Half Moon Bay Review
Elise Wilson has loved basketball for years. It took a little longer for her to find love in her heart for indoor rowing, a grueling training tool that uses every muscle in her body.
She started training on the Concept II rowing machines only last year after a teacher at St. Ignatius College Prep told her that she had the body to be a good rower.
Over the course of a couple of weeks in February and March, Wilson, a Montara resident and sophomore at the San Francisco private school, rose to the top level in each of her sports.
First, she finished second in the CRASH-B (which stands for Charles River All Star Has-Beens) Sprints World Indoor Rowing Championships, held in Boston. Then a couple of weeks later, she played a key role as St. Ignatius won the Central Coast Section Division III basketball title.
Playing basketball was a given. But rowing was something that she never thought she would do.
St. Ignatius does have a crew program. During her freshman year, a few teachers took one look at Wilson's body (6-foot-4 with strong legs) and thought that she should at least try out for crew.
The first step for her was to see what she would do on the rowing machine. She would go for the standard distance of 2,000 meters.
The aim was to row the distance in 8 minutes, 40 seconds, or faster. Wilson got the job done in 7:59. While the machines don't actually "go" anywhere, a computer measures the approximate distance that each stroke would allow.
"The coaches told me that I did a good job," Wilson said. "A lot of girls said that I was awesome. I was pretty surprised."
Prior to that day, Wilson had never seen a rowing machine. Now, she's on the "erg" (short for ergometer) almost every day.
"I think playing basketball has helped in my doing well on the erg machine," Wilson said.
She also lifts weights. She says that the combination of lifting with being on the rowing machine as well as running and doing other conditioning for basketball, have all played a factor in her success.
While she's thrilled with both sports, it can create some nervous tension.
Like getting to the world championships.
The Wildcats finished up their game with Mitty on Feb. 11 then Wilson grabbed her bag and was out the door, on her way to the airport for a red-eye flight to Boston.
"My flight was scheduled to leave Oakland at 10:15," Wilson said. "Fortunately, I had only carry-on luggage."
As it turned out, the rushing was for naught as the flight was delayed.
She arrived in Boston early that morning, slept some, then attended a luncheon and a few meetings. The competition was set for the next day.
When she arrived at the Reggie Lewis Track and Athletic Center for the competition, she didn't have a few butterflies in her stomach. She had a swarm of them.
"They had the ergs all lined up in a row," Wilson said. "There was a crowd in front. That was very intimidating."
She was also close to Jitka Antosova of the Czech Republic, the favorite.
"She stands only 5-8," Wilson said. "But she is broad in the shoulders."
When the time came for her, she took her spot on the Concept II rower and waited for the command to start. All the waiting and anticipation came out at the start.
"I pulled the hardest that I ever have," Wilson said. "My coxswain told me to ease up just a bit. I had a lot of adrenaline."
As the race continued, the sights and sounds of the Lewis Center were disappearing.
"I forgot about everyone else who was there," Wilson said. "I couldn't hear the announcer or the crowd. I was just focusing on what I needed to do."
With her mind set only on rowing, she maintained an even pace.
When she had rowed 2,000 meters, she stopped to look at her time. She finished up in 6:58. She was second as Antosova won in 6:56.
Since Wilson was second-ranked, the final place was not that much of a surprise. But it was a relief.
"That was the hardest I have ever pulled," Wilson said.
The combination of the adrenaline rush with what she had done wore her out. It was a feeling that she had never experienced before.
"At the end, it was amazing how I felt," Wilson said. "I felt like I wanted to puke. But I wanted to celebrate as well."
Not only was the second-place finish something to celebrate, so was her time.
"At St. Ignatius, everyone makes a big deal out of breaking eight minutes," Wilson said. "I was able to break seven minutes."
A few weeks later, she had more to celebrate as the Wildcats claimed the Central Coast Section Division III title. It's the second girls' basketball title in school history.
"We accomplished something that only one other team had accomplished," Wilson said. "It's cool to know that we are the next team to do this."
Wilson shows no signs of slowing down on either sport. She's still in love with basketball and she's enjoying her time in crew as well.
Xeno Muller, Olympic gold and silver medalist, indoor rowing, rowing technique.
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