Credit: US Rowing
12 crews to represent the USA
The United States will have crews competing in all 22 classes, as racing gets underway at the 2019 World Rowing Under 23 Championships.
The regatta will open with heats in the women’s and men’s single sculls, lightweight men’s and women’s single sculls, women’s and men’s pairs, lightweight men’s pair, women’s and men’s quadruple sculls, men’s four with coxswain, and men’s and women’s four.
The Sarasota roster includes 26 athletes returning from the 2018 Under 23 National Team including Justin Best, Chris Carlson, Woods Connell, William Creedon, Alexandar Damjanovic, Olivia Farrar, Andrew Gaard, Sam Halbert, Hadley Irwin, Sarah Johanek, Grace Joyce, Emily Kallfelz, Brigid Kennedy, Andrew Knoll, Kaitlyn Kynast, Arianna Lee, Eli Maesner, Sarah Maietta, Sam Melvin, Alex Miklasevich, Madison Molitor, Caroline O’Brien, Elizabeth Ray, Chase Shepley, Luke Smith, and Isabel Weiss.
The U.S. won eight medals at the 2018 World Rowing Under 23 Championships in Poznan, Poland, including gold medals in the men’s eight, men’s four with coxswain, women’s four with coxswain, lightweight women’s pair, and women’s pair. The U.S. also took home silver in the women’s single sculls and bronze in the lightweight men’s quadruple sculls and women’s eight.
The U.S. roster includes athletes from 25 states, plus the District of Columbia and Switzerland. California leads the way with eight athletes. Thirty-three colleges and universities are represented on the roster, with the University of Washington leading the way with 12 team members.
James Wright (Philadelphia, Pa.) will race the single sculls in an international event for the first time. He finished 10th in the quadruple sculls at the World Rowing Junior Championships last year and finished seventh in the quadruple sculls at the 2017 World Rowing Junior Championships. Wright won the U19 event at the 2018 World Indoor Rowing Championships and also won the single sculls at the 2018 USRowing Youth National Championships. Last year in this event, Canada won gold, followed by Germany and Bulgaria. The United States finished fourth. This year, there are 24 entries in the event.
Emily Kallfelz (Jamestown, R.I.) returns for her fourth U23 National Team appearance. She was a member of the 2014 and 2015 Junior National Teams, where she placed seventh and then third in the single sculls. She has made an appearance on every U23 National Team since 2016, placing fourth that year, followed by winning bronze in 2017 and silver in 2018. Last year in this event, New Zealand came in first place, followed by the United States and Bulgaria. This year, there are 13 entries in the event.
Making his second Under 23 National Team appearance is Sam Melvin (Costa Mesa, Calif.). He finished second in the under 23 lightweight single sculls at the 2017 World Trials. Domestically, he won the lightweight division at the 2017 C.R.A.S.H.-B. Indoor Rowing Championships. Last year in this event, Brazil came in first place, followed by France and Australia. The United States finished in 19th place. This year, there are 22 entries in the event.
Brigid Kennedy (East Greenwich, R.I.) finished 10th in the lightweight single sculls at the 2018 World Rowing Under 23 Championships. She returns to the U23 stage with the goal of improving on her last single scull performance. She also finished 11th in the lightweight double sculls at the 2017 World Rowing Under 23 Championships and eighth in the lightweight quadruple sculls at the 2016 World Rowing Under 23 Championships. Last year in this event, Great Britain came in first place, followed by Germany and Italy. This year, there are 15 entries in the event.
Mark Levinson (San Francisco, Calif.) and Daniel Perez (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) both row collegiately for Dartmouth College. Levinson is making his first national team appearance since 2015 when he represented the United States as a member of the junior team. Perez returns to the national team after a one year absence. He was a member of the U23 team in 2017. Last year in this event, South Africa came in first place, followed by Romania and Italy. The United States finished 15th. This year, there are 12 entries in the event.
Hadley Irwin (Washington, D.C.) will make her second national team appearance after competing at the U23 championships last year. Sarah Johanek (Cleveland, Ohio) also making her second national team appearance after making the U23 roster last year. Last year in this event, the U.S. won the gold medal, followed by Great Britain and Chile. This year, there are 14 entries in the event.
