Editor, Gazette-Journal:

We love to watch sports. We imagine ourselves dunking a basketball or hitting a home run while watching snippets on sports shows and highlight reels. And when we inevitably come up several feet short of the rim or watch a softball in the batting cage whiz by, we stand in greater awe of those that perform such feats. We take pride in “our” major league team winning the World Series and cheer for “our” team playing in the Super Bowl.

But WE, as Mathews citizens, now have another team that has risen to such great heights from OUR county. They will not make a Top 10 clip. They will not have a parade for their homecoming. They will quietly and tirelessly return to the waters of the East River, and continue their business of training their bodies, fine-tuning their skills, and pulling their sculls.

Three weeks ago, the Mathews Boys’ Senior 4 pulled off one of the most dazzling feats in their sport. They won their category for only the...