demars, Melvin Abt, Logan Johnson and coxswain Izzy Lawn.
Nick Thull, T.J. Scannell, Grant Price and Ethan Stull will row for coxswain Delinda Gamez on the varsity four boat. In the boys’ competition, girls can be the coxswains.
Hunter O’Neal, Abe Lopez, Billy Butler, Kenneth Verderber, Blake Losey, Danny O’Keefe, Malik Bellamy and Maryland Micket will row for coxswain Nathan D’Ambrosia on the junior eight boat.
Spires did not expect to be a member of the varsity eight boat this quickly as a sophomore.
“I put in a lot of hard work all fall and in the winter,” Spires said. “It’s been a challenge but, when you succeed, it’s really fulfilling. I’ve fallen in love with the sport.”
As a freshman last year, Spires was not familiar with crew when his language arts teacher Tom Lange asked him to give the sport a try. Lange, who founded the crew program several years ago, left the school this spring. Spires had just completed a season of freshmen football.
“It was a little scary and shocking the first time I came out here (Canal 54 in Fellsmere),” Spires said. “I did not know what was going on. It was a whole new experience – touching an oar.”
He admits that his work ethic could have been been a little better during that inital spring season. “That freshmen four was not as serious as the varsity eight,” Spires said. “In the fall, I got my technique down and I’m a better rower. The competition should be really good at the (State Championships). We’ve seen a good amount of the teams, but not all of them.”
Campione, a 2009 graduate of Sebastian River High School, rowed three years for the Sharks before rowing four years for Florida Tech.
“The grand finales are where the crowd really watches,” Campione said. “You’ll see the banks lined up with people.
