The boys crew team finished fifth in the state finals after winning in the semifinals. The girls finished third overall.

The team returned 38 rowers and has matured quickly since its inception in 2010. The state meet, however, was an uphill battle because of the team’s relative inexperience.

“For a two-year program, most teams would not even go,” coach Brad Smith said. “Our competition had been training for four years.”

The team continues to improve with the help of Smith, who is a crew veteran with 20 years of coaching experience.

“As a start-up crew, the second year is hard,” Smith said. “I immediately saw that so much work was needed to even get them up to other crews at their level.”

Crew practices focus on team chemistry and rowing technique. Rowers must train frequently and rigorously in order to succeed in competitions.

“All of the private school teams row as many as five times a week,” sophomore Dominic Singer said. “However, we only row three times a week.”

Even so, the team has enjoyed moderate success, winning first place and four gold medals in the Head of Anacostia Regatta earlier in the season.

“Quite frankly, those who survived the rigorous training did very well,” Smith said. “The weak fell by the wayside and those who survived far exceeded my expectations.”

Next season, the team hopes to push its members harder to take the team into its next stage of development.

“We’re going to lose a lot of great friends, but we have great rowers moving up to varsity that we are excited about,” junior Charlie Morris said.