15 June 2022

Thirty-four national titles were up for grabs on Sunday, the final day of racing at the 2022 USRowing Youth National Championships at Nathan Benderson Park in Sarasota, Florida, USRowing writes in a press release.

Presented by Broadridge Financial Solutions Inc., this year’s event was the largest ever, featuring more than 3,500 high school and junior athletes from 210 programs.

In one of the closest races of the day, The Winsor School chased down Blair Academy and St. Andrew Rowing Club in the final few strokes to win the gold medal in the women’s youth four with coxswain, clocking a time of 7:12.72 to finish just 0.42 seconds ahead of Blair. St. Andrew took a slight lead off the start and still held a one-second lead as the crews hit the final 500 meters, but The Winsor School boat of coxswain Isabella Liu, Imogen Cabot, Olivia Hochberg, Evelyn Wells, and Emeline Daley used their sprint to overtake St. Andrew and Blair as the crews hit the finish line. Blair Academy took the silver medal, edging out St. Andrew by just 0.15 seconds.

“When we crossed the finish line, we didn’t know we were in first. We thought we hadn’t won, so when we found out, we were so, so excited,” Imogen Cabot said. “This is our coach’s (Lisa Stone) last season; she’s been with us for 24 years. She’s like a family member to me, and I’m just so happy we were able to have this big last hurrah for her. It was such a fun race. It was so fun to have that final sprint, so fun to be so close for the entire time. It just makes me love rowing.”

Less than a second separated the top two boats in the men’s youth four. Marina Aquatic Center led through the 1,500-meter mark before Oakland Strokes took the victory at the line. The Oakland crew of Thomas Igo, Ian Doud, Miles Camp, and Max Cole finished with a time of 6:19.24, about a deck ahead of the Marina crew, which finished with a time of 6:19.89.

Chicago Rowing Foundation held off Greenwich Crew and RowAmerica Rye to win the gold medal in the women’s youth eight. The crew of Brianna Joe, Nora Goodwillie, Ashley Whipple, Lily Pember, Regan Mary Cronin, Abigail Diemer, Maeve Heneghan, Isabella Korellis, and Zola Mininger-Clark held the lead at each of the 500-meter splits, with RowAmerica Rye and Greenwich just off the pace. At the line, Chicago crossed in a 6:28.07 to finish 1.49 seconds ahead of Greenwich in the silver-medal position. RowAmerica Rye took the bronze.

In the men’s youth eight, Greenwich took home the gold by just over two seconds ahead of Newport Aquatic Center and Sarasota Crew. The Greenwich boat of coxswain Elenna Seguin, William Drinkall, Maxwell Raabe, Andrew Cavanaugh, Maximilian Willott, Willem Lebrun, Brandon Mark, Harry Waters, and Eric Genden finished with a time of 5:48.53. Newport finished a bowball ahead of Sarasota, clocking a 5:50.68 to Sarasota’s 5:50.69.

In the women’s youth single sculls, Los Gatos Rowing Club’s Meena Baher took home the gold medal by a little over five seconds. Baher, who also rowed in the final of the women’s quadruple sculls, took nearly a four-second lead off the start and cruised to the victory. Baher finished with a time of 7:51.29, with Oak Neck Academy’s Catherine Berry winning silver in a 7:56.39. Waterford Crew’s Ana Holtey won the bronze medal.

“It was great; I executed it almost exactly as I planned,” Baher said. “Especially right off the start, I knew I wanted to get that lead early. Throughout the season, it was just a lot of trust – trust in my coaches and in the work I was putting in. Even in the moments I doubted myself, it was all for this end goal. To be here holding this trophy is unreal.”

Rowing Club of the Woodlands’ Devan Godfrey won gold in the men’s youth single sculls. Godfrey defeated Charlotte Youth Rowing’s Henry LaPage by just over two seconds, with Gainesville Area Rowing’s Andrew Furlow finishing third. Godfrey clocked a 7:11.87 to earn the gold medal.

In the aged-based events, the women’s U16 eight saw Marin Rowing Association claim the gold medal ahead of RowAmerica Rye by less than 0.6 seconds. Marin’s boat of coxswain Avery Harries-Jones, Ava Brooks, Brooke Ellington, Cecilia Ferris, Beatrice Knight, Ashlyn Byous, Lily Richards, Beatrice Revitch, and Sylvia Popper finished with a time of 6:58.26, with RowAmerica clocking a 6:58.80. New Trier High School won the bronze medal.

Less than two-tenths separated the top two boats in the men’s u17 eight, with Marin Rowing Association besting St. Joseph’s Prep by 0.17 seconds. Marin’s crew of coxswain George Hamill, Hugh Ryan, Ryan Jorgensen, Bailey Foster, Nikolas Angus, Joseph Bendik, Alexander Coyle, Jack Voges, and Azi Jordan-McDaniels finished with a time of 6:07.28 to take home the gold medal. Sarasota Crew won the bronze medal.

For a complete coverage of the 2022 USRowing Youth National Championships, please click here.