Everyday Champion - Claire Hanway
Senior Oregon State crew member Claire Hanway has been rowing for over seven years. In high school her team won gold at the NW Regional Championships and now Hanway provides direction for Oregon State’s varsity 8. OSU finished fifth last year at the Pac-10 Championships and this year is on its way to achieving even greater results. Already with a big win against rowing powerhouse Washington, the Oregon State women’s crew team has finished 1st or 2nd in its last five competitions. Claire took a moment to talk about her time in and out of the water.
Q. You have been growing since high school. How did you get into the sport so early?
I started in rowing the summer after my freshman year of high school.
My dad had a friend who had coxed for OSU while he was in college years before, and he expressed to my dad that he thought I would be a great coxswain. So when I found out about the opportunity I gave it a shot and I stuck with it.
Q. What are the challenges with a sport like rowing that you don't find in other sports?
Well, I think that the challenge of rowing is working entirely as a team. In team field sports they work as a team but still have individual roles. But with rowing you are all in one boat doing the same action and trying to work as a unit to move ahead of the competition without any individual roles.
Q. Describe what your position in the boat entails.
As the coxswain I steer the boat, call out the race plan, critique technique, and motivate the rowers as best I can.
Q. What is your major and what field are you looking to go into?
I majored in EXSS my freshman and sophomore years, but for the past two years I have been majoring in HDFS. I enjoy the classes in HDFS, but I am not planning on a career in it. My plans are to go onto nursing school and ultimately be a nurse practitioner.
Q. Why did you choose that field?
I want to be a nurse because of the benefits and challenges found from working with people. There will be times where I will really enjoy working with a patient, but there will be times were a patient will push my nerves and my abilities. I also like that it is hands on and that I would physically be helping others.
Q. What do you do to keep yourself on schedule with school?
I am always thinking ahead to what I have coming up and what I need to get done and by when. To keep this process organized I write a lot of lists and cross things off as I complete them. But beyond organization, my drive to do well in my classes and in rowing is what pushes me to get my work done.
Q. This is your last year, what has been the highlight of your time on the Oregon State crew team?
Over four years there have been a lot of highlights that I will always remember, but I think our race in the grand final at PAC-10s last year was incredible. We executed our race plan very well and we were able to beat the University of Washington, a team I had never beat, and OSU's varsity had not beat them since 1980. It was a great accomplishment for our boat and our team to break that barrier.
Q. Do you have any goals you have set for your team for the rest of the season?
I want our team to keep executing the race and getting to the finish line as fast as we can. If we do this I think we can go to nationals this year.
