Nrra Rowers Shine at Saratoga

Norwalk River Rowing Association rowers took a step closer toward qualifying for the USRowing national championships with a strong performance at the Saratoga Invitational.

The Novice Boys Eight struck gold with Tucker Klutey (Ridgefield HS), Charlie Stout (Darien HS), Kyle Mikesh (Staples HS), Trey Chapman (Ridgefield HS), John Massari (Wilton HS), Brad Plunkett (Darien HS), TJ Galowski (Ridgefield HS), Chris Barr (Brien McMahon HS) and Mike Weaver (Middlesex MS).  With last week’s regatta cancelled due to wind, this was the first time down the race course for the team and all the practice paid off. 

The Girl’s Novice Four took bronze with Anastasia Livesay (Wilton HS), Caroline Demko (Brien McMahon HS), Alex Stonehill (Brien McMahon HS), Kylie O’Connor (Wilton HS) and Adrianna Marino (Norwalk HS). 

The last medal of the day was won in the Boy’s Varsity Four. Anchored by the 2009 National Championship pair of  AJ O’Mahoney (Wilton HS) and Patrick Doty (Ridgefield HS), the crew was rounded out by senior Will Roberston (Wilton HS), Matt Koenigsberg (Wilton HS) and Francesco Criscuolo (Darien HS). 

On Sunday, the Boys Lightweight Varsity Eight grabbed silver with Ben Stout (Wilton HS), Parker Lange (Darien HS), Matt LaMonte (Wilton HS), Lane Brokaw (Darien HS), Evan Boliakis (homeschool), Kyle LaVecchia (Darien HS), Sam Oster (AITE), and Matt Stout (Wilton HS). In one of the most exciting races of the day, a furious sprint in the last 300 meters brought the guys within 1.06 seconds of the gold medal.

Five minutes later, the Girls Junior Varsity Four of Anastasia Livesay (Wilton HS), Caroline Demko (Brien McMahon HS), Alex Stonehill (Brien McMahon HS), Kylie O’Connor (Wilton HS) and Adrianna Marino (Norwalk HS) finished second for its second medal of the weekend.

The Novice Girls Eight earned bronze with  Caroline Arnold (Middlebrook MS), Maggie Roberts (Wilton HS), Claudia Tomaj (AITE), Megan Mahoney (Trumbull HS), Madeleine Apuzzo (Wilton HS), Siobhan Deacy (Wilton HS),  Julia Barr (Brien McMahon HS), Brenna Gilhooley (Darien HS) and Nathalie Hopewell (Ridgefield HS). They finished 1.1 seconds out of first.

The 2nd Novice Boys Eight won silver with Ryan Lewis (Wilton HS), Adam Worrell (Foundation HS), Alex Garrison (AITE), Matt Carney (Wilton HS),  James Griffiths (Darien HS), Alex Nicoll (Wilton HS), Ben Quantock (Wilton HS), Willem Taverna (Wilton HS), John Thacker  (Darien HS), Joe Torg (Wilton HS) and Tristan Haas (Wilton HS). 

Finally the Silver Sunday hex was broken as the 1st Novice Boys Eight raced the 1500 meters ahead of the pack.  With a time of 4:55.60, the Novices added a second gold medal to the one they won on Saturday.

The final medal count included two gold medals, four silver medals and two bronze medals .The team has one more race against Mercer Juniors in preparation for the USRowing Northeast Regional Championships where they’ll be looking to qualify again for the USRowing National Championships.

The Norwalk River Rowing Association is the only non-profit rowing club in Fairfield County providing rowing for all ages of kids and adults. Log on to its website for more information.

 

Caption: The NRRA Girls Novice Four included (from left) Kylie O'Connor , Anastasia Livesay, Adrianna Marino, Caroline Demko and Alex Stonehill.

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