ASL returns to the Head of the Charles

Oh what a weekend! For the first time in more than a decade, the ASL advancement office hosted a tent on the Charles River in Cambridge, Massachusetts, to welcome Eagle spectators for the Head of the Charles Regatta, the world’s largest three-day rowing competition. During a glorious October weekend, 70+ alumni from Classes 1972 to 2027, along with parents, grandparents, children, students and friends turned out to cheer on rowers, score some black-and-orange swag and exchange ASL memories with Athletics Director John Farmer ’97 (ASL 2012-present), Advancement Director Siofra Rucker (ASL 2021-present) and Director of Giving and Engagement Sandy Mateus (ASL 2013-present). The festivities included two days of tailgating (tentgating?) in Reunion Village and a happy hour at the Longfellow Bar near Harvard Square. “Reconnecting with ASL families at the Head of the Charles was incredible,” John Farmer recently exclaimed. “It’s a privilege, not only to see former Eagle athletes continue their sport in college, but to see Eagles years after they left One Waverley Place with so much enthusiasm for our school.” 

Among the enthusiastic guests who met with John were Margaret and Jim Mellon P ’94 ’95 ’98, daughters Gretchen (Mellon) Aubuchon ’94, Courtney (Mellon) DuBois ’95 and their families. Margaret started the ASL girls crew team in 1992; Gretchen and Courtney were both rowers. Today, ASL crew boasts 65 girls and boys and is the school’s only three-season sport. In 2012, Emma Nealis ’14 was the first ASL rower to win a championship title at the National Schools Regatta, in the women’s Junior 16 single sculls race. Since then, three more rowers have been added to the school’s crew banner: Tyler Skow ’17, who won the gold medal in the Junior 16 at the 2015 National Schools Regatta; and Grace Bake ’17 and Sarah Brunsberg ’17, who won the Women’s Junior 18 race in 2017.

Leyth Sousou ’22 and Caroline Vauclain ’21 were among the rowers at this year’s Head of the Charles. We hope to cheer on even more Eagles at future international regattas!