After a few rain postponements during Spirit Week, the annual Senior Boat Race had its official launch, delivering wave after wave of camaraderie and school spirit. Senior advisories once again put their engineering skills to the test, constructing makeshift vessels from cardboard, plastic, and duct tape. Upper School Arts Teacher and race day DJ Patrick Huber was spinning festive seafaring tunes while the teams propelled their creations with a roar of adrenaline onto the placid waters of Polk Pond.
Cheers and laughter filled the air as the boats navigated the course through the initial four heats. Some vessels weathered the heated competition, while others succumbed to the murky chop and sank beneath the waterline. The McGuns N’ Rosens team, also known as the McGlaughlin-Rosen Advisory, took home the coveted trophy. With a rock-n-roll attitude and t-shirts designed by CeCe Harris ’25 to match, Jeremy Kalishman ’25 skillfully piloted their boat to victory in the final heat.
Upper School Math Teacher and Advisor Philip Rosen shared, “Early on, it was clear the advisory’s design priority was making sure the boat would not capsize. Students drew out many potential designs on the whiteboard before even beginning building. Charlie Glass ’25 and Jackson Vetter ’25 even brought in principles from their calculus classes to fit the design to the materials we had. We were pretty sure going in that the boat wouldn’t sink, but we had no idea whether or not it could maintain much speed. Everyone agreed, though, that Jeremy was an excellent pick to pilot the boat.”
Following the race, seniors celebrated their victory with a traditional dip in Polk Pond, a refreshing end to an afternoon of excitement, tradition, and school spirit.
