For any organization or sports program to rise to national prominence can be a long, grueling endeavor. In the case of the McLean High School Crew Club, this feat was accomplished in six short years.

In the fall of 1996, a small group of McLean High School parents and students formed the club. In a totally self-funded project, these energetic and forward-thinking people (including original board members Joan Dunn, Alex Nikol, and Linda Walsh) borrowed equipment, found a volunteer coach-Chris Gordon, a former scholastic rower who had been head coach of the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill varsity women's team-and set out on the Potomac River in the spring of 1997 under the McLean Crew Club banner.

By 1999, the club, still a band of volunteer parents and committed student-athletes, was ready to venture beyond the National Capital Area regatta circuit and entered its first Stotesbury Cup regatta on the Schuylkill River in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Dating back to 1926, the Stotesbury Cup is the oldest scholastic sport competition in the United States and draws the top crews from the eastern and southern parts of the country with more than 135 teams and 3,300 rowers attending the event annually.

In the spring of 2000, still using leased and borrowed equipment, McLean Crew had obtained varsity status and was ready to leave its mark on the national rowing landscape. In May of 2000, the Men's Senior 4 boat won the state championship, captured the bronze medal in their event at Stotesbury, and-on the following weekend, at the Scholastic Rowing Association of America (SRAA) National Championship in St. Andrews, Delaware-turned their effort into the gold medal in their event. The Washington Post named Giuseppe Lanzone an All Met Rower and gave an Honorable Mention to Sam Stitt, who later returned to McLean Crew as a coach in the summer of 2004. (Both Sam and Giuseppe have rowed for the U.S. Senior National Team, most recently at the 2006 World Rowing Championships in Eton, Great Britain, where Giuseppes boat, the mens 8+, won bronze medals and Sams boat, the mens quad, came in second in the B final.) The Post also selected McLean Crew's Men's Varsity 4 as a Best Boat in 2000.

In 2001, McLean Crew continued its excellence on the national level and entered six boats in the Stotesbury regatta. Five of the six boats advanced through the time trials and semifinal heats to reach finals. The Men's Senior Quad and the Men's Junior 4 earned silver medals in their events, while the Women's Junior 4 captured a silver medal, edged out of the gold by only two-tenths of a second, and the Women's Senior 4 finished fourth. Although similar successes were anticipated in the national competition, inclement weather forced cancellation of some of the final races, and only the Women's Junior 4 medalled with a bronze. The Washington Post named Giuseppe Lanzone and Katherine Ramos All Met Rowers and gave an Honorable Mention to James O'Gara, while also selecting the Women's First 4 as a Best Boat.

In 2002, McLean Crew reached unparallel heights. In local events the team captured 24 medals in 29 events. At the Virginia State Championships and the National Capital Area Scholastic Rowing Association (NCASRA) Championships, three boats-the Men's Senior 4, Men's Junior Double, and Women's Senior Quad-captured gold medals. At Stotesbury, the Men's Senior 4 and Women's Senior Quad again won gold medals. On May 25, 2002, the Women's Senior Quad took McLean Crew to a gold medal at the SRAA National Championships held in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, capping their undefeated season. The Men's Senior 4 took a silver medal and the Men's Junior Double took home a bronze. The young women of the Senior Quad were invited to participate in the Royal Henley Regatta in England, the most prestigious event in the sport, where they represented not only McLean HS and Virginia, but the entire United States. The Washington Post named Garrett Hanley, Mario Lanzone, and Emily Collins All Met Rowers and gave Honorable Mentions to Matt Cranford and Clare Wallace. The Post also selected the Men's Senior 4 as a Best Boat.

The 2003 season proved to be another successful year. At the Mid Atlantic Indoor Erg Sprints, the McLean Crew captured three gold and two silver medals. At the Virginia State Championship, the Men's Senior 4 won the silver metal. The Women's Lightweight 4 and the Men's Senior 4 won gold metals at the NCASRA Championship. In the NCASRA Lower Boat Championship, McLean won the Women's Novice 8 and Women's Novice Lightweight 8 events. The Men's Senior 4 won silver medals at Stotesbury and the SRAA National Championships in New Jersey. The Washington Post named Garrett Hanley and Christopher McCook All Met Rowers and gave Honorable Mentions to Maria Micocci and Lina Mizerek. The Post also selected McLean Crew's Women's Lightweight 4 and Men's Senior 4 as Best Boats.

In 2004, McLean Crew experienced continuing growth. At the Mid Atlantic Erg Sprints, team members captured four gold medals (Novice Youth Men, Novice Youth Women, Junior Lightweight Women, and Parent/Child Relay), six silver medals (Youth Women, High School Mixed Relay, 30-Minute Row, and High School Double Slide-Women), six bronze medals (Youth Men, Lightweight Women Coxswain, High School Double Slide-Men, and High School Double Slide- Women), and the High School Team Trophy. At the CRASH-B World Indoor Rowing Championships in Boston, Maria Micocci won the bronze medal for Lightweight Women 18 and Under. The Women's Second 4 won a gold medal at the NCASRA Rowing Championships, but the team had less success at Stotesbury that year. In June, the Washington Post named Maria Micocci an All Met Rower and gave Honorable Mentions to Brendan McCook and Lina Mizerek.

In 2005, the club once again began the season by winning the High School Team Trophy at the Mid Atlantic Indoor Erg Sprints-for the fifth time in six years-along with one gold medal (Youth Novice Men), five silver medals (High School Double Slide-Men, Men Coxswain, Youth Women, and Novice Youth Women), and ten bronze medals (Youth Men, HS Mixed Relay-Men, HS Double Slide-Men, Novice Youth Women, High School Mixed Relay-Women, and HS Double Slide-Women). In the NCASRA Lower Boat Championship in May, McLean earned a silver medal in the Freshman Women's event and two bronze medals (Freshman Men and Men's Novice 4 events).

Last year, due in part to rules changes, the club did not win the High School Team Trophy, but team members did win 14 individual medals including one gold medal, four silver medals, and nine bronze medals at the Mid Atlantic Erg Sprints on February 4. In May, the club won two State Championship trophies and gold medals (women s lightweight 8+coxswain and men s lightweight 4+) as well as two silver medals (mens quad and womens second 4+) at the Virginia Scholastic Rowing Championships. The State Champion womens lightweight 8+ also won bronze medals at Stotesbury. Six boats went on to compete at the Scholastic Rowing Association of America Championships in Saratoga Springs, New York.  And, as a sign of the clubs promising future, the womens freshman 4+ had an undefeated season and earned a trophy and gold medals at the Ted Phoenix Lower Boat Championships.

In June 2006, the Washington Post named Dana Maas an All Met Rower, gave Honorable Mentions to Brendan McCook and Roshauna Singh, and selected McLeans womens lightweight 8+ and the mens lightweight 4+ as Best Boats.

McLean Crew rowers have gone on to experience continuing scholastic and athletic success in college. Recent graduates of the program have attended or are now attending Georgetown University, James Madison University, Marietta College, Michigan State University, Temple University the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, the University of Tennessee, the University of Virginia, the University of Washington, the University of Wisconsin, the U.S. Naval Academy, Washington State University, Yale University, and other well-known schools.

McLean Crew looks forward to continuing growth and success as we embark on our twelfth regatta season in 2009.