Early on this spring, it became clear E.L. Crossley’s senior boys quad, made up of Liam Shapland, Lucas Riddle, James Cuff, Andy Nawrocki and coxie Dario Cirello, was something special.

“We knew during our spring time trials that it was our fastest and best boat,” Crossley coach Pat McNally said. “We encouraged them to get together for the world championships and time trial.”

The boys were receptive to the challenge.

“Junior worlds had been a goal for all of us for awhile but not collectively until this spring,” Cuff said. “We ran a time trial with our coach and pulled a pretty decent number in that and it was ‘You know what? Let’s go for it.’ We decided to go for it and it turned out well.”

The biggest challenge for the crew was obvious. It’s not easy to go from sculling in a quad with two oars to sweeping in a four with one oar.

“For them, it wasn’t but for a lot of athletes it would be very difficult. It was seamless,” McNally said. “They are extremely adaptable and all of our athletes are pretty adaptable. They handled that like it was no big deal and that just shows good they are. They have an excellent coxie and Dario is a great leader for them. He led them on the water and they just went out and did what they do in the high school program all the time.”

Cuff credited the program at Crossley and the Notre Dame Rowing Club for helping the boat make that smooth transition.

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