After a forced one-week vacation from school in the aftermath of Snowzilla 2016, the WJ Crew boys and girls headed to TC Williams High School to kick off the rust and compete in the Mid Atlantic Erg Sprints, an indoor rowing event in Alexandria, Virginia.
Now in its 31st year, the Erg Sprints have grown to become the second-largest indoor rowing competition in the world—after the CRASH-B Championship in Boston—and the largest for high school athletes. This year’s competition featured over 2000 athletes from 130 teams competing on ergometers set up on the gym floor. The athletes ranged in ages from 5 to 88, and included some of the top high school, club, and collegiate rowers in the region.
Each year, the Erg Sprints presents medals for individual performances and trophies for consolidated performances. Despite a frozen-over Potomac River nearby, it allowed our WJ Crew athletes to race against rowers from all over the region. The highlights of the day came when junior Ben Koenig took fourth place overall in the Junior Men’s 1500 Meter Sprint, and sophomore Beryl Hovis-Afflerbach took fifth place overall in the Junior Lightweight Women’s 1500 Meter Sprint.
With less than a month to go before the start of the spring season, the Wildcats are clawing to get back on the water!
