From left: Zach Thurston, Keith Cook, Evan Lane, Travis Heft, Abby Jung, Joey Tyrybus, Adams Bloom, Lance Berry, Nick Samson. Seated: Julio Sanchez.
In a country where football is seemingly king, it is easy for smaller sports to get lost in the shuffle. Rowing, for example, may not be the most talked about, nor most spectated, sport throughout Ohio, but the Westerville Crew team has actively sought to change that trend.
Westerville Crew began in 1995 with two parents who wanted to give their children a platform for rowing. Since then, Westerville Crew has grown substantially in both size and popularity. Because many local schools don’t have their own crew teams, or easy access to a river, Westerville Crew takes students from districts including New Albany-Plain Local Schools and Dublin City Schools, calling the Hoover reservoir home.
“Back when I started and told people that I rowed, people would say, ‘Oh, you row? What is that?’” says Allison Sobiech, coach of the Westerville women’s crew. “It has grown so much in our community and is in such a better light today.”
Sobiech is a shining example of the dedication local rowers have to the crew and how deeply tied individuals are to the team. Being exposed to the world of rowing by her older brother, who was actively recruited to row crew while leaving wrestling practice in high school, Sobiech began rowing as soon as she could, and rowing continues to be a part of her adult life.
Due to his hard work inside and out of the boat, Zach Thurstone, pictured above, was recruited by five of the eight Ivy League schools.
“I just saw the friends (my brother) was hanging around and meeting through Westerville Crew, and I knew those were the people I wanted to be around,” says Sobiech. “When I stepped into the boat for the first time, that was the end of it. I have not been able to quit since.”
The Westerville Crew fields boys and girls teams. Rowers are of high school age. Younger children interested in rowing are encouraged to participate in the Westerville Crew’s learn to row program, in which rowers are given the opportunity to learn rowing through experience.
A big draw to the crew, aside from the camaraderie and the joy of rowing, is the exposure that Westerville provides to some of the top rowing colleges in the nation. This past winter alone, more than 10 coaches came to practices to observe rowers for potential scholarships. The benefit of rowing, being that it is a relatively less popular sport in which students participate, is the opportunity it offers for college scholarships.
“Most of the kids who row for Westerville end up going on to get scholarships to row if they want to continue,” says Sobiech.
With standout alumni such as Ashley Bauer, a 2011 NAHS and Westerville Crew graduate who was a member of The Ohio State University’s 2015 National Championship-winning crew team and 2015 Big Ten Athlete of the Year, Westerville Crew has no lack of talent in the boat.
“Rowing allows them to step away from that to be with friends and to get away from the everyday stress that can bring.” - Alison Sobiech
A notable rower this past season is New Albany High School senior Zach Thurston, who will row for Cornell University in the fall. Thurston, like Sobiech, was inspired by others to get in the boat. He found out about rowing through word of mouth from friends who were involved and, since then, has not looked back.
“From my experience with the sport, rowing is a very unique sport. It is a great example of both an individual and team sport,” says Thurston. “It teaches core values such as not giving up and how to stay committed at a very early age.”
The Westerville Crew competes throughout Ohio, and often competes at a national level, giving team members a glimpse into the sport’s nationwide reach.
There are more benefits to rowing than just physical ones, especially in the Westerville Crew team, which bring together students from many communities.
“Aside from core values, socially speaking, rowing is a great way to meet people not only in the New Albany and Westerville community, but to grow relationships throughout central Ohio and all across the country,” says Thurston.
Thanks to Thurston’s hard work and dedication in the boat, five of the eight Ivy League schools recruited him for their 2018 rowing seasons. He will go on to study environmental science with a minor in civil engineering, focusing on sustainability and natural resources. He credits this opportunity to his experience rowing with Westerville Crew.
“Rowing is the Ivy League’s version of football, and those teams are top-notch,” says Thurston. “Being 17 years old and competing with the best athletes in the nation for my age category was absolutely phenomenal. Westerville has a very good track record of this.”
Sobiech says rowing is a great social outlet in addition to a stress reliever
Rowing brings a wide array of opportunity to youth in the community, but that isn’t to say success comes easy – as with any other student sport.
“Generally speaking, I feel when I talk to friends about crew, a lot of them were hesitant because of the time commitments it typically has,” says Thurston. “Normally, we are practicing or conditioning six days a week for two to three hours at a time. That being said, it has never interfered with any social aspects of my life.”
Rowers from the Westerville Crew have gone on to row competitively at the national collegiate level and beyond, though the team itself competes throughout the state of Ohio. The team’s accomplishments are vast, but what the experience boils down to, for rowers, is much simpler: friendship.
“Rowing gives kids an outlet, something to do. … They are studying hard, working toward the goal of getting into college,” says Sobiech. “Rowing allows them to step away from that to be with friends and to get away from the everyday stress that can bring.”
Whether it be the thrill of competing, a way to make new friends, the desire to learn a new sport or simply to ease the busy schedule school work can bring, the Westerville Crew continues to bring a unique and enjoyable experience to students willing to hop in a boat and row down the Hoover reservoir.
“Come and try it. The worst you do is end up falling in love,” says Sobiech.
Rocco Falleti is an assistant editor. Feedback welcome at rfalleti@cityscenecolumbus.com.
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