SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY – The Skidmore College Thoroughbreds competed on Fish Creek last Saturday at the New York State Championships, facing some of the top competition in the state. A total of 129 entries from 27 teams across New York and New England raced in heats and finals throughout the day.

WOMEN'S FIRST VARSITY 8+
Skidmore's women's varsity eight opened the morning at 9:16 a.m., racing against No. 6 Smith, Division I University at Albany, the University of Rochester, and Nazareth. The top two crews advanced to the grand final, while third and fourth moved on to the petite final and fifth to the third-level final.

The Thoroughbreds raced the same lineup as the previous week, with Cam High coxing the boat. Camilla Johnson and Delaney Miller rowed in the stern pair, while Ollie Bronson, Norah Jankey, Madison Lofmark, and Grady Vermilye made up the middle of the boat. Ava Holthoff and Charlotte Taylor rounded out the bow pair. Skidmore finished third in its heat with a time of 7:26.583, advancing to the petite final.

At 1:42 p.m., the petite final featured the University of Rochester, Canisius, Ithaca College, RIT, Army, and Skidmore. Rochester won the race in 7:30.500, while the Thoroughbreds placed third in 7:34.200. Canisius finished second, followed by Ithaca in fourth, RIT in fifth, and Army in sixth. Colgate University claimed the state championship title, winning the grand final in 7:07.8.

WOMEN'S SECOND VARSITY 8+
Skidmore's women's second varsity eight drew a challenging heat against Marist, Smith, Canisius, and Vassar, with the same progression format as the 1V.

The Thoroughbreds featured a new lineup, with Brie Chirco returning to the coxswain seat. Nicolette Kirwan and Sophia Peterson rowed in the stern pair, while Harper Staton-Todaro and Amalia Inhofe occupied the 6- and 5-seats. Ava Hammond and Beilynn Geiss sat in the 4- and 3-seats, and Charlotte Visger and Lila Glanville rounded out the bow pair. Skidmore finished fifth in its heat in 8:05.090, sending the crew to the third-level final.

In that final, Skidmore faced RIT, which had defeated the Thoroughbreds the previous week at Hamilton. This time, Skidmore reversed the result, taking the win in 8:23.4 to RIT's 8:38.639. Marist later won the grand final in 7:37.3.

MEN'S FIRST VARSITY 8+
In the men's varsity eight, the top three finishers in each heat advanced to the grand final. Skidmore, the No. 2 seed overall, raced against Vassar, RIT, the University of Rochester, and Binghamton.

The Thoroughbreds were represented by Hayden Harlow, Will Landro, Nestor Martinez, Thomas du Four, Charles Ertz, Henry Shannon, Sam van Adrichem Boogaert, Kal Katz, and Van de Venecia. Skidmore won its heat in 6:42.620 to advance to the grand final.

In the grand final, the Thoroughbreds faced Hamilton, Vassar, Army, and Union. Skidmore finished fourth in 7:17.080. Hamilton won the event in 6:56.730, while Vassar placed second and Army took third.

MEN'S SECOND VARSITY 8+
The men's second varsity eight competed in a final-only race against Hamilton, Army, Union, and RIT.

Isadora Fuller coxed the boat, while David Steinberger rowed in the stroke seat. Felix Kissell moved from the 2-seat to the 7-seat. Andrew Bertucci, Dimitri Moschochoritis, Joe Papaccio, and Riley Mook returned to the middle of the lineup, with Hudson Till in the 2-seat and Kieran Jenkins in bow.

The Thoroughbreds placed second in 7:00.078, finishing behind Hamilton, which won in 6:49.850. Army placed third, followed by Union in fourth and RIT in fifth.

QUOTES FROM THE TEAM
"We had a great day of racing this Saturday," said senior captain Camilla Johnson. "After a hard week of training, we went in feeling tired but ready to compete. We had a strong race with the University of Rochester in our first race, which placed us in the petite final.

"In the second race, we had a tough start, but we kept our heads in the boat and fought through every stroke, finishing on a strong note. I am so proud of this boat, our team, and all the work we have done to get here, and I'm excited to see what we can do at Liberty Leagues in two weeks."

"The team displayed ample resilience and grit as we faced challenging conditions after a demanding week, said sophomore Will Landro. "With the team finally in full health hopes are high for championship season."

FROM HEAD COACH MANNY VALENTIN
"Overall, it was a great showing for the team," said head coach Manny Valentin. "Last week was a particularly challenging training week, so we focused less on outcome goals and more on performance goals. We wanted a fast first 1,000 meters, then to race the race and use whatever the circumstances showed us to push deeper. The women's 1V made up significant time from earlier in the season, and the women's 2V flipped the result from last week's racing. The men's 2V brought home our only medal, and the men's 1V finished less than a second off the medal stand. Compared to where we were at this time last year, we are in a great spot. Now we'll continue to train as we prepare for the end of the season."

UP NEXT
The Thoroughbreds are off next weekend. Their next race will be the Liberty League Championships on Fish Creek on May 1, with racing scheduled to begin at 9 AM.