Twenty-Eight Crews Named to U.S. National Team Wednesday at 2019 Mega Trials

BY DAN BRAUCHLI • JULY 10, 2019

Wednesday morning saw the conclusion of the 2019 USRowing Under 19, Under 23, Para and Senior Trials III as 28 crews were named to the under 23 and senior national teams. 

The first race of the morning saw Cambridge Boat Club’s Emily Kallfelz (Jamestown, R.I.) earn her spot on the 2019 Under 23 National Team in the women’s single sculls. The silver medalist in the event at last year’s under 23 championships, Kallfelz crossed the line this morning in a 7:40.23, ahead of her sister, Eliza.

James Wright (Philadelphia, Pa.) of the Under 23 Men’s Selection Camp will represent the U.S. in the under 23 men’s single sculls after his victory this morning. A two-year veteran of the under 19 national team, Wright will race in Sarasota, Fla., after crossing the line this morning with a winning time of 7:05.95.

Racing uncontested in the u23 women’s pair, Hadley Irwin (Washington, D.C.) and Sarah Johanek (Cleveland, Ohio) of the Under 23 Women’s Selection Camp will represent the U.S. in the event in Sarasota. The two women, both members of the 2018 U23 National Team, crossed the line this morning in a time of 7:13.11. 

Coming from the Dartmouth Development Camp, the crew of Mark Levinson (San Francisco, Calif.) and Daniel Perez (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) will be representing the U.S. in the U23 men’s pair. Winning with a time of 6:48.95, the two beat out crews from Greenwich Crew and Seattle Scullers.

Emily Delleman (Davenport, Iowa) and Elizabeth Sharis (Bettendorf, Iowa) of Y Quad Cities won their final in the under 23 women’s double sculls, claiming spots on the U23 roster. Winning with a time of 7:07.25, the two crossed the line in front of two crews from the U.S. U23 Women’s Selection Camp and a second crew from Y Quad Cities. Sharis finished fourth in the event at the 2017 World Rowing Under 23 Championships, while Delleman raced in the quadruple sculls in 2017.

Cole Dorsey (Rowayton, CT) and Mark Couwenhoven (Hereford, Texas) are set to represent the U.S. in the U23 men’s double sculls following their victory. Crossing the line in a time of 6:36.38, Dorsey and Couwenhoven beat out crews from Georgia Tech, Crescent Boat Club and Seattle Scullers.

In the U23 men’s quadruple sculls, the winners of the event from the Under 23 Men’s Lightweight Selection Camp declined their bid for the U23 national team. The second-place crew from Craftsbury Sculling Center accepted. The crew of Thomas Johnson (Apopka, Fla.), Samuel Gatsos (New York, N.Y.), Jack Reid (Deerfield, N.H.), and Nathan Phelps (Ridgefield, Conn.) crossed the line in a time of 6:02.58 and will represent the U.S. in Sarasota, Fla. 

Brigid Kennedy (East Greenwich, R.I.) won her final in the U23 women’s lightweight single sculls, claiming her spot on the 2019 USRowing Under 23 National Team. The sculler from the Under 23 Women’s Lightweight Selection Camp crossed the line in 7:47.60, 15.25 seconds ahead of the second-place finisher. Kennedy finished 10th in the event at last year’s under 23 championships.

New York Athletic Club’s Sam Melvin (Huntington Beach, Calif.) earned his spot on the U23 squad in the lightweight men’s single sculls after winning his race in a time of 6:59.31. Melvin crossed the line 14.42 seconds ahead of the second-place finisher to earn his spot on the 2019 team.

Winning the under 23 women’s lightweight double sculls, Craftsbury Sculling Center’s Elizabeth Ray (Miami, Fla.) and Grace Joyce (Northfield, Ill.) finished in a 7:13.29 to punch their ticket to the under 23 championships. The two finished 6.19 seconds ahead of the second-place finisher. 

Luke Smith (Tampa, Fla.) and Alex Damjanovic (Washington, D.C.) claimed their spot on the U23 national team following their victory in the under 23 men’s lightweight double sculls. After crossing the line in 6:36.41, Smith and Damjanovic will represent the U.S. in Sarasota, Fla. 

Coming from the Under 23 Women’s Lightweight Selection Camp, Emily Molins (Wilmette, Ill.) and Sarah Maietta (Wayland, Mass.) earned their spot on the 2019 U23 National Team after winning in a time of 7:42.48. Molins and Maietta will race the women’s lightweight pair at the championships. 

Collin Hay (Shrewsbury, Mass.) and Matthew Marchiony (Weston, Mass.) from Riverside Boat Club punched their ticket to the 2019 World Rowing Under 23 Championships after winning their race in the under 23 men’s lightweight pair. Hay and Marchiony crossed the line in a time of 6:47.26. 

In the first senior event of the morning, the Penn AC Rowing Association men’s double of Justin Keen (Hatfield, Pa.) and Erik Frid (Madbury, N.H.) claimed its spot on the 2019 USRowing Senior National Team. Winning the race in a time of 6:21.48, the crew crossed the line 5.47 seconds ahead of the second-place boat from Vesper Boat Club. Keen and Frid will represent the U.S. at the 2019 World Rowing Championships scheduled for August 25-September 1 in Linz, Austria.

