SARATOGA SPRINGS – The Thoroughbreds hosted Franklin & Marshall (men and women), Bryn Mawr (women), No. 2 Williams (women), and No. 5 Wellesley (women) this past weekend for the fourth annual Skidmore Sprints.

MEN'S RACES

• The day opened with the men's varsity eight, in which Skidmore's first and second varsity boats both raced. A late illness forced last-minute lineup changes to both crews. In the 1V, Van de Venecia moved to the bow seat and senior Nestor Martinez entered the boat in the 3-seat, while the rest of the lineup remained in place from last week. Underclassmen Henry Shannon and Will Landro, along with Juniors Kal Katz, Sam van Adrichem Boogaert, Charles Ertz, Hayden Harlow, and Senior Thomas du Four all returned to their seats from last week. 
• In the 2V, David Steinberger made his season debut in the 7-seat, rowing behind sophomore Hudson Till, while Isadora Fuller coxed the boat. Andrew Bertucci, Dimitri Moschochoritis, Joe Papaccio, Riley Mook, Felix Kissell, and Kieran Jenkins rounded out the crew.
• In the three-boat varsity eight race, Franklin & Marshall jumped out to an early lead and held a bow-to-stern advantage over Skidmore's 1V at the 1,000-meter mark. The Thoroughbreds steadily reeled Franklin & Marshall back in, drew even with about 500 meters remaining, and used a composed sprint to pull away for the win in 6:16.8. Franklin & Marshall followed in 6:17.8, with Skidmore's 2V third in 6:39.2.

"Our first home race of the season was nothing more than eventful," said Senior Nestor Martinez. "With so much going on throughout the day I think everyone did an amazing job in staying focused and knowing what we had to do, and that's not only to be said about the boat I was in, but the team as a whole. I'm proud of what this team was able to do this weekend and it's nice getting to host events like these. If we can keep things up, which we will, this will be our best season yet."

WOMEN'S RACES

• At 11:45 a.m., the women's novice four faced Bryn Mawr, Franklin & Marshall, and Wellesley, which raced as an exhibition entry because it entered a varsity crew. The race required a restart after boats clashed in the breakage area, and the field was sent back off with 1,800 meters remaining. No official times were recorded, but Wellesley crossed the line first as the exhibition boat. Skidmore's novice four was next across the line, 14.1 seconds back, to finish first among the scoring entries. Bryn Mawr followed 28.4 seconds behind, and Franklin & Marshall finished 41.8 seconds back. Jackson Turner coxed the boat, with first-year Jamie Kinast at stroke, Beilynn Geiss in the 3-seat, Charlotte Visger in the 2-seat, and Tabitha Webster in bow.
• The men's second varsity eight returned to the water later in the day in the same lineup and posted another strong result, defeating Franklin & Marshall, 6:33.7 to 7:22.5.  
• Skidmore's women's first varsity eight raced at 12:30 p.m. Coxswain Cam High led senior captain Camilla Johnson at stroke, Delaney Miller in the 7-seat, first-year Ollie Bronson in the 6-seat, senior captain Norah Jankey in the 5-seat, first-year Amalia Inhofe in the 4-seat, Grady Vermilye in the 3-seat, Ava Holthoff in the 2-seat, and Charlotte Taylor in bow. No. 2 Williams won the race in 6:44.7, followed by No. 5 Wellesley in 6:49.7 and Skidmore in 7:08.2. Bryn Mawr finished fourth in 7:37.5, followed by Franklin & Marshall in 7:39.8. In the final event of the day, the women's second varsity eight finished fourth in 8:24.06. Williams won in 6:57.96, followed by Wellesley in 7:14.04 and Bryn Mawr in 7:58.84. Brie Chircco returned to cox the 2V, while first-year Jamie Kinast made her varsity debut. Seniors Madison Lofmark and Harper Staton-Todaro occupied the 7- and 6-seats, respectively, and novice Beilynn Geiss made her varsity debut in the 5-seat. Gracie Schuham-Anders, Sophia Peterson, Nicolette Kirwan, and Lila Glanville all returned from last week's 2V lineup.
• Williams and Wellesley separated themselves early, while Skidmore and Bryn Mawr battled for third. Bryn Mawr took the early advantage, but Skidmore worked back into the race and took a length lead midway through the course before an equipment malfunction dropped the Thoroughbreds back to fourth.

"This weekend really showed us what we're capable of and where we can keep growing," first-year Amalia Inhofe said. "There were solid races performed, and we're proud of that, but we know we still have another level to reach this Saturday at Hamilton. We're excited to get back on the water, build on what we've learned, and come back even stronger together."

FROM HEAD COACH MANNY VALENTIN
"We knew today was going to be hard," said head coach Manny Valentine. "After assessing last week's racing, we wanted to inject more competition into practice, so we mixed some lineups and got after it. We knew our legs might be a little sticky this week, but it was worth the tradeoff to raise the level of competition. The men's 2V also had an internal goal of bettering its first-race time in its second outing, and they did that. We'll review the racing, set a few more internal goals, and get ready for next week."

UP NEXT
Skidmore returns to action next weekend at Hamilton. The women enter the regatta ranked No. 9 in the CRCA poll, while the men are No. 11 in the IRCA poll. Skidmore will be joined by RIT (No. 14 men), Smith (No. 4 women), and Middlebury.