The U.S. junior men’s and junior women’s eights won bronze medals Saturday on the final day of competition at the 2002 FISA Junior World Championships in Trakai, Lithuania.
The junior men’s eight of T.J. Massey (Quincy, Fla.), Chris Johnson (Ashby, Mass.), Mike Gottlieb (Falls Church, Va.), Alex Hearne (Princeton, N.J.), Adam Kosmicki (Marblehead, Mass.), Chris Richbourg (Woodbridge, Va.), Gary Champagne (Tiburon, Calif.), Kevin White (Cherry Hill, N.J.), and Mike Collins (Gladwyne, Pa.) clocked a 6:18.9 to finish 2.1 seconds behind the gold medal crew from the Czech Republic and just 0.1 seconds behind the silver medalists from Italy. The U.S. sat in fifth position at the 500-meter mark and slowly moved through the field, taking the second position with just 500 meter to go. However, the U.S. was unable to hold off Italy for the silver medal, taking home the bronze instead.
The junior women’s eight of Kate Gorman (Newton, Mass.), Rachel Jeffers (Los Gatos, Calif.), Stesha Carle (Long Beach, Calif.), Ashley Jones (Alexandria, Va.), Kate Davison (Bedford, N.H.), Alexis Peterson (Williamsville, N.Y.), Alison Crocker (Poughkeepsie, N.Y.), Katie Verhey (Chicago, Ill.), and Carla Bezold (Alexandria, Va.) also brought home the bronze medal.
The crew stroked a 7:08.4 to finish 8.3 seconds behind second-place Germany. Romania won the gold medal in a time of 6:53.2.
The junior women’s pair of Kim Bailey (Bethesda, Md.) and Sarah Bowman (Goshen, Ind./Brookline, Mass.) finished fifth in the final. The crew clocked an 8:44.8. Romania won the gold medal in a time of 8:23.2, with Belarus finishing second in an 8:24.0. Australia won the bronze medal in a time of 8:27.1.
The junior men’s four with coxswain of Chad Taylor (New Milford, Conn.), Brian Freund (Linwood, N.J.), Ben Niles (Groton, Mass.), Morgan Henderson (Kensington, Md.), and Nick Henderson (Kensington, Md.) won the “B” final to finish in seventh place overall. The crew clocked a 6:59.5 to defeat South Africa by 3.7 seconds. The U.S. sat in third position at the 500-meter mark before slowly making its through the field to take the lead with 500 meters to go.
The junior women’s four of Liz Pallas-Jacobs (San Diego, Calif.), Megan Keyes (Seattle, Wash.), Betsy McCormick (Seattle, Wash.), and Anna Sjogren (Winchester, Mass.) finished second in the “B” final and eighth overall. The crew clocked a 7:53.2 to finish 10.2 seconds behind the Ukraine. Latvia finished third in the “B” final.
The junior men’s four of Greg McKallagat (Andover, Mass.), Matt King (Piedmont, Calif.), Justin Stangel (Madison, Wis.), and Will Lippit (Seattle, Wash.) finished third in its “B” final for a ninth-place overall finish. The crew clocked a 6:58.3 to finish 4.8 seconds behind the winners from Belarus.
In the “C” finals, which determine places 13-18, Abby Loughrey (Pittsburgh, Pa.) finished fourth in the “C” final of the junior women’s single sculls for a 16th-place finish overall. Loughrey clocked an 8:54.0 to finish behind scullers from Sweden, Ireland and Chile. The junior women’s double sculls of Stacey Bowen (Broomall, Pa.) and Laura Hill (Malvern, Pa.) finished fifth in its “C” final to take home 17th place overall. The crew crossed the finish line in a time of 8:28.9, 13 seconds behind the “C” final winners from Slovenia
In the junior men’s single sculls, Peter Lynch (Dallas, Tex.) finished third in his “D” final, taking home 21st place overall. Lynch stroked a 7:42.8 to finish 7.3 seconds behind Turkey’s Mete Yeltepe, the winner of the “D” final. The junior men’s double of Matt Morrow (Chattanooga, Tenn.) and Craig Kilgo (Tallahassee, Fla.) finished fifth in its “D” final and 23rd overall. The crew clocked a 7:13.1 to finish one second behind the fourth-place boat from Mexico.