The Craftsbury/Penn AC composite crew of Gregory Ansolabehere (Bakersfield, Calif.), Tristan Amberger(Towson, Md.), Michael Knippen (Germantown, Wis.) and John Graves (Cincinnati, Ohio) earned its spot on the national team after winning the final in the men’s quadruple sculls. The crew crossed the line in a time of 5:46.42, 11.04 seconds ahead of the second-place crew from Craftsbury Sculling Center. 

Winning the PR2 mixed double sculls, Russell Gernaat (Redwood City, Calif.) and Laura Goodkind (Los Angeles, Calif.) crossed the line in a time of 8:54.26. Gernaat and Goodkind will represent the U.S. in the event at the 2019 World Rowing Championships. 

After winning a silver medal at the 2018 World Rowing Championships in the women’s lightweight double sculls, Emily Schmieg (Philadelphia, Pa.) will race in the women’s lightweight single at the 2019 World Rowing Championships. Schmieg crossed the line in 7:44.42, earning her spot on the team.

Vesper Boat Club’s Tyler Nase (Phoenixville, Pa.) will represent the United States in the men’s lightweight single in Linz following his win today. The 2016 Rio Olympian crossed the line in 6:56.98, just 0.84 seconds ahead of Matthew O’Leary. 

The Sarasota/GMS Rowing composite crew of Cara Stawicki (Wall, N.J.) and Margaret Bertasi (London, England) won its race in the lightweight women’s pair to earn a spot on the 2019 USRowing Senior National Team. Stawicki and Bertasi crossed the line this morning in a time of 7:25.52, 1.23 seconds ahead of second place. 

Winning in a time of 6:48.75, the Seattle Rowing Club/Riverside Boat Club composite crew of Alex Twist(Seattle, Wash.) and James Nelson (Austin, Texas) earned its spot on the 2019 Senior National Team and will race the lightweight men’s pair in Linz, Austria. 

The composite crew of Mary Reckford (Short Hills, N.J.), Rosa Kemp (Putnam Valley, N.Y.), Michaela Copenhaver (Berkeley, Calif.) and Jessica Hyne-Dolan won the final in the lightweight women’s quadruple sculls. The four women crossed the line in a time of 6:29.96, 4.17 seconds ahead of the second-place crew.

Winning the final of the lightweight men’s quadruple sculls was the composite crew of Jasper Liu (Phoenix, Ariz.), Daniel Madden (New Rochelle, N.Y.), Peter Schmidt (Providence, R.I.) and Zachary Heese (Pelham, N.Y.). Posting a winning time of 5:52.37, the crew is now set to represent the U.S. at the 2019 World Rowing Championships. 

Racing uncontested in the PR1 women’s single sculls, CRI’s Hallie Smith (Washington, D.C.) finished in a time of 11:25.94. The bronze medalist in the event at the 2018 championships is looking to build upon last year’s finish. 

Also racing uncontested, San Diego Rowing Club’s Blake Haxton (Columbus, Ohio) crossed the line in a time of 10:03.83 and is now set to represent the U.S. at the 2019 World Rowing Championships in the PR1 men’s single sculls. A 2016 Paralympian, Haxton will be looking to improve on his fourth-place finish from last year’s championships. This is Haxton’s sixth national team. 

Racing the PR2 men’s single sculls, ARION’s Isaac French (Glenville, N.Y.) won his final in a time of 9:36.12, 28 seconds ahead of Kenneth Marrs. French rowed in the 2017 PR2 mixed double sculls and will now represent the U.S. in the PR2 men’s single in Linz.

In the PR2 women’s single sculls, Madison Eberhard (Getzville, N.Y.) of West Side Rowing Club won her final in a time of 10:49.81 and will represent the U.S. at the 2019 World Championships.

Racing uncontested in the PR3 mixed double sculls, the CRI crew of Pearl Outlaw (Charlottesville, Va.) and Joshua Boissoneau (Bedford, N.H.) will be heading to Linz looking to build upon their fifth-place finish at last year’s championships. The crew crossed the line today in a time of 8:09.62. 

In the final of the PR3 men’s pair, CRI’s crew of Todd Vogt (Rochester, N.Y.) and Andrew Wigren (Wellesley, Mass.) won its trial and earned a spot on the team, crossing the line in a time of 7:51.03, 35.37 seconds ahead of second place. 

The final race of the morning saw the CRI crew of Jaclyn Smith (Williston Park, N.Y.) and Molly Moore(Indianapolis, Ind.) race uncontested in the PR3 women’s pair. After crossing the line in a time of 8:09.64, Smith and Moore earned their spot on the 2019 Senior National Team.

Click here for all of today’s results. 

In total, 28 boats were named today on the final day of the 2019 Under 19, Under 23, Para and Senior Trials III. Overall, 34 boats were named to the U.S. National Team this week through the trials process across the under 19, under 23 and senior national team levels.

Winners of this week’s under 19 trials events will race at the 2019 World Rowing Junior Championships August 7-11 in Tokyo, Japan. Under 23 trials winners will represent the U.S. at the 2019 World Rowing Under 23 Championships July 24-28 in Sarasota, Fla., and the winners of the para and senior trials events will represent the U.S. at the 2019 World Rowing Championships August 25-September 1 in Linz, Austria.

Additional information about the 2019 USRowing Under 19, Under 23, Para and Senior Trials III can be found by clicking here. 

Photos courtesy of Ed Hewitt, Row2k.com

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