The OKC Riversport Junior Crew has had a busy month.

The teams started off their fall racing season the first weekend of October with the Head of the Oklahoma. This was at the Oklahoma River and began a successful season for the teams.

Athletic Director Mylo Miller is pleased with the rower’s performances.

“We have athletes representing Harding on a national stage and that has generated a lot of excitement,” Miller said.

The varsity girls and boys sent their top boats to the Head of the Charles in Boston, MA October 18 – 19. The Head of the Charles is the largest regatta in the United States.

“It is a highly charged and exciting atmosphere,” Rowing sponsor Kyle Malzahn said. “There are over 300,000 spectators from all over the world and over 9,000 participants racing from all over the world as well.”

Both of the teams performed well. The varsity boys had their best result ever at the race, placing 18th out of 85 crews. The girls also performed well and placed 3rd out of 85 crews, making them one of the only crews to consecutively place within the top five in the past three years at the regatta.

“The girls did a great job placing 3rd and earning their third medal from the regatta in the past five years,” Malzahn said. “The boys also did well because they moved up over 20 places from last year.”

The next race that the teams competed at was the Head of the Colorado (Pumpkin Head) in Austin, Texas on October 25-26. All of the novice boys competed at the regatta, however only half of the novice girls, varsity girls and varsity boys competed in Austin. Despite the lack of athletes, the group performed well.

The last official regatta that the junior crew competed at was the Head of the Hooch, November 1-2, in Chattanooga, TN. The top twenty athletes from the varsity boys and the varsity girl’s teams both competed in Tennessee, as well as the top ten from the novice girls.

The weekend started out rough due to severe weather which canceled Saturday’s racing. However the crews were geared up and excited to race on Sunday, which led to some spectacular performances.

The novice girls’ main event, the Women’s Youth 8+, was canceled on Saturday, however they were able to race in the Youth Mixed 8+ on Sunday. Both of the mixed eights were made up of boys and girls, and placed well earning them 10^th and 21^st out of 33 crews.

The varsity girls and boys medaled in the few events that they competed in on Sunday. The varsity boys placed second in the Men’s Youth Lightweight 4+, receiving the only medal for the boys that weekend. The varsity girls placed first and second in the Women’s Youth Pair, and also placed second in the Women’s Youth 4x.

Even though there were not several races for the crews to compete in over the weekend, the OKC Riversport Junior Crew placed third in the entire regatta for the point’s trophy.

Malzahn said, “The entire program is expanding and progressing consistently which is allowing them to be recognized as a national rowing powerhouse.”

Now that the fall season had ended the crews will be turning their attention from racing to training for the spring season. The crews will all train for about four months until their first sprint regatta in the spring in Austin, Texas.