Four guys in a boat. Four guys pulling in unison. Four guys pushing each other to never let up, to mine the deepest wells of their strength, to ignore the mounting pain in their hands, their arms, their backs.
And for what? A gold medal, for starters.
Last fall, the rowing team of Sam Dickey, Matt Hill, Brandon Zoellner and B.P. Perrin took first in the men’s lightweight 4+ at the Head of the Hooch, the second largest head race in the nation. This was yet another great win for a team that has medaled at the SIRA and DAD Vail regattas.
(l to r) Sam Dickey, Matt Hill, Brandon Zoellner and B.P. Perrin; photo by Mike Ledford
But perhaps most impressive are not the medals, but rather their relentless competition with themselves to go faster, always faster.
“In our sport, there is no scholarship, no shoe deal, no sponsorship, no professional league,” explains Travis Landrith ’98, volunteer head coach of the College’s crew teams. “These boys epitomize all that is great about the sport. They’re diligent, motivated, committed, team focused and they’re incredible athletes.
“Remember,” Landrith adds, “they don’t have to wake up every morning for our 5:45 a.m. practice. They don’t have to listen to me yell at them. They don’t have to work out two and three times a day. They don’t have to rearrange the other aspects of their lives to make time for rowing, but they do.”
And, clearly, they do it well.
