Fantastic ‘Fours’ lead team in state championships

By Austin Brooks

Dallas United Crew (DUC), North Texas’s biggest and fastest rowing team, did not disappoint at the 2023 Texas State Championships. DUC entered 24 events, medaled in 17, and took gold in nine. The team earned a combined 102 individual medals, nearly half shimmering in gold.

“Texas State Championships were a huge success as DUC finished second in Team Points,” said Austin Brooks, interim head coach. “We executed on our goal to climb in the overall team points rankings. We were 7.2 points behind Texas Rowing Center, who entered twice as many events and historically walked away with the trophy.” Rowing’s Team Points Champion is determined by total points, with points assigned based on boat size and the outcome of the race. Races in larger boats, like Eights and Fours, earn more points for top finishers than smaller boats, like Singles and Doubles, but every point counts. “The culture shift at DUC is tremendous. We have one goal, we’re locked in and we’re ready to support each other every step of the way,” continued Brooks.

Four seems to have been DUC’s magic number. DUC’s Varsity Boys bounced back from finishing one-second off cross-lake rivals, White Rock Rowing, in the Eight to win by open water in both the Straight- and Coxed-Fours. So, too, the Girls U15 Coxed-Quad as well as the Boys U17, Boys Novice and Girls Novice Coxed-Fours topped the podium. 

With only seven graduating seniors, fans can expect DUC to top the leaderboard for years to come. Adding to the wins in the Fours and Quads, DUC’s U17 Girls Eight won by open water. The Boys Second Varsity Eight, led by lone senior Jack Haney, finished 33 seconds ahead, leaving spectators confused by the delayed arrival of the rest of the field.

Visit DallasUnitedCrew.org for more information.