Tigers post 24 personal records at Pittsburgh Indoor Sprints and USRowing Indoor Nationals
by: Rowing Contributor
On Saturday, February 7, North Allegheny Rowing traveled to downtown Pittsburgh to the David L. Lawrence Convention Center to compete in the Pittsburgh Indoor Sprints / USRowing Indoor National Championships. A total of 40 Tiger athletes raced across a full slate of events, including the 2000-meter, 500-meter Coxswain Dash, and 2000-meter relay races.
North Allegheny set a high standard on the day, posting 24 new personal records. Notable performances included major time drops from Jace Laker (-19.5 seconds), Stephen Webber-Plank (-11.1 seconds), and Suraj Raina (-9.5 seconds). The focus for the Tigers throughout the regatta was on executing race plans and racing with intent, an approach that clearly paid off.
The Tigers’ coxswains once again proved to be among the best in the field. Emma Coca captured gold and Ava Moore earned silver in the U19 Coxswain Dash, repeating last year’s podium finish.
The day concluded with the 2000-meter relay events, with each athlete racing a 500-meter leg. In the U17 women’s relay, Ananya Doizhode, Lucy Hughes, Abby Lambert, and Alexis Sardonia took second place and finished seventh nationally. North Allegheny entered two crews in the U17 men’s relay. The first lineup (Max Karn, Jace Laker, Ethan Murick, and Stephen Webber-Plank) claimed gold and placed fourth nationally, finishing just 1.2 seconds shy of the national podium. The second entry of Nils Arteel, Tai Luangkesorn, Finn Maguire, and Xavier Milazzo secured fourth and finished 10th nationally.
In the U19 relay events, the women’s crew of Natalie Helffrich, Lydia Hymphrey, Jocelyn Munroe, and Sloane Wetzel secured second place and finished fifth nationally. The U19 men’s relays featured a tightly contested race, with the top three crews separated by less than three seconds. The first North Allegheny entry (Max Disque, Cooper Lemon, Neil Pore, and Christian Sperandeo) won gold, while the second crew of Daniel Choi, Nik Kshirsagar, Ryan Lovejoy, and Emmett Robletto crossed the line just 1.6 seconds later, claiming silver. The two crews placed fourth and fifth nationally, with the winning entry finishing only 0.3 seconds off the national podium.
The Tigers now turn their attention to the weeks ahead, reflecting on Saturday’s performances, making key adjustments, and building speed as they prepare for their next test. The team looks forward to returning to competition at its home regatta, The Erg in the Burgh, hosted at Marshall Middle School on Saturday, February 21.
For a list of full results from Pittsburgh Indoor Sprints, click here. For national rankings, click here.
