The Lowell High School crew team traveled to Cambridge, MA this weekend to compete in the 44th annual head of the Charles Regatta. More than 8,400 athletes from 19 different countries competed during the two-day event.

The boys’ four (Cameron Crockett, Josiah Todd, Harry Finch, Ian Finn and Mike McKeon) had a phenomenal showing, placing 14th out of 71 boats in their race, 10th among crews from the United States and 3rd among public high schools. The boys pulled an 18:09 for the 3-mile course, less than one minute behind first place finisher St. Catherine’s Rowing Club of Canada. Their performance earned the team an automatic entry into next year’s regatta.

The evening prior to their race, the boys participated in a fundraiser event for the MSCure Fund, where they spent time with members of the men’s US Olympic team, as well as para-olympic medalist and MS patient Laura Shwanger. On race day, Finn, who was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis almost two years ago, wore a Race for the Cure unisuit, while his teammates and Lowell High School crew alumni wore orange armbands to show their support for the cause and for Ian.

Several LHS rowing alumni raced at the Charles as well, including Shalmai Rivera (Bowdoin – 5th Place), Lauren LaPointe (Ithaca College – 6th Place), Bryan McKeon (Iona – 9th Place), Robbie Walters (UMass Lowell – 10th Place), Shamir Rivera (Bowdoin, 22nd Place), Ianna Hondorus-McCarthy (UMass Lowell – 25th Place), Amber Zapatka (UMass Lowell – 25th Place), and Katy Nowoswiat (Clark University – 34th Place). In addition, LHS/UML coach Jen Bauer raced in the club eights event for Essex Rowing Club in Methuen.

The Lowell High School girls’ eight (Natali Soto, Kate Mackenzie, Tess Cigliano, Rachel Walsh, Jessica Burke, Arianna Rogers, Aly Hall, Liz Larocque and Lauren Dubois) had a good showing, placing 45th out of 68 crews, and second among Massachusetts public programs, which bodes well for this Sunday’s state championships in Worcester, MA, which concludes the season for the varsity squad, while the novice team will race once more at the Merrimack Chase in November.

The LHS boys’ four with members of the 2008 USA Men’s Olympic Rowing team.

Link: http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2008/10/19/ms_hasnt_kept_him_out_of_his_seat_in_the_boat/

By Justin A. Rice, Globe Correspondent | October 19, 2008

Every competitive rower is more than familiar with the burning sensation that rips through their muscles with every stroke. Not every rower, however, can cope with that anguish by recalling excruciating pain of a different kind.

Lowell High senior Ian Finn knows both extremes.

"During a race it's like your muscles are on fire, but when I have to go to the hospital it's like having someone pick at the back of my eyes, just tearing it up," said Finn, who was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis about a year after joining the high school team.

"I just think that's so much worse than having your muscles burn because you know when the pain will subside from your muscles. When I'm in the hospital I don't know how long it's gonna last.

"Before every race, I know it's gonna hurt, I think about the hospital and that gets me through the race, the thought of just laying there in bed knowing it's gonna hurt no matter what."

Even though he has not been hospitalized in the past year, the 17-year-old Finn knows his immune system is attacking his central nervous system and could eventually prevent him from rowing at the level he does today making moments such as racing in this morning's 44th Head of the Charles Regatta for the first time indescribable.

"It will be pretty sweet," said Finn, who, the last two Octobers, has watched his team from the banks of the Charles. "It's definitely a jaw-dropping sort of thing to hear you're going to the biggest race in the world and actually racing. It's amazing."

But competing in the high school division of the Head will not be the lone memory of this weekend. Finn was scheduled to meet another rower with MS, Laura Schwanger , who won bronze in the arms-only singles discipline at the recent Paralympic Games in Beijing.

"As he gets older, if his disability gets worse, this is an option to continue to compete against his peers," said the 49-year-old Schwanger in a phone interview from her home in Elkins Park, Pa., last week. She became paralyzed from the waist down shortly after being diagnosed in 1982.

"He does have a future," added Schwanger, who was slated to row on the Charles this morning.

Schwanger, who received experimental MS treatment at Boston's Brigham and Women's Hospital in 1982, picked up the sport shortly before rowing in the first-ever Paralympic crew events in China last month. She said she would encourage Finn to try out for the United States' four-man boat competing at the 2012 Games in London.

