Keep rowing, Spartans! The crew team is soon to row their way into the upcoming season and are preparing for success.

Fall workouts started at the beginning of November and will continue through February. Until the official season begins, the team holds off season workouts after school from 4:45 to 7:00 to stay in shape.

“We are working solely on cardio by running and lifting,” said senior Dustin Davis, a member of the crew team.

 The offseason workouts are very intense and consist of running, weight room activities, and erging, which is using a machine that simulates rowing. Over two hours a day of these grueling workouts can be extremely difficult, but keeps members in shape.

“By the end of practices we do a good ten miles worth of work including running and erging,” said senior crew team member Hunter Biggs.

This year, eight senior rowers make up the Varsity boat, compared to their sole senior rower last year. This will hopefully bring some more power to the boat and allow them to at least as well as in previous years. The future is looking bright for the team, and all are enthusiastic for the season to begin.

“We are aiming for nationals this year,” said Biggs. “We went [my] freshman and sophomore year too.”

Although the winter allows for many work out sessions, the real crew season doesn’t get going until the spring.

“We have been working extra hard at practice, outside of practice, and during our free time,” said Davis.

The season will be from February to May, with races on Saturdays. It might not seem like a huge time consumer, but the crew team works hard on a daily basis in practices that last  well beyond two hours, in both the off season and scheduled competing season. The intense work will definitely pay off for the team and hopes are high for the quickly approaching season.

“We are hoping to win States and move on to the semi-finals at nationals,” said Davis.