Raina Kuzemka ’20, Lola Quigley ’20:
The Girls’ Athlete of the Month for March is Josie Konopka ‘18. As one of the Co-Captains of the girls’ crew team, Konopka is beginning her fourth and final season this year. Konopka has come a long way since starting crew. Konopka explains, “I did a learn-to-row camp when I was in eighth grade, and then I did some summer rowing before freshman year, then I started freshman year.” Konopka will be rowing at the University of Pennsylvania next year.
Mrs. Molly Konopka, the head crew coach, shares her memories of her daughter’s first race. “Josie’s first actual race for Episcopal Academy was in a novice single, and she actually won that race, and then promptly flipped at the finish line in front of the entire crowd. So part of her history is that everyone on Boathouse Row knows who she is because she is the one who flipped at the finish line.”
Apparently, Josie recovered. Konopka explains, “She stroked the novice eight her freshman year that just missed winning the City Championships by two tenths of a second. As a sophomore, she was in the varsity quad that came in second at nationals. Last year she was in the varsity quad, and they had a really strong boat but they ended up catching a crab in the semifinals of the Stotesbury and didn’t progress to the finals,” Mrs. Konopka explains.
Mrs. Konopka considers Josie’s best quality to be that “she demands a lot of herself, and that then encourages that same self-discipline in other people in her boat.” Mrs. Konopka also shares that “Josie is very responsible with her school work and other obligations, so she has always been very good at being able to schedule and hold herself to a schedule, which is one of the challenges that rowing presents.” Finally, Mrs. Konopka adds that “She is pretty rational, you know, she’s not a drama queen.”
Konopka’s teammate, Brooke Kraftson ‘19, states, “Josie is an inspiring captain. She comes to practice every day with a great mindset and a goal to make the team improve. She carefully critiques everyone in order to better their technique and has a motto of “last one, fast one” where she gives everything she has on our last rep.” Rachel Barber ‘19 adds, “Last season, I had the opportunity to row with Josie and witness her positive attitude. I was anxious about being in a varsity boat for the first time, but she always made sure to check in on me and make me feel included whether it was dinner at Minella’s or watching the school musical as a boat. She always gives one hundred percent on and off the water.”
Josie has her own idea of her role on the team, which she explained, saying, “I think as a senior I just have to kind of be an example for the underclassmen and keep them going, because it can get really hard sometimes, and it’s my job to help everyone out with that and make it seem less bad than it is.”
Commenting on the upcoming season, Josie feels good about the upcoming season and notes, “Everyone worked really hard during the winter, and everyone is working really hard on the water now, and everyone wants to get better and make a positive impact on the boats they are in. I think that we could have a pretty successful season if we all keep trying to improve every practice.”