FORMER LODI RUNNER TAKES UP ROWING
Senior on varsity boat in final year of rowing
Chelscie Pacheco had track and field on the mind when she graduated from Lodi High in 2013.
Without any college offers she liked, she spent two years at Delta College, running cross country in the fall and competing in the steeplechase for the track team in the spring.
But when Pacheco arrived at Sacramento State last year, she changed gears, trading her spikes and dusty tracks for an oar and the open water.
“At my orientation, one of the leaders was a senior rower who had just graduated,” Pacheco said. “I wanted to do track here, but my offers were only from NAIA and D2s. She said, ‘We recruit athletes, and you seem really strong. You should try rowing.’ I had never tried rowing before.”
After a year as a novice, Pacheco is spending her final year of college athletic eligibility on the Hornets’ second varsity four boat. The typical competition lineup consists of two varsity eight-person boats and two varsity four-person boats.
It took some time adjust to the different style of workouts and the different schedule, with morning practice on the water at 6 a.m.
“Rowing allows 20 hours per week for the NCAA. My coach is really good at utilizing that time,” Pacheco said. “Every day Monday through Friday we have two workouts. We spend the majority of our time on the water. Like in track, there’s days with distance and days with speed.”
Come race day, though, rowers have to be prepared for both distance and speed for the 2,000-meter contests. Each stroke uses the entire body — legs, core and arms.
“You’re sitting up with good posture. Bend over at the hip, then you release your legs. That’s when you catch, the oar goes in the water,” she said. “It’s basically doing a deadlift, but horizontal. You push down to get oar out of the water, and that’s the end of your stroke.”
And that 2,000 meters? There’s no let-up, from the all-important first stroke until the stern of the boat crosses the line. Conditioning is the most important part of practice.
“If you’re not conditioned, it doesn’t matter what your technique is, you’re not going to go very far,” Pacheco said. “It’s a pretty good combination of both, but you need that base conditioning. If you could experience a 2K race, it’s so exhausting. It’s like sprinting for 2,000 meters. Who does that?”
It’s a demanding sport, and that takes a toll on recruiting. Pacheco joined with a competitive group of 22 novices last year, athletes who had competed in other sports before.
Pacheco and three others returned this season. The four of them joined an even more competitive varsity squad.
“My novice year was really competitive, but even though they were all competitive, they didn’t like rowing,” she said. “I loved how competitive (varsity) was, and how everybody wanted to be there.”
Rowing may not be for everybody, but Pacheco said it helps to be a naturally competitive person.
“You have to be willing to work extremely hard and not get easily frustrated. If they have the work ethic, I think anybody can be successful,” she said. “Mental toughness is a huge thing.”
As a junior, Pacheco made varsity boats a handful of times, including in the third varsity eight at the American Athletic Conference Championships. This year, on the second varsity four boat, she holds the stroke position, sitting at the front of the lineup.
“I’m stroking a boat in races, which is really cool. You’re leading the boat, basically,” she said. “I’ve stroked three different races. That was a big deal. We still have half our season, so we’re hoping PRs keep coming.”
Pacheco’s second varsity four placed second in the season opener, the Sacramento State Invitational on Lake Natoma on March 11 with a time of 7:48.0, then had times of 7:54.6 and 7:47.4 at the Hornet Invitational a week later.
A 7:54.83 was good for third out of six boats in the second varsity four division at the San Diego Crew Classic on April 2, and at the Lake Natomas Invitational on April 8, the second varsity four finished third in both its heat race (7:48.21) and the petite final (7:42.67).
The Hornets will race again on Lake Natoma in late April at the WIRA Championships before heading east in May for the American Athletic Conference Championships in Sarasota, Fla.