NEW WOMEN'S OPEN ERG TEAM RECORD
Leah Williams - 7:35.9
Previous record was held by Brittany Machala (7:39.2, 2005)
Congratulations to the Women's Junior 8+ for their 6th place finish at the Canadian Secondary Schools Championships and all other crews that competed.
CONGRATULATIONS to all State Championship Finalists
Unfortunately the weather did not allow for completion of the finals.
Men's & Women's Junior 8's
Women's Junior 4
Men's & Women's Lightweight 8's
Men's & Women's Lightweight 4's
Men' s Varsity 8
CONGRATULATIONS to all Midwest Athletes
Women's Junior 4+ - Bronze medal
Women's Lightweight 8+ - 4th place
Men's Lightweight 8+ - 5th place
FHC Cheers loudest for EGR
Please see this article about true sportsmanship
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FHC Christens new boat
On Saturday, April 27th, FHC christened a new bow coxed four
"The LeBlanc's"
In honor of team founder Don LeBlanc and his wife Claudia
"Don and Claudia were instrumental in founding the Forest Hills Central Rowing program 14 years ago and for bringing high school rowing to West Michigan. This boat is named in their honor for their dedication to the high school athletes of Forest Hills and West Michigan."
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Crew teams establish state association
Saturday, April 19, 2008
By Kelly Hill
The Grand Rapids Press
Almira Kovachevich has looked forward to getting on the water because she is excited about rowing. Very excited.
Kovachevich, a freshman at Forest Hills Central, is a new member of the Rangers' crew team. Crew draws more student-athletes per team than any other sport, including 62 on the FHC team this season. The Rockford team has more than 100.
The seven scholastic teams in the area, from FHC, Forest Hills Eastern, Forest Hills Northern, East Grand Rapids, Lowell, Rockford and Northview, offer opportunities for more than 400 student-athletes.
The Grand Rapids City League schools also have combined to form the Grand Rapids Rowing Club, but in rowing parlance, it is known as a youth team, rather than a scholastic team, because not all the student-athletes attend the same school.
"I have no experience, but it's absolutely great," Kovachevich said. "It is so intense. They go so hard, and then at the end, it is so worth it."
Though not yet recognized by the Michigan High School Athletic Association, because not enough member schools field teams, crew will crown an official state champion this season for the first time. In previous years, the Hebda Cup, contested in the Detroit area, was viewed as an unofficial state championship.
The Scholastic Rowing Association of Michigan was established late last year to provide more opportunities for the more than 1,000 student-athletes who compete on Michigan's 20 scholastic crew teams.
Forest Hills Central coach John Gaskin is chairman of the Scholastic Rowing Association of Michigan. "Two things prompted it," Gaskin said. "The format of this year's Hebda Cup has changed. The west-side teams are not invited any more, and the official reason is that the regatta was getting too large to complete in one day. The coaches also decided that there wasn't enough opportunity for the schools in Michigan to compete against each other.
"We've got more schools trying to get varsity status for crew, so this should help. We also knew we needed a progression into the state championships, so the east-side teams will still have the Hebda Cup and now we will have the West Michigan Championships."
The inaugural West Michigan Championships are scheduled May 3 on the Grand River at Riverside Park in Grand Rapids. The first SRAM state championship is scheduled for May 17 on Kent Lake, which is part of Kensington Metro Park in Milford.
"We structured it all to mirror the tournaments sponsored by the (Michigan High School Athletic Association)," Gaskin said. The notion of a recognized state championship has been welcomed by local rowers and coaches.
"It is going to be amazing," Kovachevich said. "We are in the big leagues now."
"The state championship will bring more drive and competition to the sport," East Grand Rapids junior Chad Condon said. "The sport should be more competitive this year."
SRAM officials hope the state championship will help raise awareness of the popularity of crew. "I think the Scholastic Rowing Association of Michigan is going to be a great addition to Michigan rowing," EGR coach Kate Pocock said. This (state championship) regatta will allow schools around Michigan to compete against each other. I believe that this will become a great tradition for crews around the area."
