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Sailing, Crew Championships Cap Stellar Spring Athletics Season
Sailing

Norfolk Academy enjoyed a strong spring athletics season, highlighted by state titles and national successes for the Bulldogs' sailing and crew teams.

Coached by Tom Etheridge, varsity sailing earned VISA Team Race Championships in both the fall and spring. The groups did not lose a race in either competition. Additionally, the spring team finished third at the Mid-Atlantic Team Race Championship and second in the Mid-Atlantic Fleet Race Championship. The latter achievement earned the Bulldogs a spot in High School Nationals.

Sailing in New Jersey in early June, the team earned fourth place at the ISSA Mallory Doublehanded National Championships. That was the best-ever finish for a Norfolk Academy team at the national finals.

Hunter Wheary '24 was named the sailing team's Most Improved Player. Audrey Permenter '23 earned the Coaches' Award; she will sail in college for Tulane University.

Coached by Katie Roberts, Dan Garbutt, and Nick Conner, Norfolk Academy Rowing made history at the VASRA State Championships, with four trips to the Award Dock, including two state championships. The MV4+ and MJr4+ took gold medals at the competition, with M2V4+ bringing home silver and W2V4+ earning bronze.

A few weeks later, NA Rowing made history again as the MJr4+ won a championship at the Stotesbury Cup Regatta. The Bulldog boat battled 50 others from across the nation. The Stotesbury Cup is the largest high school rowing regatta in the world. Fletcher Creech '25, Reece Newman '24, Travis Carroll '25, Jude Carroll '25, and Cole Houfek '24 brought the boat to victory in the largest event in the regatta.

To cap the season off, the MJr4+ earned a silver medal at the SRAA National Championships in late May in Tennessee. The MV4+ boat earned sixth place in that competition. 

Harrison Brown '23 was the boys crew Most Valuable Player; Cooper Poorman '23 earned the boys Coaches' Award; Tara Tavakoli '23 was girls Most Valuable Player; and Brice Yuill '24 earned the girls Coaches' Award. 

These sailing and crew successes were hardly the only achievements for Norfolk Academy during the spring. Among the other highlights:

  • Varsity girls soccer reached the state championship for a second straight year
  • Girls track and field earned third place at the VISAA State Championships, with Taylor Kulow '27 winning a title in the high jump
  • Boys track and field took fourth at states, with the 4x400 team of Ryan Guzik '23, Davis Ottinger '23, Dylan Defoor '24, and Zahir Griffith '24 winning a title
  • Boys tennis was a state quarterfinalist
  • Boys tennis, boys track, girls lacrosse, girls soccer, girls track, and golf all won TCIS conference championships

Other teams and student-athletes also achieved successes during the season. However, as Director of Athletics Chad Byler noted during the end-of-year Athletics Celebration on May 14, these students earned much more than trophies.

“More important than championships and all these great honors were the relationships that were forged on these teams and the bonds that were created between our student-athletes and their teacher-coaches that will be cherished forever," Mr. Byler said.   

 

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