New Trier Rowing Medals at USRowing Youth National Championships

NEW TRIER CREWS SHINE AT US ROWING YOUTH NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS REGATTA

New Trier rowers made their mark on the national stage at the recent 2019 USRowing Youth National Championships June 6-9 at Nathan Benderson Park in Sarasota-Bradenton, Florida.

The New Trier Womens Lightweight 4+ crew took a third-place medal in their A final event, while New Trier’s Mens Varsity 8+ finished first place in the B final. It was the third year in a row a New Trier women’s lightweight boat competed in the A final, the fourth year it placed in the top four crews in the nation, and New Trier’s third women’s lightweight crew to medal. The men’s varsity boat finished seventh overall, the highest in New Trier history in this event. It also had the distinction of being the top finishing high school crew; all other top-ten finishers were crews from club programs.

The championship is the premiere youth rowing event in the U.S., with more than 1,800 athletes and 417 entries representing 151 teams from around the country. Rowers competed in bright sunshine and temperatures in the high 80s.

New Trier had five boats competing, qualifying by winning gold medals at their regional qualifier, the Midwest Scholastic Rowing Championships.

Lightweight girls’ Coach Sandy Culver knew her crew had a shot at a medal when the rowers posted the fastest time in the time trials on the first day of racing. Culver called the result, achieved by four sophomore rowers and one junior, “a remarkable accomplishment for such a young crew.”

The sole junior in the boat, Diana Paduraru-Iovaanescu, said, “Every single girl in my boat had the same priorities: to go fast and be the absolute best we could be. I have never been part of a crew that has been so serious and mature but also has such fun-loving energy.” She praised Coach Sandy Culver “for believing in us and guiding us every day.”

Boys’ Coach Nate Kelp-Lenane praised his varsity and lightweight crews, noting that the Varsity 8+ boat missed qualifying for the Grand Finals by a mere 0.2 seconds over 2,000 meters. “I was happy to see them winning the B finals ahead of Cincinnati Juniors and Newport, two power house clubs that we have never beat in the spring.”

New Trier’s Womens Varsity 8+ took fifth place in the C final. The Mens Lightweight Varsity 8+ took second place in the D final, and the Womens Varsity 4+ placed sixth in the D final.