Easy, breezy?
Not really, but no matter. Bainbridge Island crew teams powered through tough winds to capture gold, silver and bronze medals last weekend in the Covered Bridge Regatta in Eugene, Ore.
More than 100 Bainbridge junior and master rowers took on teams from Washington, Oregon, California, Arizona and Utah in 40 races on Dexter Lake.
The teams competed under challenging conditions; strong winds led to the suspension of races on Saturday for nearly two hours. When weather conditions stabilized, race organizers reopened the course and crew teams fiercely competed for medals before dark settled in.
By the end of the day, the Bainbridge Island Rowing womens juniors junior varsity 8+ and two womens junior novice 4+ teams had earned gold, and three masters teams also took first place (womens masters 4+; mens masters 4+; and mixed masters 8+).
Several other Bainbridge teams placed second and third, including a seasoned womens JV 8+ that gave a strong performance and earned a bronze.
In Sunday’s races, the weather held and the Bainbridge mens juniors varsity 8+ captured a first-place finish, despite strong headwinds. Both the mens juniors JV 8+ and the mens juniors novices 8+ came in second place.
The women’s masters 8+ also earned a silver.
And for the Bainbridge masters, everyone who raced brought home at least one medal. Across seven races there were three firsts, two seconds, one fourth and one fifth. The juniors also coxed half the master races.
“It’s our second time here in Eugene and our first 2K of the season,” said Bainbridge Head Coach Tim Goss. “The kids rowed quite well and we had strong finishes.”
“We’re midway through the season and are on track for our best racing in five to eight weeks for the regional championships,” he added.
Fifteen collegiate teams also competed in the regatta, including the University of Washington, Western Washington University, the University of Oregon and Stanford.
The regatta, sponsored by the Oregon Association of Rowers and University of Oregon Rowing, included
39 teams and 94 races. Dexter Lake is the home course for the University of Oregon and Oregon State University womens crew teams. The juniors races were 2K in length; masters were 1K.
COVERED BRIDGE REGATTA, EUGENE, OREGON
GIRLS NOVICE TEAM RACE RESULTS
Gold/First Place: Women’s Junior Novice A4+, Katrina Leyh, Rosie Browin, Abby Leigh, Nanna Christensen, Chrina Munn
Women’s Junior Novice C4+, Mira Rosenkotz, Anneke Karreman, Jemma Blazina, Tica Drury, Aubrie Rice
Silver/Second Place: Women’s Junior Novice A8+, Katrina Leyh, Nanna Christenensen, Abby Leigh, Rosie Browin, Maddie Haines, Faith Eckford-Prossor, Julia Denlinger, Tina Petersen and Sydney Gibbs
Bronze/Third place: Women’s Junior Novice B4+, Julia Denlinger, Faith Eckford-Prossor, Maddie Haines, Tina Petersen and Sydney Gibbs
Women’s Junior Novice B8+, Mira Rosenkotz, Anne Christina Ruud, Jemma Blazina, Emily Jernigan, Elsa Godtfredsen, Tica Drury, Jessie Sheldon and Anneke Karreman
MENS VARSITY AND JV RACE RESULTS
Gold/First place: Mens Varsity 8+, Shane McMahon, Bryson Allen, Keegan Dymoke, Walker Hauptman, Harrison King, Alex Derry, Nick Entress, Zach Langford and Morgan Spray
Silver: Mens JV 8+, Keith Carlson, Thomas Musselwhite, Jesse Rosenthal, Nick Tolley, Henry Lant, Nathan Bombardier, Josh Feikes and Tyler Sheldon
Bronze: Mens Varsity 4, Keith Carlson, Bryson Allen, Harrison King, Walker Hauptman and Nick Entress
