WEST WINDSOR, N.J. - Dreams came true on Mercer Lake on Wednesday morning, as athletes in 11 events raced their way onto the 2013 U.S. National Team that will compete at the 2013 World Rowing Championships in Chungju, South Korea. For 15 athletes, it is their first time on a senior national team.
"This has been a long time coming," said men's single sculler Stephen Whelpley. "I'm an older guy here at trials, but by no means too old. Eight years has been a long time coming.
Whelpley (Moquon, Wis.) of Craftsbury Sculling Center secured his spot on the U.S. National Team in the men's single with a time of 7:15.50. Whelpley finished more than 18 seconds ahead of New York Athletic Club's Lenny Futterman (New York, N.Y.).
Although it is Whelpley's first senior national team trials win, it isn't his first successful race on Mercer Lake in West Windsor, N.J. He finished second to John Graves in the men's single at 2013 National Selection Regatta #1 in April, and won the event at the 2013 USRowing National Championships in June.
"I spent the last quadrennial being the guy on the cusp, being second in a lot of situations, so it's good to finally reap the benefits of what I've been doing," Whelpley said.
In the lightweight men's single sculls, a familiar face took first for the second time in two weeks. Andrew Campbell (New Canaan, Conn.) of Cambridge Boat Club finished first by more than two boat lengths of open water with a time of 7:14.74 over Craftsbury Sculling Center's Joshua Konieczny (Millbury, Ohio), who finished in 7:20.48.
Campbell's most recent race was just as successful - he won gold in the event in Linz, Austria at the World Rowing Under 23 Championships. Last year, he won a bronze medal at the 2012 World Rowing Senior and Junior Championships in the lightweight single.
"My goal for the summer was to win Under 23 Championships, so this is all really just icing on the cake," Campbell said. "I was bronze last year at the senior level, so I'm looking to improve on that."
This is Campbell's seventh time on a national team - he was a member of the 2010 Junior National Team, the 2009, 2011 and 2013 Under 23 National Teams, and the 2011, 2012 and 2013 Senior National Teams.
In the men's pair, the USRowing Training Center - Princeton crew of Michael DiSanto (Boston, Mass.) and Alex Karwoski (Hollis, N.H.) ran a tight race with Union Boat Club's Peter Graves (Cincinnati, Ohio) and Ben Ruble (Minneapolis, Minn.), but pushed their bow out in the final sprint.
With Union coming from behind, the crew took the lead at the 1000-meter mark, until the Training Center crew pushed through Union's lead with 750 meters to go. USRowing Training Center gained open water in the final meters, finishing in 6:53.26, more than four seconds ahead of Union's time of 6:57.04.
Benjamin Dann (Pound Ridge, N.Y.) and John Graves (Cincinnati, Ohio) of Craftsbury Sculling Center won the men's double Wednesday morning over Potomac Boat Club's Willy Cowles (Farmington, Conn.) and Matt Miller (Springfield, Va.). Craftsbury finished just three seconds ahead of Potomac with a time of 6:29.81.
"We stayed composed and I was proud of the way we executed," said Graves. "It was tough competition and I give those guys a lot of credit for giving us a good race."
Graves won the single at NSR #1, but fell short of qualifying the event at the world cup series this summer. He then made the decision to team up with Dann and race the double at trials.
"It's interesting, not being out there by myself anymore," Graves said. "It's simple to go out, and have your single and two oars and go as fast as you can, but if we aren't on the same page, then it won't work. It's just making sure we're communicating well and executing together. We're both excited to see what we can do."
In a field of four competitors for the lightweight women's single sculls, Michelle Sechser (Folsom, Calif.) of USRowing Training Center - Oklahoma City won with a time of 8:16.06, securing her place for the second year in a row on the U.S. National Team. In a tight battle across the field during the first 1,200 meters of the lightweight men's pair, New York Athletic Club's Greg Flood (Tulsa, Okla.) and Frank Petrucci (Warwick, N.Y.) won with a time of 7:05.23.
Next up in the men's coxed pair, Penn A.C. Rowing Club won over Maritime Rowing Club with a time of 7:28.75. The Penn A.C. Crew consisted of coxswain Stephen Young (Tampa, Fla.), Rob Munn (Redmond, Wash.) and Matthew Wheeler (Eugene, Ore.).
Wednesday's finish secures Young's third time on the senior national team, and Munn and Wheeler's first. Munn won gold inthe 2012, 2011 and 2010 men's eight at the World Rowing Under 23 Championships. Wheeler represented the U.S. on the under 23 national team in 2008 and 2009, as well as at the Pan American Games in 2011.
In the lightweight women's quadruple sculls, the Seattle Rowing Center crew of Helen Tompkins (Friendswood, Texas), Nancy Miles (Bainbridge Island, Wash.), Rachel Stortvedt (Long Beach, Calif.) and Hillary Saeger (Ambler, Penn.) were named to the team with their win over GMS Rowing Club. Seattle finished with a time of 6:53.63.
Of the four members of the quad, only Saeger has been on a U.S. Senior National Team before; Miles competed on the junior team in 2011, Tompkins on the under 23 team from 2008-10, and it is Stortvedt's first year on a team.
In the last contested event of the morning, the lightweight men's quad, Malta Boat Club won with a time of 6:16.34. The quad included Andrew Quinn (Honeoye Falls, N.Y.), Colin Ethridge (Laytonsville, Md.), Dave Smith (Seattle, Wash.), and Shane Madden (Ambler, Penn.).
For the final two events of the day, the lightweight men's double rowed uncontested down the course. Cambridge Boat Club's Nick Trojan (Los Alamitos, Calif.) and Austin Meyer (Cohoes, N.Y.) secured their spot to race at the 2013 World Rowing Championships with a time of 6:49.83.
This is Meyer's sixth time on a U.S. National Team, having competed as a junior, under 23 and senior.
The final crew to race down the course was the women's four from USRowing Training Center - Princeton. Rowing uncontested, Felice Mueller (Cleveland, Ohio), Tessa Gobbo (Chesterfield, N.H.), Olivia Coffey (Watkins Glen, N.Y.) and Emily Huelskamp (Sainte Genevieve, Mo.) finished with a time of 7:09.25.