. . .while Hawes does same for Peddie

By: Rich Fisher
   There was a time when Erin Hawes looked to be the next great track & field star to come out of Cranbury.
   Somewhere along the way, she spun out of a discus circle, into a boat and onto the water.
   Now, she is part of one of the most successful high school crew teams in the nation as she and her Peddie fours boat with coxswain attempt to win their second straight national championship this weekend at the National High School Meet in Cincinnati.
   The boat qualified by winning the Stotesbury Regatta on the Schuylkill River in Philadelphia, which served as a national qualifier. The Falcon boat claimed an open-water victory, winning by a record time of 8.09 seconds.
   "It was one of our best races of the season, it felt really good," Hawes said. "It’s definitely exciting to get to the finals again."
   Actually, everything about rowing excites Hawes, who started her scholastic athletic career on the Cranbury School soccer field. A solid athlete, Hawes was also a track & field standout, and set the school record in discus as an 8th-grader.
   But those activities just weren’t doing it for Hawes.
   "I had played soccer since I was about five," she said. "I would have liked to run in track, but I had bad knees. I never found a sport that I loved."
   That all changed when she enrolled at Peddie in ninth grade.
   In the previous two summers, nudged by the enjoyment her aunt had in club crew, Hawes attended rowing camp at the Mercer Rowing Club.
   "I went at the urging of my aunt," Hawes said. "I had a couple of friends who tried it and liked it a lot. It seemed like a unique opportunity. Most school kids don’t have an advantage for that opportunity and Mercer was like, 20 minutes from my house so I figured I’d try it."
   Obviously, she could not participate in a middle school that had no crew team. But once Hawes arrived at Peddie she jumped at the chance.
   "I think I just liked the teamwork," Hawes said. "I love soccer, but at the same time, crew is different because every aspect is about crew work. You have to have the same mentality and every single stroke has to be together. There are so many things to think about."
   Hawes was put on the novice team during the fall term of her freshman year. She credits her coach, Emily Krieger, a standout in her own right, for having a huge influence on her performance. When the official season began that spring, Hawes was on the JV, but not for long.
   "Our boat started beating the varsity boat, so we became the varsity boat," she said. "We won one or two races that year."
   Last season, that boat broke through with four sophomores rowing. Peddie won the qualifier then went to Ohio, where they claimed a thrilling race to win the national championship.
   "That was honestly incredible," Hawes said. "We wanted to make the finals because we had an undefeated year, but we knew the level of competition would be greater at the nationals.
   "We were able to win every qualifying race and during the final we had a really quick start of the race. So, we were able to get out in front and we were able to keep our lead until the end. I think the margin between first and second was a little over one second, but it was extremely close at the end."
   Peddie returned four of the five girls from that crew. Hawes, who sits in the third seat, feels that continuity can only help as the Falcons return to the nationals this weekend.
   "It’s very re-assuring," she said. "Apart from being able to row well together, we had a really great chemistry and a great bond. We’re all close friends, so it’s nice to have a bond off the water and it’s really re-assuring to know we have each other’s backs on the water."
   As for their chances of repeating as champion, Hawes said it would be nice, but life will go on if it doesn’t happen.
   "I think there’s a lot of pressure going into it after winning last year, but no one ever said ‘If you don’t repeat last year’s performance we won’t support you,’" she said. "With a new person in the boat this year, we just wanted to see how fast we could be. We won everything but the Head of the Charles in Boston (sixth place).
   "We just look to improve and we hope that we row really well. We’re not really concentrating on getting a certain place, but rowing the best we can. Come race day, if we row our best race possible and that’s not enough, it’s all we can do."
   As long as its being done in a boat with her teammates, Hawes is happy.