Forest Hills Northern coach Greg Soleau said he thinks SRAM and the state championship will help the sport grow. "This is definitely a good thing," Soleau said. "We needed something like this to help legitimize the sport and to bring it into mainstream thinking."
The crew season heats up this week with Saturday's regatta at Riverside Park.
Send e-mail to the author: sports@grpress.com
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Pre-Season Conditioning:
- Monday through Thursday, 6:30PM to 8:00 PM starting January 14th. Meet in the hallway next to the Auditorium (NOT at the gym). Please use the front auditorium entrance to the school.
- Includes all returning team members and those novice that participated in the fall.
- New Novice will begin on January 28th or 29th (see below).
- Weight room is open every Tuesday & Thursday from 6AM to 7AM starting January 8th.
- All ergs on loan must be returned to the school on Monday, January 14th!
- Saturday conditioning will be offered to all levels starting on Saturday, February 2nd. Sign-up is required and sheets will be available at all weeknight sessions.
NOVICE Information:
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Boy's Novice (including those that participated in the fall) will begin on Monday, January 28th at 6PM. Please meet in the lobby of the auditorium (front of the school). Boy's novice pre-season conditioning practice will be Monday, Wednesday and Thursday evening, 6PM to 7:30PM.
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Girl's Novice (including those that participated in the fall) will begin on Tuesday, January 29th at 5:30PM. Please meet in the lobby of the auditorium (front of the school). Girl's novice pre-season conditioning practice will be Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday evening, 5:30PM to 7:00PM.
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Saturday conditioning will be offered to all levels starting on Saturday, February 2nd. Sign-up is required and sheets will be available at all weeknight sessions.
All pre-season winter conditioning practices are Non-Mandatory. The first mandatory participation will be the swim test to be administered on Friday, March 7th. Please see the Forms and Policies section of the web site for more information.
Mandatory spring season practice will begin on Monday, March 10th. Time and location will be posted as we get closer to the date.
A new parent orientation/informational meeting will be held on Wednesday, February 27th in the lecture hall at 7PM. Parents of all perspective new team members are encouraged to attend.
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FHC rower eyes Ivy League schools Wednesday, October 24, 2007 By Kelly Hill
The Grand Rapids Press GRAND RAPIDS -- Ben Montague is in select company.
With a grade point average of 4.147 and an SAT score of 2,330 (out of a 2,400 maximum score), Montague is among the top students in the senior class at Forest Hills Central.
A member of the Rangers' men's varsity 8 crew that won the state championship last spring, Montague is one of the top prep rowers in Michigan.
Montague's academic and rowing accomplishments were recognized recently when he was named to the prestigious U.S. Rowing Scholastic Honor Roll.
Only 36 student-athletes in the nation were recognized by rowing's governing body. Another 40 received honorable mention.
"This is open to all high school rowers in the country, but Ben's being a part of the state championship crew helped qualify him for this," FHC crew coach John Gaskin said. "This is a very elite group."
Montague is the second Forest Hills Central student-athlete named to the U.S. Rowing Scholastic Honor Roll. FHC graduate Nicole Rau, who attends Clemson University on an academic and rowing scholarship, received the award three years ago.
"Ben is a quiet kid, but very determined," Gaskin said. "After a hard practice, he is the kind of kid who says, 'That was a good practice. We need more like that.' He has been elected captain by his teammates for next spring's season."
Montague owns the FHC record on the ergometer (rowing machine) for lightweight men (under 155 pounds). One of his goals for the 2008 season, Gaskin said, is to break Mitch Klipa's open record on the ergometer.
"He is a fabulous young man and he deserves this," Gaskin said.
An all-conference skier last winter, Montague took up crew as a freshman. "A bunch of my friends were doing it," Montague said. "Now I love the competitive atmosphere of the team. I prefer the larger boats because there is more of a team atmosphere."
Montague, who has visited the campus at Northwestern University, said he hopes to attend an Ivy League school, such as Harvard or Yale.
He plans to visit the Yale campus in November.
