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McLean boys crew finished eighth among 12 boats in the first varsity eight at the Virginia Scholastic Rowing Championship on May 9 at the Occoquan Reservoir.

The Virginia Scholastic Rowing Association hosted the regatta in Fairfax Station, where 38 clubs and 150 entries gathered for the second day of competition. McLean faced some of Virginia’s strongest scholastic programs, including Yorktown, West Springfield, Washington-Liberty, Wakefield, Alexandria City and Robinson.

The result brought a frustrating close to a season of high expectations. McLean’s first varsity eight, the program’s fastest and most prominent lineup, had finished second in the state in 2025.

“We were one seed off of qualifying for finals,” senior captain James Millward said. “But we got unlucky. Colgan had an extra gear that round and got past us. Moreover, we just didn’t have enough speed or experience this year to compete long-term.”

In a deep state field, small technical errors, slow starts and missed opportunities can quickly shift a boat several places. McLean reached the championship but fell short of its goal of advancing to the final.

“We didn’t achieve our desired result of making it to finals at states,” senior captain Carson Fast said. “However, we’ve learned a lot this season and the team is ready to make the required changes in order to do better next year.”

For McLean’s seniors, the regatta was also among their final races in a Highlanders uniform. Although the finish was disappointing, it did not erase the work required to reach the state championship.

“Crew has been such a valuable experience to me,” Millward said. “It helped me find confidence when I really needed it and I’ve made a lot of good friends this year. They’re all really great guys, especially the sophomores, and I’ll definitely miss them when I’m in college.”

The eighth-place result now gives McLean a clear benchmark for next spring. The Highlanders compete in one of Virginia’s toughest rowing regions and have recently demonstrated that they can challenge the state’s fastest crews.

“There’s a lot of good potential on the team,” Millward said. “Especially the sophomore class. They have a lot of fast up-and-coming people. Unfortunately, this year, we just had a lack of experienced seniors and juniors, and that was what ultimately held us back.”