Pocock junior crews win two national titles

AMELIA, Ohio, June 11, 2006 – Seattle’s Pocock Rowing Center won two of four national championships for local crews on Sunday at the 2006 USRowing Youth National Invitational on Harsha Lake near Cincinnati. The national titles by Pocock, Green Lake Crew and Lakeside School, were among ten medals won by 24 local crews at rowing’s high school national championships.

Pocock’s win in the women’s eight, which unseated two-time defending national champion Oakland Strokes of California, capped a weekend where the Seattle crew dominated racing with top times in the heats and semifinals of the women’s eights at the national regatta.
Rowing at 34 strokes-per-minute throughout the 2,000 meter race, the Pocock eight of coxswain, Kayle Thompson (junior – Shoreline High School), stroke. Jennifer Cromwell (senior – Sammamish High School), 7. Rebecca Carew (senior – Holy Names Academy), 6. Katelin Kelley (junior – University Prep), 5. Kayleigh Mack (senior – Roosevelt High School), 4. Eva Sheridan (senior – Roosevelt High School), 3. Hannah Lauth (sophomore – Shoreline High School), 2. Lyn Kritzer (junior – The Northwest School), bow. Rachel Ellenbogen (junior – Shoreline High School), built on a half-boat length lead after the first 500 meters and overcame a challenge by the Oakland Strokes in the final 500 meters to finish 2.80 seconds ahead of Bay Area crew for its first high school national title. Pocock crossed the finish line with a time of 7:01.57 followed by Oakland in 7:04.37. Everett Rowing Association, the NW regional champion, finished third in a 7:06.68. Cincinnati Junior Rowing Club was fourth followed by Marin Rowing Association and Phillips Exeter Academy.

“We proved we could unleash our inner beast,” said Jennifer Cromwell, a senior at Bellevue’s Sammamish High School and member of the 2005 U.S. junior national rowing team. “Everett beat us at regionals by just over a second and Oakland has one of the best crews in the country,” said Cromwell who also won gold at the 2005 youth invitational in the women’s quad. “Our coaches helped us come together in a great way. Everything that our crew dreamed of happened.”

In the women’s single sculls, Pocock’s Lindsay Meyer a junior at Holy Names Academy in Seattle out-rowed Steel City Rowing Club’s Suzanne Maddamma by 3.01 seconds for the win and her first national title at the regatta. Pocock’s Cromwell brought home the bronze in 8:56.31.

In the women’s double sculls, Lakeside School’s Johanna Mahoney and Hayley Johnson had no trouble winning the title for the second year in a row. Lakeside clocked an 8:15.26 to finish more than nine seconds ahead of Dallas Rowing Club. Dallas crossed the finish line with a time of 8:24.47, while Tempe Junior Crew finished third in an 8:28.40.

In a photo finish for the top three spots in the women’s youth quadruple sculls, Green Lake Crew edged Austin Rowing Club by less 0.18 seconds to capture a national title, while North Allegheny High School finished just 0.20 seconds back for third. Green Lake rowed a 7:47.16 followed by Austin’s 7:47.34. North Allegheny clocked in at 7:47.54. Seattle’s Lakeside School was fourth.

In the men’s eight, Mt. Baker Rowing Center, the two time defending NW champion, brought home the bronze with a 6:16.30 finish. Saint Ignatius College Prep repeated as champion in the event. The crew from San Francisco clocked a 6:14.33 to defeat St. Joseph’s Prep of Philadelphia by 1.97 seconds with a 6:16.30.

Other Seattle-area medal winners include a silver for Holy Names Academy in the women’s lightweight four with coxswain, and bronze medals for the Everett Rowing Association in the men’s lightweight eight, and Redmond’s Sammamish Rowing Association in the men’s quadruple sculls.

About the George Pocock Rowing Foundation
The George Pocock Rowing Foundation is a non-profit organization that serves as a community resource for the support and advancement of the sport of rowing in the Northwest. The Foundation is active in helping develop new rowing programs, providing rowing opportunities for at-risk children and adults, and sponsoring men and women training for the U.S. National Rowing Team.