The Schuykill River and its surroundings were sunny and temperate for the 55th edition of the Head of the Schuykill, which set the stage for some competitive racing in big and small boats alike. Saturday’s racing was headlined by the Championship racing, where the University of Pennsylvania performed very well.
For the women, it was a pair of one-two finishes for Penn as they finished first and second in both the championship eight and coxed four, plus the second-tier club championship event. Behind them across the two championship events was Villanova University, who posted third place finishes in the eight and the four: a strong set of results for the rising programme on their home water. From elsewhere, Trinity College can be happy with their fourth-placed finish in the eights, the best of any division three squad, and better than a number of division one programmes.
On the men’s side, Penn saw this as an opportunity for revenge, having lost their skeg and failing to finish at the Head of the Charles last weekend. They lived up to this expectation, claiming top honours on home water, with their second varsity eight picking up silver. Behind them, La Salle were eight seconds off victory, a significant improvement for the Explorers from twelve months ago, backing up its solid performance on the Chalres and beating Temple and Drexel by 11 and 13 second margins respectively.
In the coxed four, it was another victory for the Penn Quakers, as their ‘A’ crew put ten seconds into their next closest rivals and neighbours Temple and La Salle. The New York Athletic Club finished at the top club entry within the event, finishing eighth, while Princeton University‘s sole representative on the Schuykill finished in an underwhelming tenth place.
Away from the collegiate crews, the championship singles featured a strong field of entries. Names like Jamie Copus, Kevin Cardno, Thomas Phifer, and Justin Schmidt all made appearances on the men’s side. Having finished third in the championship double at the Head of the Charles, it was a battle between Cardno and Copus for the top spot, with Cardno getting the better of his Anglo-American rival by six seconds, with Schmidt, winner in the lightweight single in Boston, following three seconds further back.
For the women, it was Penn AC domination, as they locked out the top four, using the Redgrave Challenge as a miniature speed order. Coming out on top was Eva Fronhofer, as she led her club-mates by 15 seconds, following a third-place finish in the championship four last weekend on the Charles, with Paris Olympian Margaret Hedeman in second.
On Sunday, it was the turn of the youth crews, as another strong field had assembled in Philadelphia. With so much head racing for the young crews, one might expect a change in the pecking order, but it was the established names that remained on top. St. Joseph’s Prep, won another gold medal, having been fastest on the Housatonic and beating all domestic opponents on the Charles. On the women’s side, RowAmerica Rye continued their impressive performances winning yet another head race over Greenwich Crew. This marks the 15th successive head race victory for the Westchester programme, spanning across five years, phenomonal dominance from the programme in search of its third successive national title.