"I would like to row in college and I'm going to Yale on a rowing visit," he said.
Montague said he was excited when he learned he was named to the U.S. Rowing Scholastic Honor Roll.
"It's a little surprising," he said. "I'm pretty proud of it, though."
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For Immediate Release:
Saturday, April 28, 2007
At today's Hebda Cup State Rowing Championship regatta, hosted by the Wyandotte Boat Club in Wyandotte, MI, FHC placed first in the Men's Varsity 8+ and Women's Novice 4+ events thus having those crews crowned State Rowing Champions in their event.
The Men's Varsity 8+ consisted of: Garrek Stemo (Cox), Kyle Moore (Stroke), Keith Schwartz (7), Mitch Klipa (6), Chris Boll (5), Ben Montague (4), Chris Myers (3), Jay VanDam (2), Mark Boman (Bow).
The Women's Novice 4+ consisted of: Suzie Tuthill (Cox), Julia Porth (Stroke), Hanna Messer (3), Paige DeJonge (2), Lauren Brockette (Bow).
Overall in team point standings, FHC finished in third place in both the Men's and Women's divisions. Orchard Lake St. Mary's was first in the Men's division while Ann Arbor Pioneer was first in the women's division.
Other top finishing FHC crews that earned points include:
Women's Varsity 8+, 2nd
Women's Varsity Lightweight 8+, 2nd
Women's Junior 4+, 2nd
Men's Varsity 4+, 3rd
FHC placed boats into 14 of the 16 finals that were run.
A total of (19) Michigan High Schools participated in the event with (947) athletes competing in (16) events for both men and women. To determine the (6) crews that would compete in each final race, a total of (38) qualifying races were held brining the day's total to (54) races.
The weather was cool in the morning with an increasing wind out of the WNW that caused the race officials to shorten the race course distance from 1500 meters to 1000 meters due to choppy water at the starting line.
In other news, it was announced at a meeting of all Michigan High School Rowing coaches that starting in 2008, the State Championship Regatta will be competed on the third Saturday of May at Kensingtom Metro Park in Brighton, MI. A governing body is being formed and is currently lead by coaches Scott Sitek of Gross Ile and John Gaskin of Forest Hills Central. The final list of events is yet to be determined but teams will only be allowed to enter one crew per event (no "B" entries). For 2007, all Michigan high school programs that compete as a scholastic team (meaning that all members of a crew attend the same high school) will be invited to the Championship tournament regatta. It is possible that, as the sport grows, a qualifying system may be required to determine participation in the State Tournament Regatta. Starting in 2007, the Hebda Cup Regatta will be limiting participation to crews from the eastern side of the State.
Respectfully submitted
John Gaskin
Head Rowing Coach
Forest Hills Central High School
FHC Rowing For immediate release: May 4-5, 2007
Wyandotte, Michigan
The Forest Hills Central Crew Team competed this weekend at the Wyandotte High School regatta hosted by the Wyandotte Boat Club. The event is run over two days with 24 total events being competed for both men and women. This years regatta had 17 high school programs from Michigan, Ohio and Canada. FHC had a strong showing in the qualifying heats and advanced to the finals in 11 of the 17 events that they entered. Unfortunately, due to very strong winds out of the East, the regatta had to be slowed down as the winds made aligning at the starting line and docking very difficult. With it being prom weekend for FHC, many of the junior and varsity boats had to be scratched form the finals to allow the athletes enough time to return to Grand Rapids to attend their prom on Saturday. In the few events that FHC was able to compete finals in, the men’s varsity 4+ consisting of Caroline Reygaert (cox), Kyle Moore (4), Mark Boman (3), Mitch Klipa (2) and Chris Boll (1), finished with a silver medal and the men’s novice 150# 4+ of Tyler Lenderink (cox), Andrew Cooper (4), Anthony Hage (3), Brandon Streb (2) and Alex Myers (1) took the gold medal. While other Grand Rapids area crews remained in town to race at the East Grand Rapids invitational regatta, FHC chose to attend the “Wh-Hi event in order to compete against some of the crews that they will see at the end of the year at the Canadian Scholastic Championships. “This event gives us a great opportunity to see how we match up against some of the stronger Canadian crews that we see at the end of the year. I am encouraged and excited that we placed our top boats into the finals. It was unfortunate that the weather and winds did not cooperate and allow us the opportunity to compete with all of them in the finals.” (John Gaskin, head coach). FHC will compete next weekend, May 12 and 13 at the Midwest Scholastic Championships being held in Cincinnati, Ohio. Respectfully submitted, John GaskinHead Rowing CoachForest Hills Central Rowing(616) 450-3406
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For Immediate Release:
Sunday, May 13, 2007
Batavia, Ohio
Forest Hills Central Crew team competed at the Midwest Scholastic Rowing Association Championships this weekend. The event was held at Harsh Lake in Batavia, Ohio. A total of 51 schools participated in 30 events total for men and women. There were 491 entries spread across 30 events with over 1,100 athletes participating. A total of 95 heats and semi-finals were run in order to pair the field down to the 6 boats in each of the 30 finals.