Finn, who plans on rowing in college, possibly at San Diego State, expressed interest in the Paralympics but, at the same time, shows no physical signs of MS on a daily basis and said it would be a difficult transition.

"I don't like to think of myself as disabled," the 6-foot-5-inch lanky rower said. "I would definitely compete but I would rather be competing in the regular Games."

As long as the disease doesn't destroy his nervous system, there's no reason Finn can't compete at a high level for many more years. Last year, he was part of Lowell's four-man boat that won a bronze medal at states and silver in the heavyweight eights. The squad recently placed third out of 38 teams at the Textile River Regatta junior's men's fours in Lowell, where Finn also finished sixth in a two-man boat.

"I actually only started rowing because I didn't make the golf team," said Finn, who has since gained 20 pounds of muscle. "And because the boathouse is right down the street from my house."

Nevertheless, he helped Lowell finish 16th overall in the USRowing Youth Nationals Championships in Cincinnati as a sophomore, the same year he was officially diagnosed with MS after doctors discovered quarter-sized lesions in his brain. In fact, Finn's doctors believe the muscle mass he's gained from rowing is staving off the disease.

Finn, who is participating in the MS Cure Fund Regatta Ball today, also raised $4,000 with his teammates during an MS hike in the Berkshires recently. The team, plus 10 alumni, will sport MS armbands this weekend as well.

"It's hard to be a poster child but he's holding up pretty well with it," Lowell coach Jen Bauer said. "The kids admire him and support him."

Bauer, who is racing her fifth Head of the Charles this weekend with her club team, has stood by Finn's side during some of his worst attacks, including one that floored him during school. She was immediately paged and helped get him to the hospital, where he was given steroids and put on an IV.

"It's hard for him to go the hospital and three days later be back on a boat winning medals," Bauer said. "That's just Ian, he's phenomenal. . . . It has helped him become a mentally tough athlete. He always said that the pain he experiences in an MS episode is worse than anything he could experience on a boat. I think that makes him a stronger rower."

It was an exciting weekend of racing for the Lowell High School crew team. On Saturday, the team traveled to Pembroke, NH to compete against 64 teams from eleven different states in the New Hampshire Championships. It was an excellent day of racing, with the boy’s varsity four (Cameron Crockett, Dave Ducharme, Ian Finn, Harry Finch & Josiah Todd) continuing their medals streak. They picked up a silver medal, placing second to Wayland-Weston. The varsity girls’ team also had strong showings in the junior four and eight events, racking up several top-ten finishes.

The next day, the top varsity rowers traveled to Middletown, CT to compete in Head of the Connecticut. Once again, the boys’ varsity four (Cameron Crockett, Mike McKeon, Ian Finn, Harry Finch & Josiah Todd) picked up a silver medal. The boys’ junior varsity four (Marc Funaro, Dave Ducharme, Erik Rojas, Nathan Montimny & Brandon Coombes) also won silver. The girls eight (Natali Soto, Kate Mackenzie, Katelyn Burgess, Rachel Walsh, Jessica Burke, Arianna Rogers, Aly Hall, Ashley Price-Dyment & Lauren Dubois) also had a strong showing, placing fifth overall.

At the races, several LHS Crew alumni were spotted representing their college teams. At NH Champs, Shalmai and Shamir Rivera ’06 raced for Bowdoin College, and Mary Silk ’08 raced for Assumption. Additionally, Jon Cahill ’08 won gold and silver racing for UMass Lowell. Robbie Walters ’06, also racing for UML, placed fourth in his event. At Head of the Connecticut, Colin Creegan ’08 picked up a gold medal for Hofstra University.

This weekend the team travels to Cambridge to race in the 44th annual Head of the Charles Regatta, the world’s largest rowing event. More than 8,300 athletes from around the world will compete in front of over 400,000 spectators.

LHS will be racing on Sunday in the boys’ youth fours event at 10:20 (bow number 43), and the girls’ youth eights event at 11:46am (bow number 65). Head Coach Jen Bauer will be competing in the club eights race on Saturday for Essex Rowing Club. Additionally, the following LHS Crew alumni will be racing:

Robbie Walters ’06 – UMass Lowell
Amber Zapatka ’06 – UMass Lowell
Ianna Hondorus–McCarthy ’08 - UMass Lowell
Katy Nowoswiat ’08 – Clark University
Bryan McKeon ’07 – Iona College
Lauren LaPointe ’07 – Ithaca College
Shalmai Rivera ’06 – Bowdoin College
Shamir Rivera ’06 – Bowdoin College

The varsity boys with their silver medals at Head of the Connecticut. From left to right, Brandon Coombes, Nathan Montinmy, Eric Rojas, Dave Ducharme, Marc Funaro, Head Coach Jen Bauer, Cameron Crockett, Josiah Todd, Harry Finch, Ian Finn and Mike McKeon.

