Rowers on the Mathews High School men’s varsity four beat stiff competition to win their race in Saturday’s Darrell Winslow Regatta at the Sandy Run Regional Park in Occoquan.

The small men’s varsity team, comprised of Cole Johnson, Andrew Merz, Phillip Machen, Zach Payne and coxswain Trevor Thomas, faced five other entries. With powerhouse T.C. Williams entering only a varsity four and no varsity eight, the Mathews men knew they would have their work cut out for them.

This proved true as it turned out to be a tight race with Mathews pulling out the win (5:19.1) by .8 of a second over TCW with Great Bridge (5:22.7), Langley (5:27.21), Gloucester (5:27.4) and Gar-Field (5:49) finishing the field.

Mathews freshmen Ashley Payne, Taylor Williams, Cassie White and Madisson Haynes faced off against a field of mostly juniors and seniors from four Northern Virginia teams in the women’s quad.

The Mathews girls got off to a good start and held the lead to the fi...