FHC entered a total of 15 events with 14 crews racing in semi-finals and 6 crews advancing into the finals. The men’s varsity 4+ and women’s novice 4+, coming off their Hebda Cup state championship titles, continued their success with a Silver medal for the Varsity 4+ and a Gold for the Women’s novice 4+. Other finals placement included the men’s varsity 4+ B placing 6th, Men’s varsity 8+ in 6th, women’s freshman 8+ and women’s lightweight 8+ finishing 4th.
“The level of competition is extremely tough at this regatta and our crews showed very well over the two days. Making it into the finals is an accomplishment and to win a medal here is very difficult. We are very proud and excited for all of our crews that raced this weekend.” (FHC Head Coach John Gaskin).
. The women’s novice 4+ gold medal team consisted of Suzie Tuthill, cox; Julia Porth, 4 seat; Hanna Messer, 3 seat; Paige DeJonge, 2 seat and Laura Brockette as bow.
The men’s varsity 4+ was composed of Caroline Reygaert, cox; Kyle Moore, 4 seat; Mark Boman, 3 seat; Mitch Klipa, 2 seat and Christopher Boll, bow seat
FHC has a regatta next weekend at Kent Lake to test the future site of the Michigan State Scholastic Rowing Championships and then it is on to St. Catherines, Ontario for the Canadian Scholastic Championships.
John Gaskin
Head Coach
Forest Hills Central HS Rowing
616-450-3406
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CONGRATULATIONS
MidWest Championships
Women's Novice 4+, GOLD MEDAL
Men's varsity 4+A, Silver Medal
Women's Freshman 8+ & Lightweight 8+, 4th place
Men's Varsity 8+ & 4+B, 6th place
Wy-Hi Regatta
Men's Novice Lightweight 4+, GOLD MEDAL
Men's Varsity 4+, SILVER MEDAL
2007 Michigan State Rowing Champions
Men's Varsity 8+ & Women's Novice 4+, GOLD MEDAL
FHC finished 3rd overall in both Men and Women's divisions
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GRAND RAPIDS SPRING SPRINTS - Indoor Rowing Regatta
CONGRATULATIONS FHC ATHLETES
for winning the team points trophy and for your performance!CLICK HERE for more information
Thank you to all of the parents who volunteered their time to make this event a success!
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AT SCHOOL PRACTICE SCHEDULE
RETURNING team members:
Girls: 4 PM to 6 PM
Boys: 5:15 PM to 7:15 PM
NEW or NOVICE team members:
Girls & Boys: 6 PM to 7:30 PM
We hope to begin practice on the water on Monday, March 26th. Please contact your team captains or coaches for more information.
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Important Dates
Tuesday, March 20th: Spring Sports Information and Crew Team Kick-Off Meeting. All parents and guardians of spring sport athletes are required to attend this meeting to be held in the cafeteria starting at 7 PM. All parents and guardians are strongly encouraged to attend this meeting.
