McLean boys crew closed its Virginia Scholastic Rowing Championship run on May 9 at the Occoquan Reservoir, where the boys first varsity eight placed eighth in a 12-boat field.
The Virginia Scholastic Rowing Association hosted the state championship regatta in Fairfax Station, bringing together 38 clubs and 150 entries for the second day of racing. McLean entered the men’s first varsity eight against several of the strongest scholastic programs in Virginia, including neighboring schools such as Yorktown, West Springfield, Washington-Liberty, Wakefield, Alexandria City and Robinson.
For McLean’s 1V, the eighth-place finish marked a difficult end to a season that had carried high expectations. The Highlanders had been a fixture near the top of Virginia boys rowing in recent years, including a state runner-up finish in the first varsity eight in 2025. This year, the boat still reached the state championship stage, but did not produce the result the program wanted.
“We were one seed off of qualifying for finals,” senior captain James Millward said. “But we got unlucky. Colgan had an extra gear that round and got past us. Moreover, we just didn’t have enough speed or experience this year to compete long-term.”
The first varsity eight is usually the program’s standard-setting boat. It represents the fastest lineup in the team and often carries the clearest measure of where a program stands against other schools. At states, McLean’s boat faced a field deep enough that small technical mistakes, slow starts or missed moves could change several placements within minutes.
“We didn’t achieve our desired result of making it to finals at states,” senior captain Carson Fast said. “However, we’ve learned a lot this season and the team is ready to make the required changes in order to do better next year.”
For the seniors, the state regatta also carried a heavier meaning because it was one of their last times racing in a McLean uniform. Their final championship result did not erase the work that put the boat into the state field, but it did leave the team with a better sense of what it takes to return stronger next season.
“Crew has been such a valuable experience to me,” Millward said. “It helped me find confidence when I really needed it and I’ve made a lot of good friends this year. They’re all really great guys, especially the sophomores, and I’ll definitely miss them when I’m in college.”
The finish gives McLean a direct target for next season. The Highlanders remain in one of the most competitive rowing areas in the state, and the boys program has already shown in past seasons that it can contend with Virginia’s fastest crews. After placing eighth, the club’s next step is turning the disappointment from states into a more complete race next spring.
“There’s a lot of good potential on the team,” Millward said. “Especially the sophomore class. They have a lot of fast up-and-coming people. Unfortunately, this year, we just had a lack of experienced seniors and juniors, and that was what ultimately held us back.”
