Northville  Rowers  Wrapped  up  Strong  Season  at  State  Championship     With a strong showing, the Northville Rowing Club ended their Spring competition season on Saturday, May 20, at the Scholastic Rowing Association of Michigan (SRAM) Championship Regatta held at Riverside Park in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Nineteen high school teams came from throughout Michigan to compete for the title. Dominating sculling events (two oars per rower) all season, Northville’s scull crews seized gold once again on the banks of the Grand River. Senior Jackie Cole finished first with a solid time of 6:57.03 – almost 4 seconds ahead of the second place finisher in the Women’s Varsity Single event. Dynamic duo Maya Sankaran (senior) and Zoe King (senior) also captured first place in the Women’s Varsity Double final. The Men’s Varsity Single and Double each brought home a pair of third place finishes with Frank Williams (senior) and Jacob Kerns (senior) pairing to cross the finish line at 5:36.94 in a tight battle for the top spots. Williams also brought in the Single bronze with a time of 6:03.62. With eight boats making it into the finals races, the Northville rowers demonstrated the depth of this growing team. The team also competed at the Midwest Scholastic Rowing Association Championship Regatta held on May 13-14, at Dillon State Park in Nashport, Ohio. This annual regional event, which this year hosted 46 teams from seven states, qualifies the top rowers to compete at the Scholastic Rowing Association of America (SRAA) National Championship Regatta. With Sankaran and King bringing home a Women’s Lightweight Double bronze, as well as many other boats achieving 5th and 6th place standings, Northville rowers made their mark in this impressive regional field of rowers. Throughout the Spring season, there were a number of other team highlights from this fifty rower strong co-ed team. At the Hebda Cup in Wyandotte, Michigan, a trio of first place finishes shone during a rainy, cold and windy event, bringing the Northville Women’s team to place 3rd overall. The Women’s Varsity Double of Sankaran and King kicked off their season of winning, along with the Women’s Junior 4+ consisting of Belle Cureton (junior), Sara Bennett (sophomore), Sydney Kawakami (sophomore), Rachel Winfield (junior), and Coxswain Elyssa Daguanno (sophomore). The Women’s Varsity 4x consisting of Cole, Cureton, Winfield and Bennett rowed to a definitive win almost a full minute ahead of the second place boat with a time of 7:52.50. Another notable moment was when Mitchell Encelewski (sophomore) received an invitation to participate in the US Rowing Junior National Team Development Camp this summer. Reflecting on the club’s performance at the state championship as well as the team’s rowing throughout the past few months, Head Coach Nick Bickes stated, “The team is growing and becoming more competitive. We are going to miss the leadership and commitment of our seniors. Our novice class of freshmen and sophomores made a great impact during their first year and will continue to make an impact over the next few years. We are looking forward to improving our fitness and technique during summer training and into our fall season.” We wish the best of luck to the team’s graduating seniors and hope they will continue to stay connected with the team as alumni. Starting August 21, the Northville Rowing Club will host a Learn to Row camp for incoming 9th through 12th grade high school students who are interested in rowing. Coach Bickes will lead the co-ed camp, which will be held at the team’s practice location at Ford Lake in Ypsilanti. Registration for the Learn to Row camp will soon be available on the team website at www.NorthvilleRowing.com. Additional summer camps and team information can be found on the website as well. Northville Rowing Club is a non-profit, 501c3, rowing for Northville High School. It is a co-ed, competitive varsity club sport with Fall and Spring competition seasons, with an opportunity to earn a Varsity Letter. With no experience required, we welcome 9th to 12th Grade students from Northville High School.

 

 

  Photo: Medalists from left: Jacob Kerns, Frank Williams, Jackie Cole, Maya Sankaran and Zoe King.

Photo: Northville Women’s Varsity 4x from left: Sara Bennett, Rachel Winfield, Belle Cureton, Jackie Cole

 

  Photo: Northville Rowing Club team at Midwest Regatta