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Fab Five: Marietta crew competes in international event

By Kerry Patrick 8 min read

MARIETTA - Flight plans are in order. Shells are being prepared. Now it's just a matter of applying everything they practiced in the water.

The Marietta High School Tiger Navy Women's 4+ crew team is entering uncharted waters as the program's first representative in an international event across the Atlantic Ocean.

Senior rowers Katie Lovejoy and Eden Ingram, along with juniors Madi Lovejoy and Wilkey Smith will put their trust in fellow senior coxswain Mo Caslow as the Tigers compete in the Henley Women's Regatta in Henley-on-Thames, England.

"This is the premier event every year - it's like the Kentucky Derby for rowing," said Marietta coach Tanner O'Connor.

Marietta's entry into the event was accepted following a 2023 season in which they placed first in the Midwest followed by third-place showings at both the Stotesbury Cup and in the nation.

Competition for the Tiger Navy crew begins next Saturday at 10:35 a.m. London time.

Time trials are the opening phase.

"It's just us against the clock - those are really challenging for a lot of crews because the only competition is your coxswain," said Ingram, who is not only anxious for the competition phase but also the tourist aspect and riding a double-double bus. "You don't know how everybody else is racing, so you don't know if you are losing by several seconds or way ahead. You are racing against the clock. It's really blind and really tough to get out."

Marietta is part of a field of 22 teams. The top 16 times advance to the second phase where it's 1v1 - one team racing another team. Win and advance to the next stage.

"Side by side racing is when it feels the most competitive because you can look over your shoulder and you see a crew right there that you have to beat," Ingram continued.

Marietta has experience with aces featuring six to eight shells where maybe the top two or three advance. One-on-one is a completely new animal.

As a way to simulate, the Marietta Men's Varsity 4+ team practiced against the girls shell even when scholastic season was over.

"We have to give the boys a lot of credit," said Ingram, whose brother Vince was a member of the Men's 4+ team. "For the past two years, they have been the boat that pushes us in every practice. Even when they didn't have another race, they showed up."

The experience in England gives Ingram and Katie Lovejoy one last opportunity to compete. Three girls in the Lovejoy family have represented Marietta High School in their rowing career. In addition to Katie and Madi, their older sister Hannah is a member of the crew team at the University of Central Florida.

"When we were accepted to compete, it was surreal," said Katie Lovejoy, who now has her bearings on places to sightsee. "It doesn't feel like we are going across the ocean - in a lot of ways it hasn't clicked in my mind that it is such a big deal. Reading through the entries in our race, it kind of gave me chills because we are in that race in London.

"It is starting to click this is the last time this team will all be together. It's exciting I get to be in the boat with my sister one last time."

As historic as the 2023 season played out, this past spring threw several curve balls at the Marietta High School crew program. The most detrimental obstacle occurred when teams lost out on three weeks of training due to the flooding on both the Muskingum RIver and Ohio River.

"It was not easy this year," said Mo Caslow, who will continue her career on the waters at Ohio State University in the fall. "This boat, especially, has a great sense of resilience and can come back from anything. That has a lot to do with how much we have been through.

"Those three weeks happened and we knew it was game over if we didn't walk in and didn't try hard to pick up the time we had lost. The results we got this season was a bit of a punch in the gut. Not exactly what we wanted, but we worked hard and came back from nationals then went straight to it, getting ready for this international event."

The girls agreed Smith is hands-down the quiet one of the group who has the ability of saying just a few words that can get a laugh from the others.

"Wilkey and I were a pair for two years - we were always next to each other," Ingram said. "We were always together because that's how it always ended up. She just wants to be as fast as possible. She is very hard working and we have that same mentality, and that's why we get along."

Once she is on the waters, it's business as usual for her. The same can be said for all five girls.

"We are all high school girls - when you are together for three years, it's bound to get a little chaotic with some ups and downs," Caslow said. "The biggest thing we have taken away from this: We have matured and realized this is about making the boat go fast.

"A lot of maturity and bonding has happened."

Madi Lovejoy and Ingram have changed seats for the upcoming race in England. Ingram was on stroke before the switch was made moving her to the bow.

"We spent a year and a half in the seats we were in - now we switch and that has been a good reset for us," said Lovejoy, who has already made a verbal commitment to join her sister, Hannah, at UCF next fall. "The switch allows us to focus on things we didn't notice before when we were comfortable in those seats. Our coaches know what they are doing and it shows in every little move they make.

"It didn't rock us that much - maybe the first two days, but we just got after it. The boat just keeps getting faster."

O'Connor figures as many as 22 individuals representing the Marietta girls crew team are making the trip overseas. He has attended the Henley Regatta in the past.

"These girls have a huge swath of talent," said O'Connor, who is a 2011 Marietta High School grad. "With these five, I'm basically not a coach but more of a collaborator. They have the skills and experience. They can feel what the boat is doing and know what needs to be changed. They can make adjustments on the fly.

"That is not typical for those competing at the scholastic level."

Since O'Connor arrived during COVID, the Marietta crew program has made a resurgence. Caslow took note and for an end-of-the-school year ceremony students chose someone who was instrumental in their life. It was a no-brainer who made an impact on her life.

"I chose Tanner," Caslow said. "We were at a pretty low point as a team during COVID. Everyone took a hit, especially our team. Financially, we were struggling as well. Tanner came back and we just took off. That was freshman year. We regained our non-profit status. It was really an underground thing - things that rowers and the team didn't really notice, but his effect was huge.

"I realized (crew) could become my life because of this person. Who gave me all these connections. This has been an amazing experience that has opened my eyes to what rowing really is.

"He is the reason why the team is where it is at, absolutely. He just picked it from the ground and ran with it."

The girls board a plane Sunday. They have their selection of movies ready for the flight. Caslow even admitted Ingram will serve as her pillow.

By arriving several days prior to the race, they can get a feel for the water and the culture they are about to encounter. The Marietta High School boys crew program began in 1964 and the girls followed in 1976 - and never has a rowing team traveled outside the United States other than Canada.

"It's just the people I'm excited about - I can't wait to meet them, hearing the different accents and learning about their culture," Madi Lovejoy said. "I'm a person who loves being friendly at the starting line. I start conversations.

"This is like going to the Olympics as a high schooler."

Contact Kerry Patrick at kpatrick@newsandsentinel.com

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