Rowan Croak '24 Recruiting Profile

I HAVE BEEN ACCEPTED TO PURDUE UNIVERSITY FOR ENGINEERING WITH A GOAL OF PURSUING AEROSPACE. I HAVE BEEN RECRUITED TO & WILL BE SIGNING WITH PURDUE CREW! 

I am competing in my last Spring season  of my Senior year at St. John’s Jesuit High School and my 8th season as a member of the Varsity Towing team.  SJJ has an excellent tradition of rowing and has won Midwest Championships, placed well at Head of the Charles, and has developed dozens of collegiate and a few US Team / Olympic caliber rowers (Don Wyper and Josh Konieczny - both from Dartmouth, Seth Parsons - Adrian College). I was introduced to rowing by my father who also rowed for my school and 4 years at the College of the Holy Cross. I have done some 1-week summer rowing camps through Toledo Rowing Club before H.S. to get introductory water time. During COVID, my team was limited to land training, thus I enjoyed bonding with teammates and getting into shape.  Once US Rowing restarted racing during a shortened 5 week 2021 Spring season, I quickly gained experience coxing in which I was able to navigate a Novice 4 and 8 boat to two wins, one at the Laddie Cup at Orchard Lake Saint Mary’s in MI.  I earned Varsity numbers my Freshman year and won an award for the most Outstanding Performance as a Novice Coxswain. I attended Navy’s rowing camp summer of 2021 and Sparks Coxswain Camp recently in Nassau, Bahamas with instruction from Kristen Kit, 2020 Canadian Gold medalist in the Women's 8. Both camps taught me much more about being an effective coxswain, strategist, and motivator. My Sophomore Fall, my Novice 4 placed 3rd in the famed Speakmon Regatta's Open category. I was given the St. Alphonsus Rodriguez Award for team dedication, was named an All Academic for my conference both in Fall 2021, and the entirety of 2022, and earned my 1st Varsity letter. My Junior Fall, I coxed a JV 4 in the Perrysburg Fall Invitational to a 1st Place finish in a large field by passing 3 boats and coming in over 1 minute 20 seconds ahead of 2nd place! The next weekend I coxed Novice 8 and Novice 4 boats to 1st & 5th Place finishes over a large Midwest field at the Speakmon Regatta. My Junior Spring, despite a smaller team rebuilding from COVID, SJJ Crew did phenomenally well at the 56 team Midwest Championships with boats coxed by myself capturing 10th in the Junior 4, 18th in the Varsity 4, and 19th in the Novice 4. This was the best showing from my team in 6 years and we will be invited in the Fall to the Rustbelt Catholic Championships for the top 5 fastest Catholic crews in the Midwest.  I am consistently improving and becoming a more effective coxswain, recently received my 3rd Varsity Letter, and am a Coxswain Captain. All of this hard work culminated in a bid to the 2023 Head of the Charles Regatta in the youth eight. We competed very well against 90 other teams from around the world. 

As far as goals with rowing, I am being trained as a coxswain because of my boating knowledge and leadership skills.  I am earning the respect of my teammates by being involved in all physical workouts and by providing positive enthusiasm. I am very dedicated to rowing and do not miss practices and workouts.  I take my responsibility as a coxswain seriously in terms of safety of my boat mates, the encouragement I provide to win, and the preparation I undertake to get ready for races through self analysis and video review. I love using the GoPro to film SJJ Crew and make exciting movies! My coaches have noticed this commitment and consequently, I was moved up to a few Varsity races earlier than expected..  

I have had a passion for water sports my whole life. I grew up on the water, attending 8 years at the prestigious Camp Sea Gull in NC for boating / sailing, achieving  my US Powerboating license by age 11 and Master Pilot high rank by 16. I won awards for leadership and teamwork while at camp. I have extensive understanding of boat navigation and current.   My little brother and I saved up for our own Boston Whaler that we maintain ourselves and use quite often with our trusty Black Labrador, Talullah.

In 2022, I achieved the rank of Eagle Scout and my project help to create a fish habitat and native water garden ecosystem for a Toledo Metroparks pond for new anglers. I am my Troop’s Outdoor Ethics Guide which ensures safety and environmental responsibility on all Troop outings. I recently completed 12 scuba dives at Sea Base and hiked 70+ miles at Philmont in 2022. Boy Scouts has taught me leadership, self- sufficiency, and diligence with following through for my fellow scouts.

I finished my Junior year with a 4.33 GPA and a challenging Junior academic schedule. I was admitted to the Magis Honor Society that allows me to map my own educational path and requires spiritual service, volunteering, and a 4-year capstone project. I was inducted into the National Honor Society my Junior Fall. My course load included 4 honors and 2 AP courses this past year.

In the Summer of 2022, I attended National Youth Leadership Training through Scouting, and leadership / engineering camps at John Hopkins, University of Dayton, and Cal Poly Tech to further explore my interests in this vast field. This past summer, I attended coxswain camp at the University of Washington under US Olympic gold medalist, Mary Whipple, whom I communicate with to this day for coaching tips. I have completed my Magis Society capstone project by constructing a portable solar powered water collecting/purifying hydroponic vegetable tower to combat food insecurity in food deserts. I also completed a 1 month Engineering internship with the Ohio Department of Transportation’s Bridge Division.  Lastly, my brother and I started a summer business called Croakie Boys Powerwashing & Cleanup. 

I would like to attend college for engineering and aeronautics, and would love to be part of a rowing team. It would be a wonderful privilege to obtain a scholarship and participate in the brotherhood and friendship of being in a school and on a team that is physically and mentally fit.  I feel in showing interest in me as a student and athlete, you get the navigation skills of an experienced competitive boater, the leadership skills and academic tenacity of an Eagle Scout, the moral integrity of the Jesuit mantra “Men for others”, and the loyalty of a Black Labrador to carry on my family's tradition of rowing in college.