New Trier rowers dominate Crystal Lake regatta

New Trier rowers dominated the Greater Chicago Junior Rowing Championships in Crystal Lake on May 2, just one week before heading to the upcoming Midwest Championships near Columbus, OH on May 9-10. New Trier crews came home with the all points trophy for both boys and girls.

“Our crews are motivated to work hard leading up to the Midwest Scholastic Championship Regatta,” said Coach Rose Marchuk. “I expect lots of fast times by New Trier crews and great results.”

Under picture-perfect sunny skies and a light breeze, New Trier athletes rowed the 1,850-meter course against teams from the Chicago area, including Loyola and St. Ignatius, as well as out-of-state teams. Ten New Trier crews won first place medals, eight won second place and four won third place medals. The cheering crowds on shore brought binoculars to see and cowbells to signal support, while a bagpiper played nearby.

“This regatta showed the depth of our squad,” said Coach Nate Kelp-Lenane. “We were able to win all the (8-person boats) our squad was entered in and medal in both Lightweight and Varsity (4-person boats). It was a good step on the way to Midwest Championships.”

Complimenting the girls’ technique and conditioning, Coach Marchuk said, “It was great to see the girls put out a fast race and sweep the top 3 place finishes in the Varsity 8+ category, with the Varsity 8+ winning and followed by the 2nd Varsity and Lightweight 8s.” Marchuk noted the teams would be put to the test at Midwests when they compete to qualify for the Scholastic Rowing Nationals to be held in Camden, NJ on May 22-23.

Varsity boys in the 8-boat were able to get their bow ahead in the first 300 meters of the race, and controlled the lead from there. The boys’ Junior Varsity 8, which Coach Kelp-Lenane described as having “a lot of power, but very rough on the water,” had a tense heat but took an early lead in the final race. “With a bit more length and patience, this crew has another gear to go for speed.”

Novice boys performed well in some thrilling races, coming within seconds of their closest competitors. “In a super exciting and tight race, where we were down a full boat length, we managed to catch and pass Milwaukee’s A boat in a final sprint, finishing in first place with time 6:14.9 and leaving Milwaukee’s A boat 0.7 seconds behind us,” Coach Josip Stolar said.

Novice girls battled fatigue and some difficult conditions in the water to capture medals in several races. “The Novice A eight (Freshman 8) had a significant lead in both heat and final, although since they had all rowed three races prior to the final, they were pretty tired!” Coach Hope Poor said. “Overall it was a very good day with good spring racing experience and good conditioning for those who rowed 4 races.”

In addition, two boys’ Lightweight boats, one 8 and one 4, both won their races. Coach Matt Clark said, “This was the first time the lightweight 8 has raced in a true light category against another lightweight crew this spring. They have been racing competitively with heavier and bigger boats from all different squads all spring.”

The medals won were:

1st place: Mens Varsity 8+ (A)

Womens Lightweight 4+ (A)

Mens Lightweight 8+

Womens Varsity 4+ (B)

Womens Varsity 8+ (A)

Womens Novice 4+ (A)

Mens Lightweight 4+ (B)

Mens JV8+ (A)

Womens Novice 8+ (B)

Mens Novice 8+ (A)

2nd place: Womens Lightweight 4+ (B)

Womens Varsity 4+ (A)

Mens Varsity 4+ (A)

Womens JV8+

Womens Varsity 8+ (B)

Womens Novice 4+ (B)

Mens Novice 4+ (A)

Mens JV8+ (B)

3rd place: Womens JV4+

Womens Lightweight 8+

Womens Novice 8+ (A)

Mens Novice 8+ (B)

The rowers participating were:

