Senior Spotlight: Brendan Wren, Crew
5/9/2020
A four-year member of the Owls, Wren, who hails from Wilmington, Del., made an immediate impact his freshman year and continued that upward trajectory his final three seasons in Cherry and White. As a rookie, Wren's highly decorated freshman eight boat won gold at the Murphy Cup and SIRA Regattas plus Dad Vail and Bergen Cup silver. As a sophomore, he was part of a historical year for the Owls, earning Dad Vail gold in the 2V8, competing at the IRA National Championships, and winning a spot on the Henley Royal Regatta roster. As a junior and senior, he was one of the team's top rowers, competing in the Owls' nationally recognized heavyweight varsity eight boat, which contributed to Temple's 2019 Dad Vail Overall Points Trophy. Wren graduated in May from the Fox School of Business with a degree in Supply Chain Management.
Owlsports.com caught up with Wren, as he finished his degree at Temple.
In the book of your life, what’s the title of the Temple chapter? “Good, good, good!” The phrase that Coach Perkins always says. And what the rest of the team would say whether they meant it or it was sarcastic. It got us through a lot of good times and a lot of bad times
What’s the best part about being a member of the crew team at Temple/what will you miss the most? The best part of being on the team is absolutely the camaraderie and just how close we all are as teammates. You’re able to make the really tough moments a little less tough because 50+ of your closest friends are going through it with you.
Rowing is like no other sport in that you are racing towards the finish line facing backward, so the team in the lead can see everyone else. The feeling of accomplishment after a 2000 meter race is indescribable. At SIRA as a freshman, in the final, we won by 13 seconds and watched the rest of the race unfold behind us. It was the first time where I understood that feeling. Where the cumulative work you put in shows. You’re able to separate yourself from the race. You’re able to watch people race for second.
I will miss not having a senior season, and not being able to show our accomplishments and all the work that has gone into THIS. However, I am eternally grateful for the many lessons I learned about discipline and character through being on this team whether things were going GOOD OR BAD.
What is your favorite memory of being a student-athlete at Temple? I think there are a ton of memories, practices, and races that meant a lot to me. Our trip to Henley, after winning Vails and going to the IRA was something that I will never forget, an amazing accomplishment for our team.
Two of my favorite memories were racing at Head of the Charles because of my sister. When I was looking at places to row in college, I told my twin sister that I wanted to race at HOCR so she could come to see me race - it took until senior year to get there but I did it. The other one that is really up there for me is March 12, 2020, our last official practice. It was a brisk Thursday morning and we were out on the water by ourselves. Our rivals, Drexel, found us and asked if we could piece them. Not ones to back down from a challenge, we obliged and absolutely crushed them. Our last piece against them was The Wire - a 400 meter stretch at the end of the racecourse on the Schuylkill - and we proved that Temple owns The Wire. That to me is the culmination of being a Temple guy. Being able to just go for it any time, anywhere, no matter the conditions, no matter what.
If you could give advice to your freshman year self, what would it be? I would say live it up, enjoy every moment. Don’t be afraid to talk to anyone and ask questions because a lot of different people can give you good advice to help you get through things. I can think of tons of times where upperclassmen reached out to me to guide me. For no benefit of their own, but because of the family culture that the team instilled in you.
Where do you see yourself in five years? Honestly, I am not sure but in five years I would like to be using my degree to make a difference in the world. I would also like to be able to use rowing to give back to others and teach the many valuable lessons that rowing has to offer. But I would also like to be able to stay close and see the team and my brothers grow.
First and foremost, I would like to thank my family for always being there and being able to talk to me through the good and the bad. I would like to thank my Dad for taking the photos and videos of the team. I would like to thank the entire coaching staff and Coach Perkins especially, for saying “Well if you do end up coming here we’ll see what you can do." And I would like to give a special thanks to Scott Waters for being someone I can always talk to - coaching, advice, and putting things into perspective for me. And lastly, I would like to thank all of my teammates who made this entire journey so memorable.Brendan Wren, Temple Crew Class of 2020
