Boys Crew Sweeps Middle of the Farmington Regatta

The Farmington High boys crew team enjoyed a clean sweep at the ninth annual Middle of the Farmington Regatta at Tunxis Mead on May 6.

As a team, the Farmington High boys and girls crew program retained the Farmington Cup with 78 points to Shrewsbury's 62 and East Lyme's 56.

The boys, pardon the expression, blew everybody out of the water. Indeed, the first varsity, second varsity, third varsity, first novice and second novice eight boats all won against their Shrewsbury and East Lyme counterparts.

The first varsity eight boat finished its race in 3:31.76, nearly 15 seconds ahead of second-place Shewsbury (3:46.10).

The second varsity eight boat crossed the finish line first in 3:48.52, ahead of East Lyme (3:53.80) and Shrewsbury (3:54.71).

In the closest boys’ race of the afternoon, the Indians’ third varsity boat nipped East Lyme by just over two seconds (4:03.39 to 4:05.55), while Shrewsbury placed third in 4:14.29.

The Farmington novice eight boats also posted solid victories, as the first boat defeated Shrewsbury by just under 10 seconds (4:07.98 to 4:17.13) and East Lyme by over a minute and a half (5:38.40).

The Indians’ girls boats also fared well, as the first novice eight boat posted a victory (4:31.65), and the second and third varsity eight boats placed second, just barely behind their Shrewsbury counterparts.

In the second varsity eight race, Farmington was thisclose to victory, crossing the finish line in 4:19.89 to Shrewsbury’s 4:19.12.

The third varsity eight race was equally close, as the Indians again came in second by a hair, finishing in 4:36.35 to Shrewsbury’s 4:35.61.

The Farmington first varsity eight boat rowed well (4:17.02), placing third behind first-place East Lyme and second-place Shrewsbury.

Duck Race a Success

The regatta also doubled as a major fundraiser for the crew program with the annual Duck Race. According to the Farmington Crew website, over 4,500 rubber ducks - which were subsequently raced down the Farmington River - were sold.