Tennessee Athletes Take to Rowing With GREAT Success

When one thinks about the successful high school sports in Nashville, “crew”, or rowing, is most likely not one of the sports listed in the top 5, if it is even listed at all.   Many people can name the powerhouse football teams, wrestling programs, baseball, basketball, softball, or soccer teams.  These teams have made a name for themselves by their performances on the field, court, or mat.  Their competitions take place in Nashville and are seen by many spectators.  The Montgomery Bell Academy Crew may not be very well known, or visible, in Nashville, but they have made a name for themselves on a regional and national scale.

Started in 2009 and rowing on Percy Priest Lake, the dedicated boys of the first few years had a constant struggle of balancing their classwork and practice time while dealing with the congested afternoon traffic.  More often than not, they would spend the majority of the time between 3:30pm and 7pm in traffic, rather than on the water practicing.  Despite their hard work and perseverance, the team struggled to achieve consistent success. In the fall of 2016, MBA Crew made two large changes that helped change the trajectory of the program.  The first is that the team moved its practices from Percy Priest Lake to the Cumberland River, rowing out of Commodore Yacht Club on River Road.  The second is the hiring of a new head coach, Rich Kesor.

In the years since the changes, the MBA Crew has grown into very successful program.  The team is part of the Midwest Scholastic Rowing Association which consists of 65 high schools from Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.  Each May, MBA travels to Michigan to compete in the MSRA Championships.  Since first attending the regatta in 2017, MBA has risen quickly to the top of the region.  Over the years, it has placed 54 boats into the finals, winning 23 medals (5 gold, 11 silver, 7 bronze), and placing in the top 5 in team standings five of the 7 years.  This past May, MBA won both the Sculling Trophy and the Division 2 Trophy, both firsts for the program.

The Big Red Crew has also made a name for itself on the national stage.  It has had 26 boats qualify for the Scholastic Rowing Association of America National Championships since 2017, with 18 of the boats finishing in the top 10.  The silver medal won by MBA this past spring marked the 4th year in a row that it finished on the podium at the regatta (2021-Bronze, 2022-Gold, 2023-Gold, 2024-Silver).  MBA is one of only five boy’s teams in the country to have won a medal at every championship since COVID.  Gonzaga Prep (DC), Malvern Prep (PA), Belen Jesuit (FL) and Western Albemarle (VA) are the other four.

Additionally, the MBA Freshman team made up of William Perry, Sid Dighe, Jude Rotondo and JP Todd, won TN/GA state championship, Midwest regional championship, and finished 5th in Scholastic Nationals. The Future is bright for these kids.

The truly amazing part of the success of MBA’s program is the fact that the boys winning the races and moving on to college to row are not the boys who would be considered the “star athletes” on campus.  Most of the boys find their way to team because they were cut from another sport.  In rowing, they find a sport where their work ethic and determination can make up for any lack of natural athleticism.  These boys have found a sport where even the smallest boy, through stellar rowing technique, can compete with the largest boy on the team.  MBA Crew alum, James Vest ’19, summed up the team culture best: “We compete amongst ourselves on the water like wolves and take care of each other on land like brothers.”