All three of Penn’s rowing teams spent this past weekend in Boston in order to compete in the famed Head of the Charles Regatta. Over 11,000 rowers traveled to compete in the three-mile course in the regatta’s return, after last year’s cancellation.

The men’s Lightweight Fours A boat was the highlight of the day. 

Despite not competing at the Head of the Charles Regatta or racing many other teams for two years due to COVID-19, the team continued from the Penn program’s success in 2019. Led by junior coxswain Sammi Janower, senior Jorke Kooijenga, sophomore John-Wesley Appleton, and freshmen Daniel Ward and Zachary Bort, the team once again won gold in a field of 13 boats. 

Both lightweight boats started strong, and the A boat lead throughout much of the 4,800 meters of the race. At the end of the race, the A boat found itself in a neck and neck battle with Harvard, ultimately coming out on top. Penn’s final time of 16:29.246 led Harvard by just under two seconds and led the rest of the field by nearly 30, with third place Colgate recording a time of 16:57.192.

“[The team] has been making a lot of good progress and doing a lot of good work,” Penn men’s lightweight coach Colin Farrell said. “We were more focused on ourselves and to get a good performance.”

The team will look to continue their remarkable performance at the Princeton 3-Mile Chase hosted by Princeton University on Nov. 7.