LOWELL, Mass. — Megunticook Rowing traveled to Lowell, Massachusetts for the 42nd annual Textile River Regatta on Sunday, Oct. 3.

It was a perfect day for racing with temps in the 60s with overcast skies and light winds. 355 entries from around New England, including Masters, Collegiate and Junior rowers raced on the 4,500-meter course (2.79 miles).

Megunticook faced stiff competition in all their events but had a very strong showing.

The first race of the day was the Men’s Junior 4+B boat, comprised of coxswain Connor Howland, Aaron Dowd, Oliver Haynes, Tanner Carson, and Carlton Richmond. With limited time rowing together, this boat finished a strong seventh out of 14 boats.

Next was the Women’s Junior 4X (quad). Iselin Bratz, Maggie Gill, Lydia Myers, and Charlotte Taylor finished fifth in a competitive field of 10 boats, less than 55 seconds off the winning boat’s pace over nearly three miles. This was their first race together as a boat.

In the third Megunticook race of the day, the Women’s Junior 4+ A boat, with coxswain Anna Piconi, Leah Bloomquist, Veronica Waters, Laura Riordan and Kate Walker-Spencer, took on a fleet of 18 boats and finished an impressive 12th. This was also their first race together as a team.

The Men’s Junior 4A was next on the course. This boat, with coxswain Connor Howland, Dom Piconi, Devin Guptill, Cabot Adams, and Noah Thackeray, finished a very strong fifth place in a competitive fleet of 17 boats.

One of the highlights of the day occurred in event 42, the Women’s Lightweight 4+, in which coxswain Sofia Howell, Adella Brainard, Ava Tobias, Greer LaFiura, and Flora Gurdon, in their first race as a boat, took on a field of five and finished a strong third for the bronze!

The last team event of the day was the Men’s Junior 8+ event. This boat was comprised of coxswain Connor Howland, Dom Piconi, Cabot Adams, Devin Guptill, Tanner Carson, Oliver Worner, Carlton Richmond, Oliver Castle, and Noah Thackeray. Seven of the nine boys in this boat (including the coxswain) had raced earlier in the day, five of them had less than an hour to recover from their previous event. Nonetheless they wanted to compete in their new/used shell. They rowed a strong race and finished 13th out of 18, even holding off their friendly rivals from Waynflete.

Iselin Bratz and Maggie Gill, in true sportsmanlike fashion, raced with the Waynflete’s Women’s Junior 8+ to help them fill a boat that needed two seats filled. Having never rowed together, they still managed to finish 12th out of 15.

Our master compatriot, Andrew Carpenter, in his first Master’s Singles event, took on a very seasoned fleet of 12 rowers and finished a very respectable 10th.

The Megunticook Team, both Masters and Juniors, are eying to cap off a great season at the New Hampshire State Championships on October 17.