Womens Varsity 4+

c Talia LaSchiazza

4 Katie Schretter

3 Lauren Johnson

2 Bella Miller

1 Mata Stilp

c Julia Bergquist

4 Menley Denham

3 Carolyne Newman

2 Maddie Cottingham

1 Katharine Phillips

Womens Varsity 8+

A

c Talia LaSchiazza

8 Menley Denham

7 Carolyne Newman

6 Katie Schretter

5 Lauren Johnson

4 Bella Miller

3 Mata Stilp

2 Maddie Cottingham

1 Katharine Phillips

B

c Julia Bergquist

8 Hanna Skinner

7 Emily MacAdam

6 Jacqui Gossard

5 Lulu Eshuis

4 Grace Gagliardi

3 Kelly Keenan

2 Nicki Bukovac

1 Isabelle Daellenbach

Women’s Lightweight 8+

C Eden Rane

8 Grace Joyce

7 Rani Duff

6 Elise Sharkey

5 Kate Evenson

4 Libby Dickerson

3 Rachel Melancon

2 Abbby Joyce

1 Annabelle Weyhrich

Men’s Varsity 8 -

c John Carberry

8 Quin Behles

7 Andrew Chiao

6 John Dolan

5 Spencer James

4 John Wiegand

3 Rourke Pattullo

2 Brendan Gridley

1 Josh Kuppersmith

Men’s Varsity 4+

C Hunter Hall

4 Brendan Gridley

3 Spencer James

2 John Wiegand

1 Josh Kuppersmith

Men’s Varsity 4+ (B)

C John Carberry

4 Quin Behles

3 Hunter Johnson

2 John Dolan

1 Rourke Pattulo

Mens JV8 -

c Zack Vlahandreas

8 Donald Conkey

7 Tom Lanphier

6 Paul Dustman

5 David Theiss

4 Ray Weeks

3 Daniel Linger

2 Jose Rodriguez

1 Stefan Pavlovski

Men’s JV8 (B)

C Josh Klein

8 Paul Sagraves

7 Griffin Dunne

6 Brendan Gloyd

5 Ian Fargo

4 Peter Figura

3 Ethan Wilensky

2 Daniel Pickard

1 Daniel Allen

Mens Novice 4+

A

c Duncan Healey

4 Peter Chatain

3 Aidan Macpherson

2 Galen Quinn

1 Graham Michelson

B

C Hank Rahaley

4 Griffin Norton

3 Patrick Spillane

2 Lorenzo Miller

1 Gustavo Gilchrist

Mens Novice 8+

A

c Duncan Healey

8 Peter Chatain

7 Aidan Macpherson

6 Galen Quinn

5 Patrick Spillane

4 Lorenzo Miller

3 Graham Michelson

2 Griffin Norton

1 Gustavo Gilchrist

B

c Hank Rahaley

8 Cameron LeVeille

7 Nate Alter

6 John Spaulding

5 Anders Kunny

4 Nate Denberg

3 Mick Flannery

2 Luke Groshko

1 Brendan Traverso

Womens Novice 4+

A

C Nicole Pofcher

4 Charlotte Melgard

3 Rachael Chiao

2 Emily Lewis

B Olivia Ingle

B

C Megan DeJoya

4 Nadia James

3 Lauren Duffy

2 Frances Lafontant

B Josie Olson

Womens Novice 8+

A

C Nicole Pofcher

8 Charlotte Melgard

7 Rachael Chiao

6 Emily Lewis

5 Olivia Ingle

4 Nadia James

3 Lauren Duffy

2 Frances Lafontant

B Josie Olson

B

C Megan DeJoya

8 Reilly Kyle

7 Jill Lerner

6 Colleen Angarone

5 Valentina Fernandez

4 Jill Economos

3 Maisie Reardon

2 Carynn Randolph

B May Paddor

Womens Lightweight 4+’s:

A

c: Eden Rane

4 Grace Joyce

3 Rani Duff

2 Libby Dickerson

1 Kate Evenson

B

C: Chloe Jacobs

4 Elise Sharkey

3 Rachel Melancon

2 Abby Joyce

1 Annabelle Weyhrich

Womens JV8+

c: Chloe Jacobs

8 Catherine Woodburn

7 Carly Schmeissing

6 Stephanie Song

5 Cameron Coughlin

4 Emma Lipinski

3 Casey Figueredo

2 Emma Alter

1 Grace Cucco

Womens JV4+

c: Georgia Caras

4 Catherine Woodburn

3 Neeka Haack

2 Emma Alter

1 Casey Figueredo

Mens Lightweight 8+

C Hunter Hall

8 Myles Knight

7 Harris Lerner

6 David Tigerman

5 Daniel Dreyfus

4 John Marren

3 Jamie Ratty

2 Simon Cormac

1 Makhoul Cassis

Mens Lightweight 4+

C Ben Matejka

4 David Tigerman

3 Daniel Dreyfus

2 John Marren

1 Makhoul Cassis

Mens Lightweight 4+

c Ben Matejka

4 Myles Knight

3 Harris Lerner

2 Simon Cormac

1 Jamie Ratty