Pittsburgh area rowers shine at USRowing Youth National Championships

Reese McGeary immersed herself in the sport of rowing six years ago, and the Point Breeze resident and rising junior at the Ellis School hasn’t left the water since.

It is a comfort to her. It is, in a way, a home away from home.

“My dad noticed that more and more people were joining the sport, and he suggested that I give it a try,” said McGeary, a member of Three Rivers Rowing Association at Washington’s Landing. “I joined my school team, and, to be honest, I didn’t really like it at first. But after that first season and sticking with it, I fell in love with rowing.

“I really enjoy a team and the opportunity to share experiences with them, including at nationals. This is something that I hope to do for the rest of my life. That is one of the good things about rowing. You don’t have to stop.”

McGeary has come a long way in the sport to the point where she is a three-time national silver medalist in the Women’s 1x.

She was part of a large contingent of Pittsburgh area youth rowers — competitors from Three Rivers Rowing, Central Catholic, Steel City Rowing and Sylvan Scullers — to qualify for the USRowing Youth National Championships on June 8-11 in Sarasota, Fla.

Singles, fours and eights boats featuring the local talent were in the water throughout the four days to challenge for top finishes and medals.

McGeary took home the top finish among the nearly 60 Pittsburgh area rowers.

Her third silver medal in Women’s 1x, this time in the U17 division, adds to the previous runner-up finishes in U15 and U16.

“It was great to be able to qualify again and go and compete against so many great athletes,” McGeary said. “It was hot and humid in Sarasota, so that just adds to the challenge of racing. It was part of what everyone had to go through, being able to adapt to that, set aside the pain, and just go for it.”

Each boat participated in preliminary time trials — racing alone against the clock — to see where they would be placed moving forward in the competition. Sixteen made the semifinals after which eight — the top four from each semifinal — qualified for the ‘A’ finals.

The remaining eight raced in the ‘B’ final.

“Going into the finals race, I knew I could do it,” McGeary said. “It came down to how bad I wanted it. The big thing is how everyone is so supportive of each other, coaches and teammates, throughout the year and preparing for nationals and at nationals. I love practicing boats throughout the season and working toward the same goals.”

Three Rivers Rowing had eight boats — also Men’s U16 8+, Women’s Youth 4, Women’s Youth 1x, Men’s U17 1x, Women’s Youth 4x, Men’s Youth 2, and Men’s Youth 4+ — qualify for nationals, featuring student-athletes who attend PPS Creative and Performing Arts Academy; Dorseyville Middle School; Environmental Charter School; Falk Laboratory School; Allderdice, Fox Chapel, Oakland Catholic, Hampton, Mt. Lebanon, Quaker Valley, Ellis, Eden Christian, Oakland Catholic, Sewickley Academy; Shady Side Academy; Shaler; and Franklin Regional high schools; North Allegheny Intermediate; SciTech; and Mother of Divine Grace; as well as two who are homeschooled.

A TRRA youth crew team qualified in nearly every boat class and event level.

“Our young athletes had a very strong spring season, and it is great to see their hard work and dedication pay off,” said Matt Grau, TRRA director of youth rowing.

Added Matt Logue, TRRA executive director: “All of our boats finished the regatta with their best race, and Three Rivers was well-represented on the national stage.”

Three Rivers Rowing had 27 rowers qualify for nationals, the most the club has sent in a single year.

The Men’s U16 8+ of Veronica Hartlage (coxswain), Yalkin Kaynar, Shadi Dayoub, Kavi Singh, William Wiegand-Hammond, Ashwin Wasan, Burke Keener, John Harris and Jasper Morris was ninth after the time trial and fifth in its semifinal, just 3 seconds away from a spot in the ‘A’ final.

The team came back and to finish third in the ‘B’ final (6:49.1) and place 11th overall.

Central Catholic Pitt also was represented by 27 rowers in Men’s Youth 8+, Men’s U17 8+, and Men’s Second Youth 8+.

The team’s all-freshman Men’s U17 8+ of Declan Boyles (coxswain), Nial Yazuvturk, Ryan Loughran, Solo Spears, Joey Berger, Tyler Robinson, Joe Obara, Courtland Rieder and Tino DiSilvio qualified for the “A” final and placed eighth overall with a time of 6:35.5, and the Men’s Youth 8+ was third in the “B” final and 11th overall (6:02.3).

“It was the largest group we’ve ever taken to nationals,” Central Catholic coach Jay Hammond said. “We only really row eights, so to have three qualify for nationals, we were really excited about that. It also was the best we’ve done down there since 2014. I was pretty pleased with the progress we made throughout the spring.

“The regatta itself was very well run, and it was an exciting event.”

Steel City Rowing in Verona had four rowers compete together in the Men’s Youth 4x. The quartet placed 29th (7:05.81).

Also, Luisa Kuehn from Verona’s Sylvan Scullers took 28th in the Women’s U17 1x. She moved up one spot from 29th after the time trials.

Those who took part in USRowing Youth Nationals qualified by earning a top-four finish in their event at the Midwest Youth Championships on May 20-21 in Cincinnati.

“Pittsburgh was so well represented,” Logue said. “That was great to see. We all traveled together and supported each other throughout the regatta. We are competitors between the start line and the finish line, but everything else is to support each other and help each other grow in the sport.

“It is about making sure everyone has a positive experience to where they can be ambassadors for the sport to help its overall growth in the area.”