Monday, March 12th: Official start of Spring Sports Season. All athletes need to advise the coaching staff if they are going to participate on the team this year. Mandatory practice begins for all team members. All athletes that are involved in the musical should check-in with Coach Gaskin so we are aware of your schedule and commitment. Some practice exceptions will be made for those athletes that are involved in the musical.
SPECIAL NOTE: ALL FHPS Physical Forms MUST be turned in to the head coach or athletic depart prior to March 12th. School District rules state that an athlete cannot practice unless the form has been completed and turned in.
Saturday, March 17th: Bumper sticker sale. participation by all team members required. Further information will be distributed to all team members.
Saturday, March 17th: Make-up swim test: 2PM at the aquatic center. If you missed the first test or need to re-test, this is our make-up time and date.
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What is Winter Conditioning?
Winter conditioning is a Non-Mandatory opportunity to work out with other team members in preparation for the upcoming season in March. For returning members, time is focused on cardiovascular and strength training while incorporating the erg (rowing machine) into the workouts for sport specific training.
For New or Novice members, this is an excellent opportunity to learn the basics of the rowing stroke on the erg while at the same time getting a chance to meet and bond with other athletes. The emphasis of Novice pre-season is basic rowing skills combined with cardiovascular training.
The Pre-Season is an OPPORTUNITY to help each athlete improve his or her physical strength and conditioning while getting a chance to work on their rowing technique at the same time. Pre-Season is NOT REQUIRED for participation on the FHC Crew team which is an official Spring sport. Pre-Season is recommended for those athletes who are not participating in a Winter sport and who want to get back in shape and/or improve their fitness level.
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April 18, 2007: - Heat Sheets available for Grand Regatta
April 3, 2007: - Entry packet for Grand Regatta added
March 25, 2007: - FHC Wins GR Spring Sprints!
March 22, 2007 - GR Spring Sprints page updated with latest information
March 18, 2007 - Updated practice schedule to show "Boathouse " times.
March 10, 2007 - Revised practice schedule and important dates.
March 4, 2007 - Clothing form updated, Grand Rapids Spring Sprints page updated with latest information, additional important dates added, some minor revisions to the Links page.
February 25, 2007 - Clothing form has been added to the "Clothing " page. Click here to go to the page.
February 18, 2007 - Important dates added. Fund Raising page updated. Old news archived.
February 6, 2007 - Photo Album page added and Fund Raising page updated
January 23, 2007 - Swim Test information added to Forms / Policies page
January 9, 2007 - Volunteer page completely updated. Note from Women's US National Team Coach added
January 8, 2007 - Added note on latest News page describing Winter Pre-Season Conditioning.
January 7, 2007 - PLEASE NOTE: The date of the February Crew Board Meeting has been changed from February 14th to February 28th and the start time is now 5:30 PM. The date of the New Parent Information night has also been revised from February 14th to February 28th. The meeting will be held in the Lecture room at 7 PM.
December 30, 2006 - General revisions to several pages including; Calendar, Links, Volunteer Opportunities, Latest News and more.
December 1, 2006: Please note that the date of the Grand Rapids Spring Sprints (erg regatta) has been changed from March 17, 2007 to March 24, 2007 due to a scheduling conflict in the gymnasium.
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From the Jr. Women’s National Team Rowing coaches… an open call.
The Jr Women’s Rowing Team is hosting a day of Identification in 10 cities around the country.http://www.usrowing.com/JuniorNationalTeam/Camps/07jrwidcam.aspx
Open call – however our most successful candidates fit one of the profiles in the letter below
NEW – Increased sculling emphasis. Looking for great scullers and great athletes interested in learning to scull
NEW – Introductory Sculling programs for 1992 birthdays
_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*
To the Junior Women’s Coaches: I am writing to remind you of the opportunities afforded to the Jr. Women regarding the Jr National, Jr Development, and Developmental Sculling Camps. In just a few weeks there will be an Identification camp for the athletes in your area. Information regarding these Identification Camps can be found on the USRowing Website. http://www.usrowing.com/JuniorNationalTeam/Camps/07jrntidca.aspx I urge all coaches to pass this information along to the top athletes in your programs.
