New Trier crews row strong at 2021 Youth Nationals in Sarasota

New Trier rowers made a strong showing at the 2021 US Rowing Youth National Regatta, held from June 10-13 at Nathan Benderson Park in Sarasota, Florida. New Trier men’s and women’s crews competed against rowers from clubs and scholastic programs across the country, in a field of 748 entries from 181 clubs, about double the boats from the last Youth Nationals race in 2019. The race was not held in 2020 due to COVID.

The New Trier Under 17+ boat was the fastest scholastic (where all rowers are from the same high school) crew in their event and the only scholastic crew to make it to the semifinals. New Trier Women’s 8+ was the third fastest, behind east coast rivals Mount St. Joseph and Moorestown. The New Trier Men’s 8+ was the fifth fastest scholastic crew in the overall competition.

New Trier fielded a Women’s Under 17+ crew of eight sophomores and one freshman in a new category this year, the U17+, replacing the Lightweight category to avoid groups gathering to weigh in. Coach Sandy Culver said the rowers “impressed me every day of our training with their commitment to getting faster.” She said the boat “blasted through their time trial and managed to beat out 12 other crews from big clubs that row year round in places like California, Florida, Georgia and North Carolina. That bumped them into the semi-finals, where they put together a gutsy race and ultimately finished 5th in the B Final.”

Racing the 2,000 meter course under hot, sunny skies, the New Trier Women’s 8+ placed 6th out of 7 boats in the C Final, while the Women’s 4+ placed 2nd out of 6 boats in the D Final. “Both crews were very impressive,” said Rose Marchuk, Program Director, Head Coach and Varsity Girls Coach. “They raced with sharp catches, precision, and as great competitors.” Marchuk noted that the 4+ steadily moved from 5th place to second during their race, stating that “they were able to slowly barrel their way through the competition overtaking one crew after another to surge to the runner-up position by the end of their sprint. They demonstrated the best performance of their career with tenacity that isn’t typical of a high school crew.”

Lula Macey, coxswain for the Women’s 4+, said the competition was high pressure and difficult but “a great experience. I was more than proud not only of my boat but the entire team. The whole team worked so hard to get to this competition and we all showed what it really means to be part of New Trier High School.”

Women’s 8+ coxswain Hannah Jiang called the high level competition “exhilarating and exciting. This was a very memorable event for all of us, especially for the seniors, because this was their last race as New Trier High School Rowing.”

The Men’s 8+ placed 5th in the C Final, 17th overall out of 35 crews, while the Men’s 4+ fell short of advancing to the final but achieved 35th place out of 48 crews competing. Coach Nate Kelp-Lenane praised the 4+’s strokes during the high-level regatta and the 8+’s rhythm and confidence while competing against the fastest high school aged crews in the country.

Kelp-Lenane said the 8+ “had a rough start in the final as they were still adjusting course when the start was called. After dropping a few seconds behind the other six crews, they were able to mount a charge in the last 750 meters of the race. I was proud to see this crew make a lot of progress in the weeks leading up to Youths and in their final race of the season!”

Coxswain Zakar Bayindirian said getting into the C Final by 0.5 seconds was exciting because Coach Kelp-Lenane “talked about how at this level of competition every stroke and practice would matter if we wanted to be on that right side of a second, or, in this case, less.”