The USRowing Youth National Championships recently took place in Sarasota, FL, with only the best-of-the-best crews competing for a chance at a title.
Among those in attendance was the Gordon Rowing Association’s U16 women’s coxed quad crew — which included athletes from Manchester Essex, Hamilton-Wenham and Beverly — and the team wound up putting on a show. The talented squad of middle schoolers and high school freshmen had earned their coveted spot at Nationals via a strong showing a the Northeast Regionals in New Jersey.
Competing in brutal Florida conditions — with temperatures in the 90s, humidity nearing 90 percent, and sudden thunderstorms that repeatedly forced crews off the water — the girls demonstrated tremendous resilience and determination throughout the week-long competition.
Their final race was a thrilling 2,000 meter sprint battle against an older, more experienced crew. Gordon exploded off the start, taking the lead through the first 500 meters.
One of their competitors then surged ahead, opening a half-boat advantage that they held for the next 1,000 meters. But the Gordon crew refused to back down.
Over the final 500 meters, they dug deep and pulled harder, steadily walking back on the leaders as the crowd watched an exciting finish unfold. Stroke by stroke, the Gordon crew would erase the gap until the boats were virtually even heading toward the finish line.
Gordon ultimately fell just short, finishing second by a mere four seconds behind the winners and with a significant amount of open water ahead of the remaining crews. Their overall finish at the USRowing National Championship ranked them 18th in the country in the U16 division, an extraordinary achievement for such a young crew.
The crew was led by Hamilton 8th-grader Juliette Girard (Miles River Middle School), Beverly 7th-grader Violet Kontos, Manchester Essex 8th-grader Tessa Novak, and Hamilton-Wenham freshmen Phoebe Wartels and coxswain Lou-Ann Wolczik.
For full results from all races at this year’s USRowing Youth National Championships, please visit https://www.regattacentral.com/regatta/results2?job_id=10024&org_id=0.