Rowing News

by: Rowing Contributor

North Allegheny Rowing headed east this weekend to compete in the 99th Annual Stotesbury Cup Regatta in Philadelphia, the largest scholastic rowing event in the world. Held on the historic Schuylkill River, the regatta featured more than 5,000 athletes and nearly 800 entries representing 160 schools from across the United States and Canada. For the Tigers, it marked their biggest and fastest test of the season.

Friday’s racing opened with time trials, where North Allegheny’s younger crews immediately gained valuable experience against elite national competition. The Men’s Junior 4+ (coxswain Elise Kreiling, Max Karn, Maxx Buffat, Ethan Murick, and Nils Arteel) raced up a category with an all-novice lineup and finished 45th out of 55 crews in 6:06.32, improving on the program’s result from a year ago.

The Women’s Junior 4+ followed with another novice lineup. Coxswain Emma Coca, Sloane Wetzel, Abby Lambert, Alexis Sardonia, and Kate Elliot crossed in 6:36.04 to place 33rd out of 50 entries. Despite the challenging field, both crews turned in what athletes described as their strongest races of the season, offering an encouraging glimpse into the future of the program.

As the day progressed, the Tigers began building momentum.

North Allegheny’s first crew to punch a ticket into Saturday’s semifinals came in the Men’s Junior 4x. Nik Kshirsagar, Ryan Lovejoy, Daniel Choi, and Stephen-Webber Plank delivered a sharp performance, finishing 11th out of 21 entries with a time of 5:25.36 to secure a semifinal lane.

The Women’s Junior 4x soon joined them. Lydia Humphrey, Annaya Doizhode, Lucy Hughes, and Jocelyn Munroe powered through the course in 5:56.43, placing eighth out of 19 boats and advancing comfortably into Saturday’s racing.

In the Women’s Senior 2x, seniors Alexandra Edfors and Natalie Helffrich narrowly missed advancing after placing 20th out of 30 entries in 6:29.06. The race marked the conclusion of a strong high school career for the veteran duo, who helped provide leadership and experience throughout the season.

The Tigers continued their strong showing in the Men’s Senior 4x. Neil Pore, Alex Repinski, Christian Sperandeo, and Cooper Lemon raced into Saturday’s semifinals after posting a 5:17.40, good for 11th place out of 14 entries.

North Allegheny closed Friday’s time trials in the Men’s Senior 4+, one of the regatta’s deepest and fastest events. Coxswain Ava Moore, Suraj Raina, Max Disque, Nate Earnest, and Will Ason moved up a category and responded with an aggressive finishing sprint, crossing in 5:57.67 against some of the top crews in the country.

Saturday’s semifinal races provided another step up in speed and intensity.

The Men’s Junior 4x opened the day by battling to a sixth-place finish in 5:46.69, ultimately missing a spot in the finals. The Women’s Junior 4x followed with a fifth-place finish in 6:20.92, coming up just two spots short of advancing.

Later in the day, the Men’s Senior 4x capped off the Tigers’ semifinal racing with another strong effort, placing fifth in 5:28.51 while improving their standing from Friday’s time trial.

While the Tigers did not place a crew into the Stotesbury grand finals, the weekend provided valuable experience against one of the deepest fields in scholastic rowing. North Allegheny’s Women’s Junior 4x and Men’s Senior 4x, will now turn their attention to the Scholastic Rowing Association of America (SRAA) National Championships next weekend in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. After competing stride-for-stride with many of the nation’s top crews on the Schuylkill, both boats will look to carry that momentum into the national stage and close out the season with another strong showing for North Allegheny.

For a list of full results from the Stotesbury Cup Regatta, click here.