North Allegheny Caps Fall Season with Strong Showing at Speakmon Memorial Regatta
by: Rowing Contributor
The North Allegheny Tigers closed out their fall head racing season on Sunday, October 26, at the Speakmon Memorial Regatta, the second half of their doubleheader weekend on the Scioto River. Building off Saturday’s efforts at the Blake Haxton Regatta, the Tigers delivered a strong team-wide performance, collecting six medals and multiple top finishes to wrap up a successful fall campaign.
The day opened with a pair of podium finishes from the novice squads. The Women’s Novice 8+ (Lydia Humphrey, Lucy Hughes, Sloane Wetzel, Abby Lambert, Tatiana Morillo, Sophia Savena, Alexis Sardonia, Elise Kreiling, and coxswain Emma Coca) set the tone early, earning bronze and repeating a podium finish performance from the Head of the Muskingum. The Men’s Novice 8+ quickly followed with a third place finish of their own. The lineup of Ethan Murick, Maxx Buffat, Will Ason, Finn Maguire, Max Karn, Jace Laker, Bryce Munroe, Wyatt Johansen, and coxswain Ava Moore powered through the 4.1k course to secure another bronze for the Tigers.
In the Women’s High School Doubles, both North Allegheny crews showed improvement from the day prior. Alexandra Edors and Natalie Helffrich crossed the line 5th, while Natalie Patel and Louisa Patel finished 15th in a deep field.
The Tigers then made the most of a rare opportunity to compete in mixed events. In the Mixed Open 4x, Ryan Lovejoy, Ananya Doizhode, Suraj Raina, and Jocelyn Munroe raced to a silver medal, while the second entry of Abby Greiner, Lucy Hughes, Ethan Murick, and Stephen Webber-Plank) earned a 5th place finish.
Momentum continued in the Men’s High School 4+, where Yuantao Tang, Matthew Collins, Emmett Robleto, Jamie Hamed, and coxswain Tai Luangkesorn delivered one of their best performances of the fall, placing 14th after a strong, aggressive race.
The Men’s High School Doubles followed with a standout showing across all three lineups. Neil Pore and Alex Repinski claimed silver, finishing just six seconds behind the winners. Christian Sperandeo and Cooper Lemon were right on their sterns, grabbing bronze less than a second behind second place. Max Disque and Daniel Choi rounded out the Tigers’ effort in 7th.
The novice crews returned to the course for the fours. The Women’s Novice 4+ (Sloane Wetzel, Abby Lambert, Alexis Sardonia, Elise Kreiling, and coxswain Emma Coca) narrowly missed another medal, placing 4th and just six seconds shy of the podium. In the Men’s Novice 4+, Max Karn, Finn Maguire, Bryce Munroe, Wyatt Johansen, and coxswain Tai Luangkesorn earned 7th after a solid row.
In the Women’s Open Quad, Ananya Doizhode, Lydia Humphrey, Abby Greiner, and Jocelyn Munroe came heartbreakingly close to the podium, finishing 4th and only two seconds out of third. The Tigers’ Men’s Open 4x entries kept the medal momentum going. Neil Pore, Alex Repinski, Christian Sperandeo, and Cooper Lemon claimed another silver, while Ryan Lovejoy, Suraj Raina, Nate Earnest, and Stephen Webber-Plank took 5th.
To close out the day, and the fall season, the Tigers fielded a spirited Mixed High School 8+ lineup of Alexandra Edors, Daniel Choi, Max Disque, Natalie Helffrich, Yuantao Tang, Will Ason, Tatiana Morillo, Sophia Savena, and coxswain Ava Moore. The crew capped the weekend with a 4th place finish, rounding out a day of strong results across all lineups.
In total, North Allegheny wrapped up the Speakmon Memorial Regatta with six medals, three silver and three bronze, marking an impressive finish to the fall racing calendar. With lessons learned and momentum building, the Tigers now turn their focus to the winter training season. Indoor practices begin December 2, running Monday through Thursday from 5-7 pm at NAI, as North Allegheny Rowing looks to build strength and speed ahead of the spring sprint season.
For a list of full results from the Speakmon Memorial Regatta, click here.
