Malta Boat Club's Colin Ethridge (Laytonsville, Md.) isn't certain how many times he has raced his fellow competitors in the senior men's single sculls event at this week's trials, but he knows it is a lot.
"Matt and I were doubles partners at trials," said Ethridge. Matt (O'Leary), Hugh (McAdam) and I rowed the quad last year. Dave Smith, another guy here, and I rowed the quad together in 2013. Jack Devlin and I went to high school together, so there's a lot of guys I know. Everyone knows each other; it's fun. Makes it more competitive."
That knowledge and respect for his fellow competitors gave Ethridge the edge to win one of the hardest-fought battles of the entire trials. Off the start, the field of lightweight men's single sculls stood even with one another until Matt Mahon (St. Louis, Mo.) and Ethridge broke away. The two scullers raced nearly neck-and-neck until Ethridge was able put his bow ball in front to win in a time of 6:55.36.
"I was really kind of dialed in on what I was doing. I wasn't so much focusing in on the other boats, which is a nice change for me. At the end, the last one hundred meters, I took a look around and saw I was up and I just held it through the end."
Thursday morning's finals mark the end of the 2016 U.S. Senior, Under 23 and Junior World Championships Trials, the largest USRowing trials ever, as 10 finals took to Lake Mercer.
In total, eight under 23 and two senior-level crews qualified for 2016 World Rowing Senior, Under 23 and Junior Championships scheduled for August 21-28 in Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
Cambridge Boat Club's Cicely Madden (Weston, Mass.) started the morning off strong, winning the under 23 women's single sculls final with a time of 7:50.10, seven seconds ahead of Narragansett Boat Club. Qualifying for her first under 23 team, Madden has previously been a member of three junior teams and won two silver medals in the junior women's quadruple sculls.
Racing unaffiliated, Brennan Wertz (Marin, Calif.) and Jovanni Stefani (San Francisco, Calif.) held off a charging New York Athletic Crew in the under 23 men's pair to punch their ticket to Rotterdam, posting a time of 6:37.92. Wertz and Stefani finished ninth in the eight at the 2014 World Rowing Junior Championships
Defending under 23 world champion Georgia Ratcliffe (Falls Church, Va.) and Kendall Chase (Evergreen, Colo.) will represent the U.S. in the under 23 women's pair. Both gold medalists from the 2015 Under 23 World Rowing Championships, the pair recorded a time of 7:16.94.
Qualifying for their first national team on their home course, Princeton National Rowing Association's Kyle James and John Gleim finished first in the under 23 lightweight men's pair with a time of 6:53.24.
"It's been my dream since I was really little to go to worlds and race for the U.S.," said James. "The last time I raced here was for the University of Wisconsin at IRAs. It's fun to see the sculling clubs here and race different programs from around the country."
Crossing the line in a time of 7:13.10, Olympia Area Rowing Association's Walter Banfield will represent the U.S. in the under 23 lightweight men's single sculls. This will be Banfield's first national team.
Riverside Boat Club's Emma Betuel (East Hampton, N.Y.) will compete for her second national team after qualifying the under 23 lightweight women's single, recording a time of 7:56.36. An Ivy League champion, Betuel finished fifth in the lightweight quadruple sculls at the 2014 World Rowing Under 23 Championships.
The under 23 lightweight double sculls showcased one of the largest margins of the day as Craftsbury Sculling Center's Nick Montalvo and Samuel O'Brien posted a time of 6:35.50, 11.39 seconds ahead of the Undine Barge Club crew.
Vesper Boat Club's Mary Jones (Huntsville, Ala.) put her years of experience to work in the lightweight women's single sculls, qualifying for the 2016 World Rowing Championships in a time of 7:41.46. Jones won gold in the event at the 2015 Pan American Games in Toronto. She also has represented the U.S. in the lightweight quadruple sculls at the 2014 World Rowing Championships.
Narragansett Boat Club's Emily and Eliza Kallfelz (Jamestown, R.I.) will be making travel plans to Rotterdam together after the duo qualified the under 23 women's double sculls in the last final of the regatta. Down for most of the race, the Kallfelz's made their move in the last 500 meters to walk through Charles River Scullers and finish with a time of 7:02.47.
Both members of the 2015 U.S. Junior National Team, Emily finished third in the quadruple sculls, while Eliza finished finished 10th in the single sculls. Earlier in the week, Eliza qualified the junior women's single sculls and will compete in both junior and under 23-level events in Rotterdam.