New Trier Rowers Once Again Dominate at Midwest Championships

New Trier High School rowers proved once again last weekend that they were a force to be reckoned with winning Overall Team Points at the Midwest Scholastic Championships, with the Girls team placing 1st and the Boys team placing 2nd. All told, fourteen crews returned home with medals, while sixteen crews qualified to race in final events. The girls impressively captured gold medals in all of the eight events in which they competed, while the Boys medaled in six of eight. In an extraordinary display of sustained dominance, New Trier has won the All Points Trophy for 8 consecutive years. 

The annual, two-day event was held on a 1500-meter course on Lake Dillon in Nashport, Ohio and drew forty-six teams from seven states. Although delayed due to heavy rain and thunder in the area, Saturday’s conditions were good for racing, relatively warm and overcast with 5-15 mph winds. Sunday’s final events were shrouded in dense fog in the morning, but cleared and became warm and sunny for many of the afternoon finals. 

The regatta is one of six regional qualifying championships for the Scholastic Rowing Association of America (SRAA) National Championships, which will be held in Princeton, NJ on May 23 and 24. In a remarkable showing, New Trier qualified nine crews for Nationals. 

Girls Varsity Coach and Program Director Rose Marchuk commented, “New Trier dominated the Midwest Rowing Championships with great speed and wonderful sportsmanship. All of our crews looked very fit as they aggressively propelled their boats across the finish line. The team won the Overall Points for the 8th consecutive year and the girls were very impressive winning all 8 of the 8 events they entered. I can't wait to see how our nine qualifying crews stack up against their national competition.”

Boys Head Varsity Coach Nate Kelp-Lenane added, “It was a very competitive year at Midwest for our guys. They had to row well and race hard to compete with the speed from Central Catholic. With a relatively young squad our boys raced to medal in almost every event we entered placing 2nd in Overall Points for boys. We look forward to taking four boys crews to Scholastic Nationals in New Jersey and we cannot wait to compete there against some of the best crews in the country.”

Captains of both the Boys and Girls Varsity squads were enthusiastic about the regatta results and prospects for Nationals.  Boys Varsity captain and rower in the silver medal winning 1V8+, Drew Flannery remarked, “It was a great finish of the regular season for the team.  We persevered through tough weather conditions on Saturday to qualify 4 boats that could be really competitive at Nationals.  We will continue to work hard the next two weeks to make us even faster for Nationals”

Noted Varsity Girls Captain Caroline Going, a rower in the gold medal winning Girls First Varsity 8+, “I was really excited to see the team come together this weekend!  Despite some nasty weather conditions, we remained focused and rowed well.  New Trier will definitely be putting up a fight against the strong competition at Nationals. ”

All New Trier coaches and rowers now have their sights set on the SRAA National Championships where they have historically done quite well. Last year, 7 of New Trier’s 9 boats qualified for the finals, and four boats medaled, on this national stage.  With hopes abound, dreams on the line, and confidence running high, this year’s National competition promises to be every bit as thrilling as last year, perhaps even more so.  

NEW TRIER MEDALS AT MIDWEST AWARDED TO:

1st place - 8 crews

* Girls Freshmen 8+

   Girls Novice 8+

   Girls Novice  Lightweight 4+

   Girls 3rd Varsity 8+

* Girls 2nd Varsity 8+

* Girls Varsity Lightweight 8+

* Girls Junior 8+

* Girls Varsity 8+

2nd place, 3 crews:

* Boys Varsity 8+

* Boys Freshmen 8+

* Boys Lightweight 8+

3rd place, 3 crews:

  Boys Lightweight 4+

*Boys Junior 4+

  Boys 2nd Varsity 8