The OKC Riversport Junior Crew kicked off a successful racing season this past weekend at the Head of the Oklahoma.

This year was the 10th anniversary of the regatta and several spectators came to the Oklahoma river downtown to watch the juniors, collegiate, and masters race all weekend.

School rowing sponsor Kyle Malzahn said, “Head of the Oklahoma is a festival-like atmosphere with several clubs from around the Midwest and colleges from all over the United States like Harvard University, University of California, Berkeley, and University of Massachusetts, competing against each other.

The junior crew raced against crews in their region which included crews from Texas, Colorado, Arkansas and Kansas. The Head of the Oklahoma was their first regatta of the year, and is the first test to see who the fast crews are for the next year.

The novice boys and girls teams had a great start to the racing season. Both teams medaled in several events.

The novice girls placed first in the Women’s Youth Novice 4+ and 8+. The girls also placed third in the Women’s Youth Novice 4+.

The novice boys placed first in the Men’s Youth Novice 8+. They also had impressive results by placing second in the Men’s Youth Novice 4x, and third in the Men’s Youth Novice 4+.

Athletic Director Mylo Miller is impressed with how the teams are doing so this school year.

“Rowing has had a lot of success, and they have made historic accomplishments,” Miller said. “Our student athletes have accomplished things that have never been accomplished in our school’s existence, and I think that they those are the things that will be remembered.”

The varsity boys and girls also had a successful weekend with competitive races. The varsity competed in both the head race, during the day, and the 500 meter night sprints Saturday night.

The varsity boys placed second in the Men’s Youth 8+, Men’s Youth Lightweight 8+, and the Men’s Youth Lightweight 2x for the head race. The boys also placed second in the Men’s Youth 8+ for the night sprint. The boys raced in the Men’s Youth 4x and the Men’s Youth 4+ which earned them third place.

The varsity girls placed first in the Women’s Youth 8+ in the head race and the night sprint. The junior varsity girls also placed third in the head race and the night sprints in the Women’s Youth 8+. The girls also placed first and second in the Women’s Youth 4x in both the head race and the night sprints. The girls also placed first and second in the Women’s Youth 4+. The girls also won the Women’s Youth Lightweight 4+. The girls finished the weekend strong by sweeping the podium in the Women’s Youth 2x.

“It is amazing to watch Oklahoma City go from losing every race to winning a national championship and winning every race that they competed in at the Head of the Oklahoma,” Malzahn said.

The regatta has continued to grow over the past 10 years.

“It is becoming more recognized in the rowing community as a competitive regatta,” Malzahn said.