At the 2018 US Rowing Youth National Championships last weekend, June 8-10, on Lake Natoma in Gold River, CA the Deerfield girls rowing first boat finished in fifth place in the A final championship race.
The girls began their quest for the national championship race on April 21st in their season opening races against St. Mark’s, Brooks, Greenwich and Newton Country Day, where the first varsity boat earned a decisive win with an impressive open water finish over the entire field.
The team concluded the regular season at the New England Interscholastic Rowing Association Championships on Saturday, May 26th on Lake Quinsigamond in Worcester, MA with a fifth place team finish and two boats earned podium finishes. The second boat led the NEIRA charge for the Big Green, crossing the finish line first for the gold medal. The girls first boat earned the bronze medal for their third place finish.
The first boat was rewarded for their efforts throughout the season with an invitation from USRowing to participate in the 2018 Youth National Championships. The girls took full advantage of their invitation and impressively displayed their power and intensity with every stroke at Nationals.
In the opening time trial heat on Friday, the Big Green crew of Anna Scott ’18, Bailyn Pritchett ’18, Jerilyn Zheng ’19, Katie Zaslaw ’18, and Morgane Dackiw ’19, finished third of 21 boats in the women’s youth 4+ division. The top-8 finishers automatically advanced to the Saturday’s semifinals. In the second semifinal race, the girls finished in second place which guaranteed them a place in Sunday’s 6-boat A final race.
In Sunday’s race, all boats were connected through the first 500 meters of the race, the Big Green rowers gained momentum with every stroke in their gutsy race. They crossed the finish line in fifth place to claim the title of fifth fastest boat in the country in the women’s youth 4+ division. Congratulations!