Branford's Poryanda, A True Novice, Thriving At Holy Cross Crew

Sam Poryanda never rowed while attending Branford High School. But in just his first year in college, he is excelling at Holy Cross.

The freshman is just one of two first-year rowers to be in the college’s varsity boat, according to Telegram.com. Before, freshmen were not allowed to row varsity, but a new rule now allows them to and Poryanda is taking advantage.

“I wanted to come into college pursuing something that’s challenging,” Poryanda told the Telegram.com. “I’ve loved it since day one. (Fellow freshman) Connor (Dilworth) and I ended up getting a shot at the varsity boat, and we’ve been advancing a lot since then, and we’re hoping to have a good race this weekend.” 

Instead of crew, Poryanda, who is 6’5”, played basketball and ran track at Branford High School, according to Telegram.com. Poryanda and Dilworth are the first two freshmen to row for Holy Cross’s varsity boat, after they posted some of the best scores by any freshmen on the rowing machine, according to the news site.

“It’s very impressive for a true novice walk-on to make the Eastern Sprints varsity,” Holy Cross crew coach Todd Pearson told Telegram.com. “It’s a testament to Sam’s hard work. Clearly, he has great physical gifts, but I think maybe more important is the mind-set that comes with being an athlete — how to be a good teammate, how to push hard, how to compete. Those are things that translate across all sports. He clearly had that, and now he’s applying it to rowing.”