Bainbridge rowers win big at NW championships

Published 9:55 am Sunday, May 24, 2015

VANCOUVER, Washington  – Bainbridge rowers faced fierce competition at the Northwest Youth Championships last weekend, highlighted by four boats qualifying to  compete at USRowing Nationals in mid-June.

Competing in 52 qualifying heats and final races, nearly 100 Bainbridge rowers earned 19 medals at last weekend’s USRowing Youth Northwest Championships in Vancouver. Approximately 1,300 rowers from around the region raced in 633 races on Vancouver Lake in near perfect conditions over the course of the three-day regatta.

VARSITY BOYS

The Varsity Boys Lightweight Four fought their way down the 2000-meter course, holding on to third and crossing the finish line less than a second behind second-place Mount Baker.

Their efforts also earned them a bid to Nationals (Michael Aber, Schuyler Westerhout, David Goon, John Michael Najarian, cox Nathan Johnson).

Varsity Boys Konner Vander Leest and Michael Aber — who trained a short time in a new boat — rowed a pair (2-man boat without a coxswain) to a third-place finish, earning them a chance to compete at Nationals next month.

The second Varsity Boys Lightweight Four steadily moved up on the competition, then sprinted to second place just behind Everett, leaving third place Mount Baker several boat lengths behind (Kris Madsen, Andy Kruse, Sam Subbukumar, Trevor Maine, cox Keith Carlson).

VARSITY GIRLS

The Varsity Girls Lightweight Four rowed solidly and swiftly in the seeding heats.

On Sunday, they placed third in a field of six, securing a coveted spot at Nationals (Alexina Boudreaux-Allen, Tica Drury, Jemma Blazina, Sam Dore, cox Chrina Munn).

The Varsity Girls Lightweight Eight took silver in their final and qualified for Nationals (Emma Pazoff, Alexina Boudreaux-Allen, Anneke Karreman, Jessie Sheldon, Elsa Derrickson, Tica Drury, Jemma Blazina, Sam Dore, cox Chrina Munn).

Although two lightweight boats qualified, coaches determined only the Lightweight Four will represent Bainbridge at Nationals.

The second Varsity Girls Four battled it out through the course with a Whatcom crew during their final.

With 300 meters to go, Cox Sophie Bodlovich called a sprint, they “walked up” on the competition, and edged out Whatcom for bronze (Liz Fawley, Amalie Millerd, Abby Leigh, Eryn McCassey, cox Sophie Bodlovich).

Not to be outdone, the third Varsity Girls Eight showed their mettle and also picked up bronze in their final (Alex Costin, Mira Rosenkotz, MaryAnn Samson, Audrey Clarke, Sophie Townsend, Amina Lee, Jade Greer, Emma Pazoff, cox Sophie Bodlovich).

NOVICE BOYS

The Novice Boys completed a successful season with five medals at the regatta.

In the Novice Boys Four race, Pocock was closing in, but the Bainbridge boys kept up the pace and won decisively in open water ( Jackson Patrick, Conor Sweeney, Gavin Vielleux, Colin Vielleux, cox Sam Carson).

The second Novice Boys Four took gold in their race, beating second place Pocock by 20 seconds (Tim Strachan, John Merritt, Peter Van Ness, Aaron Lewis-Sandy, cox Grant Sheridan).

The third Novice Boys Four also medaled, snatching silver from a Sammamish crew just behind them (Luke Frank, Silvio Renna, Sean Williams, Alex Nelson, cox Sam Carson).

Despite several mishaps among several crews, Hudson Dore and Sean Williams persevered and earned silver in a double (scull).

In Sunday’s finals, the Novice Boys Eight battled it out with Pocock and Sammamish, nosing ahead in the last 500 meters and sailing across the finish line first in open water with a time of 6:31 (John Merritt, Tim Strachan, Aaron Lewis-Sandy, Hudson Dore, Jackson Patrick, Conor Sweeney, Gavin Vielleux, Colin Veilleux, cox Sam Carson).

The win was historic: It marked the first time in Bainbridge Island Rowing history that a boys open weight Eight (varsity or novice) has medaled at the NW Championships.

NOVICE GIRLS

The Novice Girls Four showed determination in their first NW Championships, taking second, beating the Sammamish crew by less than a second (Greta Huber, Olivia Pells, Julia Batson, Lydia Goss, cox Sophia Doane).

The second Girls Novice Fours both scored medals in their timed finals.  (Winning Silver: Emmalyne Takada, Ruby Bos, Alex Costin, Jillian Van Aken, cox Ellis Patrick. Winning Bronze: Shay Michel, Julia Lapin, Marina Bianchi, Ellie Genkinger, cox Olivia Zachariah).

Capping off the weekend, the Bainbridge crews rowed in the time-honored High School Eight races.

One Varsity Boys Eight earned silver (David Goon, Trevor Maine, Ethan Bloom, Scott Musselwhite, Sam Subbukumar, Schuyler Westerhout, Alex Larsen, John Michael Najarian, cox Nathan Johnson).

Another Varsity Boys Eight captured bronze (Lars Erickson, Zander Welch, Will de Rubertis, Konner Vander Leest, John Danielson, Cole Sander, Michael Aber, Dan Queen cox Keith Carlson).

Two Varsity Girls Eights also earned silver and bronze (Silver: Julia Denlinger, Emma Pazoff, MaryAnn Samson, Mira Rosenkotz, Rosie Brown, Abby Leigh, Elsa Godtfredson, Justeen Komok, cox Jessie Sheldon.  Bronze:  Tica Dury, Amina Lee, Liz Fawley, Eryn McCassey, Carly Millerd, Faith Eckford-Prosser, Alexina Boudreaux-Allen, Sam Dore, cox Sydney Gibbs).

“We trained hard all season refining technique and building endurance,”  said Head Coach Tim Goss. “The championship regatta is a terrific test of our mental and physical stamina. The rowers’ efforts reflect the intensity of commitment and drive of the Bainbridge High School team.  In the next three weeks, seven boys and five girls will be taking their efforts to the next level as they prepare for the National Championships in Florida.”