[GRP Row] NSR I
By Webster Thompson
The GRP rowers threw down some pieces this week amongst some of the top American scullers at National Selection Regatta 1 in Sarasota, Florida. In a newly minted format of racing, the racers stayed strong and managed to have some great racing and impressive results. In the Men’s 1x time trial, Jacob Plihal advanced straight to the A/B Semifinal with a 3rd place finish. The rest of the men progressed to the repechage with Ezra Carlson in 11th, Luke Rein in 13th, Alexander Hedge in 19th, Jack Reid in 20th, and Webster Thompson in 24th. In the Women’s 1x Time Trial, Emily Delleman advanced to the A/B Semifinal with a 4th place finish. The rest of the women progressed to repechages with Grace Joyce in 10th, Erin Boxberger in 17th, Emily Froehlich in 22nd, Bridget Schodorf in 26th, and Hannah Fitts in 28th.
Jacob and Emily Delleman earned themselves a day off while the rest of the rowers raced their repechages the next day. In the Men’s event, Webster Thompson progressed to the C Final with a 3rd place finish in Rep 2, Alexander Hedge progressed to the C Final with a 4th place finish in Rep 3, and Luke Rein and Jack Reid raced to the C Final with a 3rd and 4th place finish respectively in Rep 4. Ezra Carlson progressed to the D Final with a 6th place finish in Rep 3.
The Women’s repechages saw Erin Boxberger progress to the D Final with a 5th place finish in Rep 1, Grace Joyce advanced to the A/B Semifinal with a win in Rep 2, Bridget advanced to the E Final with a 5th place finish in the same Rep. In Rep 3, Emily Froehlich advanced to the D Final with a 5th place finish, and Hannah Fitts advanced to the E Final with a 6th place finish in Rep 4.
The next day of racing brought the Semifinals, CDEF Finals, a ripping tailwind, and some thunder delays. In the first Women’s Semifinal, Emily Delleman earned a spot in the A Final with a 3rd place finish. In the second, Grace also found herself a lane in the A Final with a 3rd place finish. In the second Men’s Semifinal, Jacob Plihal won to get a center lane in the A Final.
The next race with sprigs representing was the Men’s C Final, which had four representatives. Luke Rein finished 2nd, Alexander Hedge placed 3rd, Jack Reid finished 5th, and Webster Thompson rounded out the pack in 6th. This was followed by the Women’s D Final, where Emily Froehlich finished 2nd and Erin Boxberger came across the line in 4th. In the Men’s D Final, Ezra Carlson won decisively. In the Women’s E Final, Bridget Schodorf finished 3rd and Hannah Fitts finished 4th.
The last day of racing in Sarasota brought A Finals and flat water to the course, with three Cedar Sprigs representing between the two races. Jacob Plihal finished 2nd overall with an impressive sprint to hold his position. In the Women’s A Final, Emily Delleman finished in 4th after an amazing race, and Grace Joyce finished 6th, both holding strong with some of the most impressive scullers in the country. The rowers are now getting ready to race in May for NSR 2 in Princeton.