Rowing News

by: Rowing Contributor

North Allegheny returned to Milford, Michigan on May 9th & 10th for the 2026 Midwest Scholastic Rowing Association Championships and delivered a weekend that showed just how much the program has grown over the past year.

Competing against 580 entries from 52 teams across nine states, the Tigers arrived knowing every race would be competitive. After several weeks of finding more speed and building deeper lineups throughout the spring, North Allegheny left the weekend with medals, a national championship qualification, and a solid performance at the Midwest Championships.

Saturday’s opening day tested crews immediately. Strong tailwinds and choppy water created difficult racing conditions throughout the time trials and semifinals, but the Tigers handled the challenge well. North Allegheny entered 16 boats and qualified 11 crews for Sunday’s Grand Finals, a major jump from 2025, when only two boats advanced to championship racing.

Sunday brought calmer water, blue skies, and an opportunity for the Tigers to capitalize on the momentum they built the day before.

North Allegheny opened the Grand Finals schedule in the Men’s Varsity 2x, placing two boats into the championship race. Christian Sperandeo and Cooper Lemon crossed the line in fifth, while teammates Neil Pore and Alex Repinski followed close behind in sixth against a fast field.

One of the biggest moments of the weekend came shortly after in the Women’s Junior 4x. Lydia Humphrey, Ananya Doizhode, Lucy Hughes, and Jocelyn Munroe found themselves sitting fifth at the halfway point before mounting an impressive push over the final stretch of the race. In a finish where less than a second separated three crews, the Tigers surged into second place to earn silver and an automatic qualifying bid to the SRAA National Championships in Oak Ridge, Tennessee.

The novice squads continued to show the program’s depth. In the Men’s Novice 4x+, Max Karn, Maxx Buffat, Finn Maguire, Bryce Munroe, and coxswain Elise Kreiling battled through a competitive field to finish seventh, continuing what has been a strong and consistent season for the novice men.

North Allegheny’s Women’s Junior rowers then quickly returned to the course for the Women’s Junior 2x final after already racing together earlier in the day. Humphrey and Munroe finished seventh, while Hughes and Doizhode placed eighth.

The Women’s Varsity 2x of Alexandra Edfors and Natalie Helffrich also capped off a successful regatta by advancing through a field of 19 boats to reach the Grand Final, where they finished eighth.

In the Men’s Junior 4x, Nik Kshirsagar, Ryan Lovejoy, Daniel Choi, and Stephen Webber-Plank overcame equipment issues from Saturday’s time trial to secure a finals appearance and place eighth in a deep event.

Then came one of the standout races of the regatta for North Allegheny.

The Men’s Varsity 4x of Pore, Repinski, Sperandeo, and Lemon returned to the water determined to build off their earlier doubles races, and from the opening strokes they put themselves firmly in the mix. The Tigers exploded off the start, staying connected with the leading crews through the middle of the race with clean bladework and strong rhythm.

As the field sprinted toward the finish, North Allegheny continued to press to secure third place and a bronze medal. The performance gave the Tigers their second medal of the championship weekend and highlighted the speed and chemistry this lineup has developed over the course of the season.

The novice women nearly added another podium finish later in the day. Sloane Wetzel, Abby Lambert, Alexis Sardonia, Kate Elliot, and coxswain Louisa Patel raced to fourth place in the Women’s Novice 4+, finishing just three seconds shy of third.

North Allegheny closed the regatta in the Men’s Novice 4+ final. In an event with 26 entries, Karn, Buffat, Ethan Murick, Nils Arteel, and Kreiling earned a Grand Final appearance and finished eighth.

By the end of the weekend, the Tigers placed 14th overall out of 52 teams while also finishing fifth in Women’s Sculling Points, sixth in Men’s Sculling Points, and eighth in Division II combined points standings.

The improvement from last season was substantial. North Allegheny climbed five places in the overall standings while making major jumps on both the men’s and women’s sides in sculling points.

More importantly, the results reflected the continued growth of the entire program. From novice crews reaching Grand Finals to varsity boats standing on the podium, the Tigers showed both depth and momentum heading into the final stretch of the season.

Next up, seven North Allegheny lineups will travel to Philadelphia for the historic Stotesbury Cup Regatta on May 15-16, where the Tigers will face some of the top scholastic rowing programs in the country on the Schuylkill River.

For a list of full results from the Midwest Scholastic Championships, click here.

Results & Lineups

Men’s Jr 2x 14th 5:33.66
Daniel Choi & Stephen Webber-Plank

Men’s Varsity 2x
Christian Sperandeo & Cooper Lemon – 5th 5:41.26
Neil Pore & Alex Repinski – 6th 5:45.48

Women’s Jr 4x
Lydia Humphrey, Ananya Doizhode, Lucy Hughes & Jocelyn Munroe – 2nd 5:57.21
Abby Greiner, Sophia Savena, Natalie Patel & Tatiana Morillo – 11th 6:48.04

Women’s Novice 4+ 13th 5:17.64
Cox Emma Coca, Sloane Wetzel, Abby Lambert, Alexis Sardonia & Kate Elliot

Men’s Novice 4x+ 7th 6:16.21
Cox Elise Kreiling, Max Karn, Maxx Buffat, Finn Maguire & Bryce Munroe

Men’s Jr 4+ 19th 5:31.01
Cox Ava Moore, Nate Earnest, Suraj Raina, Max Disque & Will Ason

Women’s Jr 2x
Lydia Humphrey & Jocelyn Munroe – 7th 7:02.13
Lucy Hughes & Ananya Doizhode – 8th 7:09.11

Women’s Varsity 2x 8th 6:45.88
Alexandra Edfors & Natalie Helffrich

Men’s Jr 4x
Nik Kshirsagar, Ryan Lovejoy, Daniel Choi & Stephen Webber-Plank – 8th 5:41.06
Yuantao Tang, Finn Maguire, Jace Laker & Emmett Robleto – 18th 5:37.65

Men’s Varsity 4x 3rd 5:17.20
Neil Pore, Alex Repinski, Christian Sperandeo & Cooper Lemon

Women’s Novice 4x+ 4th 6:46.76
Cox Louisa Patel, Sloane Wetzel, Abby Lambert, Alexis Sardonia & Kate Elliot

Men’s Novice 4+ 8th 6:14.46
Cox Elise Kreiling, Max Karn, Maxx Buffat, Ethan Murick & Nils Arteel