Photo courtesy of Brown University
The following was submitted by East Dallas resident Kyle Rains:
The Brown University freshman boat team, which includes recent Woodrow Wilson High graduate Eli Brown, won its race in the Head of the Charles Regatta on Saturday, Oct. 19 in Cambridge, Mass. Â Forty-seven teams, including those from other Ivy League schools, competed.
The team set a new course record, finishing 14 seconds faster than last year’s winning Brown team, which also set a record. Boston University finished second, Northeastern finished third, Harvard finished fourth and the U.S. Naval Academy finished fifth.
“We started out pretty solid and we tried to maintain it,” says Eli Brown, pictured above in the pink bandana to honor a family member who suffered from breast cancer. “It felt fast, but we didn’t know what to expect. A lot of us are switching back and forth on sides—I was a starboard at the Housatonic and a port today.  The coach likes to keep us on our toes.”
The team used the race to raise money for the American Cancer Society Making Strides Against Breast Cancer. Eli raised the fifth largest amount of money in almost 50-member rowing team.
Eli learned rowing on White Rock Lake in East Dallas and was a member of White Rock Boathouse and Woodrow Crew, later becoming a coach. He qualified for nationals in 2011 and 2012 and was a member of the U.S. Junior National Team in 2012. He placed ninth at the Junior World Championships.
