Wheaton College Alumni Magazine Winter 2013 | Page 15

WHEATON view 4:20 a.m. Crew team captain Jerrod Schrock ’13 wakes up for practice on the Fox River in St. Charles at this time twice a week in the spring and fall. By 5:30 a.m., Jerrod and his four teammates are skimming over the water. The 39-member team of men and women practice five to six days a week, with a maximum of two early mornings on the river. The first weekend in November, the team headed to Chattanooga, Tennessee, for the Head of the Hooch, where the men’s varsity boat took first place in the four-man championship race last year. One of the women’s boats took sixth place last year in the Head of the Charles, the world’s largest 2-day rowing event. Racing against universities and clubs with much larger student populations, Coach Gary Bohlin notes it’s remarkable that Wheaton’s boats can compete nationally. Says Jerrod, “Crew is an individual and team sport at the same time. We have to focus on what we’re doing individually, while also being perfectly synced with three other guys—we become really close as a team.” Crew is one of ten club sports at Wheaton that draw a total of about 180 students each year. of the water