The SoNo rowing team traveled to Boston last weekend ready to show the rowing community their strength on the ergometer at the C.R.A.S.H. B sprints and came away with impressive results.

Wilton High School freshman Mary Beth Greer won her weight class, pulling 2,000 meters in a personal best time. She was more than 10 seconds better than a second place finisher from Trinity College and 23 seconds ahead of teammate Jenna Lee, also a Wilton freshman.

"It was good practice coming here to compete," Greer said. "Being able to race against athletes from around the world helps put our training into perspective."

The 2,000-meter piece is the same distance used by the sport of rowing in the spring sprint season, which is why the 2K is one of the primary tools used to evaluate the total fitness of the athletes. The taxing distance puts rowers past their lactic threshold, making the competition a mental one as well as physical.

SoNo Rowing showed that it wasn't all about the kids: Anne Faber (Westport) placed second in the Senior Veteran women, finishing only seconds behind first place and nearly 45 seconds in front of third place. The race was wire to wire with Anne leading the entire way until the final moments of the race, in which Mari Friend of Rat Island Rowing of Washington eked out a narrow win.

"The training that I receive at SoNo prepared me for what I accomplished today," Faber said. "The last time I was this fast was nearly seven years ago. I have never felt better."

For the SoNo Rowers, the scene at the Agganis Arena on the campus of Boston University was an eye-opening experience. Not only did SoNo have to compete in a venue with hundreds of fans and numerous distractions, but the stale air in the BU hockey complex was a recipe for dehydration. With one of the youngest junior teams at the event, the SoNo rowers were highlighted numerous times via live webcasts as rowers who will contribute to the future of the sport of rowing.

"It was great coming to this event with such a young group. The erg judges individual effort," rowing director and head coach Chris Wyant said. "This isn't rowing on the water. There is always internal rivalry within our team to be the strongest, fastest and toughest. These guys are used to the competition and it is great to see them perform on the world stage."

Also competing at the regatta and achieving personal bests were: Juniors Tim Kile (Ridgefield), Tim Mapley (Fairfield), James Mcgloughlin (Norwalk), Natalie Clark and Mary Willis (Wilton) and Gena Greer in the Masters Women category.

The results at the C.R.A.S.H. B's only continue the success that the SoNo Rowing team has experienced this winter season. Competing two weeks prior to the event in Boston, SoNo Rowers participated in the Connecticut Indoor Rowing Championships in Bridgeport. Rowers achieving personal bests at the regatta included: Robin Ritchy, Ryan Burke, Gabe Marsan, Logan Forsyth, Kendall Flavin (all of Wilton), Noah Arthurs (finishing second, Weston), Matthew Huggins, Maxime Olshan-Cantin (Westport), Luke Thompson (Stamford) and Andrew Richmond (Monroe).

Find out more about SoNo's rowing programs at http://www.sonoac.com. Open enrollment for the spring season begins Feb. 28.