By Kirk Boutselis, Sun Correspondent
Article Last Updated: 10/06/2008 06:37:36 AM EDT

LOWELL -- Early-morning practices, intense training and fierce dedication paid off yesterday for a number of local rowers who earned medals during the 29th annual Textile River Regatta.

With more than 480 boats from 78 different clubs in 51 cities from Pennsylvania to Maine descending upon Lowell near the Bellegarde Boathouse, local athletes proved they can compete with the best in the Northeast.

With the fall foliage just beginning to show along the Vandenburg Esplanade, UMass Lowell freshman Alex Miller, 18, slowly lowered his boat into the water at the dock launch and made the solo trip upriver toward Tyng Island.

Competing in the Men's Open single-scull race, Miller, originally from Sarasota, Fla., then dashed 3.6 miles back toward the finish line just above Pawtucket Falls.

His 9th place finish, at 23:13, didn't earn him a medal but allowed him to have significant bragging rights over his other teammates with a commendable time.

"My seat kind of froze up on me, but I went out there and gave it everything I had," he said afterwards. "I went out there and ran a good race. I'm going to keep training and (work towards) making the junior national team."

Miller's friend, 23-year-old Stavros Pappadopoulos from UMass Lowell, posted an equally impressive time of 24:59 and earned the gold medal in the Men's Club single-scull race.

"I had a bad start and a bad finish but my body beats were strong," he said. "I'm pretty happy."

Yesterday's race, which drew nearly 5,000 spectators, is the second largest head race north of Philadelphia after the Head of the Charles Regatta in Boston and prominently features the Mill City as a "hotbed" of rowing, according to local organizers.

Leading the charge toward a renewed commitment to the sport is Veronika Platzer, the new UMass Lowell women's rowing coach and director of the Bellegarde Boathouse, who in 2004 coached Virginia University to the Women's Four NCAA rowing championship.

Platzer was a collegiate discus champion who later competed internationally as a rower for the U.S. national team. She has moved over from her assistant coaching post at Michigan University to usher in women's rowing as a varsity sport next year after a six-year hiatus as a club sport.

Physical strength and agility, however, are not the first things Platzer looks for in new rowers.

"This sport is all about the details. First of all, you have to be extremely meticulous," she said. "Secondly, there is tremendous accountability. Everything you do has to match up to everyone else. And then you need to place an emphasis on fun and proper training."

"The talent of the high schools around here is sick," she added. "Or as you guys around here would say, 'wicked sick.' And I mean that in a good way."

Showing that they have one of the best high-school crew teams around, rowers from Lowell High School also earned medals.

Seniors Ian Finn and Herry Finch, both 17, were two local students who scored bronze medals during the Men's Junior 4-man race.

"We're pretty excited with the race," Finn said. "We came in only one second behind the second-place boat."

Lowell High rowers, he said, typically train a few days a week and dedicate additional time in the gym to work on their core.

"You really feel a bond with the people you compete with," he added. "It's kind of like a small community."

For a complete list of results from local teams, including the Merrimack River Rowing Association, visit w.textileriverregatta.org.

The Lowell Sun
Article Last Updated: 09/26/2008 06:43:09 AM EDT

LOWELL -- Lowell High's boys and girls varsity crew teams made a strong showing last weekend at the Meredith Bay Regatta, a 2.5 mile head race on Lake Winnipesaukee.

The boys varsity 4+ boat of Cameron Crockett, Josiah Todd, Dave Ducharme, Mike McKeon and Harry Finch placed second out of 22 boats, just a half second behind Northfield Mount Hermann.

The boys varsity eights had a solid showing, placing eighth and 15th out of 16 crews. The girls fours placed ninth, 13th and 15th out of 21 crews, while the girls eights placed ninth, 16th and 21st out of 22 crews.

The Red Raiders will compete at the 29th annual Textile River Regatta in Lowell on Oct. 5.