The published Gold Medal Standards for the different age groups are as follows:
Born in 1989 7:18 for 2K or better (by spring)
Born in 1990 7:32 for 2K or better (by spring)
Born in 1991 7:46 for 2K or better (by spring)
Born in 1992 8:00 for 2K or better (by spring)
While these are the goals, they are not strict cut-offs, we recognize different programs put different emphasis on the ergs. We also leave room for the exceptional athlete who has yet to realize the potential. All ages are eligible for the selection camp (the 1989 birthdays are ONLY eligible for the selection camp). The 1990 and 1991 birthdays are eligible for the Development camp with the 1991 and 1992 birthdays being eligible for the Developmental Sculling Camps. This system is designed to help the High potential athlete achieve the skills and experience necessary to help the Jr National Team in years to come. For this reason the development camps are in search of superstars as well as diamonds in the rough. Outside of the scores above, we are also looking for girls who meet any of the below:
1. Top sculler at your club
2. Can pull 6x(weight/2.2) watts for a 1 minute piece
a. Set the erg vent on 10
b. Set the monitor on Watts
c. Begin from a stopped wheel
d. Full slide, open rate
3. 6 feet tall or 6 foot wingspan.
Do not hesitate to advise super athletic novices to attend! If you have any superstars or diamonds in the rough who were born in 1989, 1990, 1991 and 1992, or if you have athletes who would benefit from the experience of the ID camp; please encourage those athletes to visit the link given above and pursue this opportunity. If you or the athletes have any questions, please feel free to e-mail me at EJCat3@nycap.rr.com I hope to see representatives from all your programs,Thanks,Eric
Eric J. Catalano***********************************************
Novice Coach Head Coach
Lightweight Women Jr. Women's Dev. Team
Radcliffe Crew USRowing
Harvard University****************************************** EJCat3@nycap.rr.com (508) 207-7332
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November 16, 2006: We are very pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. Bill Kennedy to the position of Assistant Coach. Mr. Kennedy is a current teacher at FHC and is also the Head JV Football Coach. We are very excited to have Bill join our great coaching staff and wish him well as he becomes a part of the FHC Rowing program.
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FH Central crew member commits to Michigan
Wednesday, November 22, 2006
By Kelly Hill
The Grand Rapids Press
Kristen Boman thought it was a long shot.
Boman, 17, a senior at Forest Hills Central, thought it unlikely she could continue her crew career at the university she had always wanted to attend and from which both her parents graduated.
What Boman once thought a long shot now is a reality as she recently signed a national letter of intent to study and join the women's crew team at the University of Michigan. She also considered Michigan State and Minnesota, but her decision was relatively easy.
"I have always been a Michigan fan," Boman said. "I grew up in a Michigan household. Both of my parents are Michigan alumni. I like their campus best and I like their program best."
Boman, a coxswain for FHC's boys and girls teams, hopes to step into a starting role as a freshman.
"I didn't really think about college crew until about last year," she said. "My friend (Leigh Azkoul) went to Eastern Michigan to do it and that's when I started to think it might be fun."
Boman, who plans to study education at Michigan, is a Forest Hills Central co-captain. In the past three seasons, she has steered Rangers crews to several state championships, second- and third-place medals at the Midwest Scholastic Championships and a third-place medal at the Canadian Nationals.
"The position of coxswain is very important to a crew team," said FHC coach John Gaskin, who said the University of Michigan coaches considered Boman the No. 2-ranked coxswain in the nation. "Kristen gets the most out of all of her crews, and I think this comes from the fact that she is a competitive swimmer as well. The rowers respect her and know that she is telling them what needs to be done."
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November 16, 2006: CONGRATULATIONS to Kristen Boman who today signed a National Letter of Intent to attend the University of Michigan on an athletic scholorship as a coxswain for the Women's Varsity Crew Team.
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November 16, 2006: The Crew Boosters page has been updated with a listing of the Booster Board members.
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