On Saturday, May 3, McLean Crew Club’s girls third varsity boat (3V) and freshman boat headed to the Virginia State Rowing Championship, with freshman boats achieving first place and the 3V getting third.

“States was the last event for the 3V, and we’re proud of the fact that we put our all into this season,” sophomore Marisabel Hayes said. “All of our effort and dedication came down to those six minutes, and we dominated.”

The boats have been working towards the state championship since November, both on and off the water, putting them ahead of the competition.

“We worked on a lot of hard, full press pieces the week before,” Hayes said. “Every practice was 100% focused, no messing around. Our coaches made sure we unlocked all of our potential.”

While this competition was the last of many for the 3V, the freshmen boat still has two more weeks until the end of their season. Along with the first and second varsity boats, the freshmen will travel to the Stotesbury Cup Regatta held in Philadelphia on May 16 and the Canadian Secondary Schools Rowing Association Championship Regatta on May 31.

“Even though being on the freshman eight boat has been a lot of fun, it’s also been really tough work to get where we are,” freshman Sarah Hanna said. “We’ve won all of our races and I’m so glad we were able to continue that streak into states to show all the other schools what we’re made of.”