“We had that tough Sprints race freshman year where we finished second to Brown, and I think that’s kind of been the motivating force for how successful we’ve been since then,” he said. “I don’t know what would have happened if we hadn’t lost that race.”

But junior David Fuller, DiSanto’s high school teammate in rowing and wrestling, said motivation has never been an issue for Harvard’s captain.

“In wrestling we always ran stairs,” Fuller reminisced. “If he ever got passed, [he’d] go berserk and end up beating the guy who passed him. That competitiveness and work ethic is really what I noticed in him.”

The rest of his teammates took notice too, electing him captain.

“I think he’s been a great captain,” Crimson coach Harry Parker said. “He’s been very attentive to what the squad is doing. He sets a great example in his own training. He has a great work ethic, and he’s been just a very thoughtful captain.”

“It really helps when the captain’s logging in the extra miles,” Fuller said.

Those extra miles have helped DiSanto earn a spot at the prestigious California Rowing Club, where he will train with the hopes of making the national team.

The trip across the country will be quite the change for DiSanto, but it’s unlikely the California weather will make the proud Bostonian forget his origins.

“That was a big part of choosing Harvard...staying local,” he said. “Being able to stay close to my parents and family, staying close to my high school—I’m pretty invested in it.”

And Richards won’t forget the accomplishments of DiSanto and the Crimson’s other Belmont Hill graduates: “Basically, they have made me unbelievably proud.”

—Staff writer Christina C. McClintock can be reached at ccmcclin@fas.harvard.edu.