After years of competing without official recognition, Greenhills rowers will now represent their school as an official varsity team. 

“We see really good results and to not be recognized by the school was definitely frustrating,” Katie Cowen ‘26, a rower on the team, said. “But we are putting that all behind us because now we are officially a team and it’s really exciting.”

Tommy Stofel ‘25, one of the first Greenhills athletes to row at Washtenaw Rowing Center (which is where the team is located), agreed with Cowen and said he wishes he had the opportunity to compete for an official school team while he was a student.

“Walking down the hallways, there were lots of other trophies from all the other teams, and it made me think, ‘Why not crew?’ ” Stofel said. “I feel pretty proud. When I first got to high school, I was really disappointed because I wasn’t able to row without my school’s back. I’m ecstatic about it because it’s been a long time coming.”

In the past, rowing at Washtenaw Rowing Center was more informal for Greenhills athletes due to the lack of an official school team. Now, the program has been recognized as a sanctioned varsity sport. Wes Harrington, the team’s novice coach and strength and conditioning coach, said the recognition is overdue. 

“The [team] becoming a real sport at their own school is huge for them because they’re being recognized for something that they have already been doing and are representing the school in a very positive way,” Harrington said. “It is a sport that takes a lot of dedication and a lot of work and teamwork.”

According to Kit Bennett, founder of the Washtenaw Rowing Center (where the team trains), Greenhills rowers practice alongside the Skyline crew team as well as rowers from Canton, Chelsea, and Father Gabriel Richard. However, the teams race separately at championship races. 

“When we go to championship racing, they have to race separately,” Bennett said. “But from a day-to-day perspective, [Skyline and Greenhills] train together and are supported by the same coaches.”

The crew season takes place in the spring, though rowers train year-round. As the season progresses, athletes will compete in a variety of races. 

“The Midwest championships are a big focus for the team because that qualifies you for nationals, but we also have our state championships,” Bennett said. “There’s three races called the Mitten Racing Series, and then we go to Midwest and then State championships. After that, depending on what we qualify for, we go to US nationals, and then Canadian nationals in St. Catherine’s, Ontario.” 

May is the busiest stretch of the season, with races scheduled nearly every week. 

“In May we have almost seven weeks in a row that is all of our competition,” Harrington said. “First, there are three warmup competitions and then we have the Midwest Championships, State Championships, and National Championships.”

Although the program is co-ed, boys and girls compete in separate races. 

“We offer boys rowing and girls rowing, but they always compete separately, which is different from co-ed sports,” Bennett said.

Bennett said Greenhills rowers found success at the state level last season, which prompted them to set higher expectations for the team this year. 

“The kids have some ideas of what their goals are,” Bennett said. “I know some kids would like to go to Nationals, and I think that is definitely in the ballpark.” 

The Greenhills community has quickly embraced the new team and is eager to watch the rowers showcase their skills. 

“The school has been super supportive,” Bennett said. “The kids have been excited about it and the parents have been excited about it. We’re very mission aligned with Greenhills so it has been pretty easy.”

As the program continues to grow, athletes like Cowen hope more students will get involved with crew. 

“I just hope the younger generations of Greenhills students, girls in particular, find crew,” Cowen said. “It’s such an amazing sport to do in high school. It teaches you so much about discipline, motivation, hard work, and it’s an underrated sport.”