The Mobjack Rowing Association youth racing program competed Sunday in the first of four scheduled head races this fall.

The Occoquan Chase is a three-mile race that is organized and sponsored by the George Mason University men’s rowing club. The race begins 2.5 miles up the Occoquan River from where normal spring sprint races take place and racers wind down cross country style on a timed single file course that ends just past the spring course’s finish line.

This fall’s MRA crew is the smallest in MRA’s history, just four freshman girls. Bailey Hamilton, Mackenzie Marbain and Kaitlyn Thompson from Gloucester, and Jaimie Robins from Mathews are training together in a four.

For Sunday’s race, they entered the Open Women’s Lightweight (under 133 pounds) coxed four and got Taylor Williams (also from Mathews) to cox the race for them. Not only is this group quantitatively the smallest ever MRA crew but also physically, with this foursome averagin...