After coxing the Washington eight to a Pac-12 title, Adam Gold (Seattle, Wash.) joins his first national team. Eli Maesner (Redmond, Wash.) and Evan Olson (Bothell, Wash.), both from the University of Washington, join Gold in the boat. Maesner appeared on the 2018 U23 National Team and rowed at the World Cup III in 2018. Olson rejoins the U23 National Team after appearing in 2017. Stanford teammates Peter Chatain (Winnetka, Ill.) and Nikita Lilichenko (Orinda, Calif.) make up the rest of the four with coxswain. Chatain is making his second national team appearance after rowing on the junior team in 2017. Lilichenko is appearing on his third national team and first U23 team, after rowing the eight for the Junior National Team in 2016 and 2017. Last year in this event, the United States won gold, followed by New Zealand and Italy. This year, there are eight entries in the event.
Collin Hay (Shrewsbury, Mass.) and Matthew Marchiony (Weston, Mass.) both are making their first-ever national team appearances. Last year in this event, Ireland came in first place, followed by Greece and Italy. The United States finished sixth. This year, there are 10 entries in the event.
Thomas Johnson (Centreville, Va.), Samuel Gatsos (New York, N.Y.), and Jack Reid (Deerfield, N.H.) are set to make their first national team appearances, while Nathan Phelps (Ridgefield, Conn.) rowed on the Junior National Team in 2018 in the men’s quad. Last year in this event, Great Britain came in first, followed by Italy and Germany. The United States finished in 18th place. This year, there are 13 entries in the event.
Hannah Paynter (Lyme, Conn.) and Katy Flynn (Churchville, N.Y.) will make their first national Teat appearances at the World Rowing Under 23 Championships. Arianna Lee (Folsom, Calif.) is the most experienced member of the boat, with two previous national team appearances, first in 2015 as a member of the Junior National Team and second in 2018 where she rowed on the U23 National Team. Camille VanderMeer (Elmira, N.Y.) joins a national team for the second consecutive year. In 2018, she was a member of the Junior National Team. Last year in this event, Romania came in first place, followed by the Netherlands and Great Britain. The United States finished in sixth place. This year, there are 11 entries in the event.
Liam Corrigan (Old Lyme, Conn.) will be competing on his fourth national team. He was a member of the Junior National Team in 2014 and 2015 before stepping up to the U23 National Team in 2017. George Esau (Long Lake, Minn.) and David Bridges (Portland, Ore.) both row collegiately for the University of Washington and are making their international debuts. Thomas Beck (Sandy, Utah) joins a national team for the first time, coming off of his collegiate season with Yale. Last year in this event, Romania finished first, followed by Great Britain and New Zealand. The United States finished in fourth place. This year, there are 12 entries in the event.
Teal Cohen (Dallas, Texas) shifts from the eight, which she rowed on the junior team, to the four in her second national team appearance. Meredith (Hunter) Koenigsfeld (Cedar Rapids, Iowa), a cross-country runner turned rower, makes her first national team appearance as part of the U23 roster. Kaitlyn Kynast (Ridgefield, Conn.) is making her fifth national team appearance. Kynast was a member of the Junior National Team from 2015 through 2017, where she won a gold in the four in 2015, bronze in the pair in 2016, and bronze in the four in 2017. She was a bronze medalist in the eight at the 2018 World Rowing Under 23 Championships. Chase Shepley (Crystal Lake, Ill.) joins her Stanford teammate, Kynast, in the four during her second national team appearance. The other appearance came as part of the 2018 U23 squad. Last year in this event, Russia came in first place, followed by Romania and China. The United States finished in 10th place. This year, there are 11 entries in the event.
The remaining 10 U.S. crews will get their regatta started on Thursday morning. Thursday’s schedule also features repechages for Wednesday’s events. Friday’s racing includes the remaining repechages, quarterfinals and the first of the semifinals. Saturday’s racing is highlighted by the remaining semifinals and the medal races in ten boat categories. Finals in the other 12 events will take place on Sunday.