Waiting to board a plane for New Jersey from the Tampa Airport, Sarasota Scullers team captain Marcel Griffeon sat quietly in the terminal. He was nervous, excited and ready to race. He was about to board a plane for the 2016 USRowing Youth National Championships hosted by the Princeton National Rowing Association on Mercer Lake in West Windsor, N.J.
“I’m going to get to see a lot of the friends that I have made throughout my rowing career,”said Griffeon. “It's going to be great to get to see everyone one last time, but I am most excited to race and see what we can do. We have been training really hard and we are ready to race.”
The senior from Pine View High School recently graduated as a National Merit Finalist, a National Hispanic Scholar, a USRowing Honor Roll Scholar and will attend the California Institute of Technology next year. After rowing for four years with the Sarasota Scullers, Griffeon will now add to his senior year accolades and compete for the first time at the Youth National Championships in the men’s youth quadruple sculls.
“We have a good shot to do well. We just really want to start racing.”
Griffeon and his competitors will be a part of the largest Youth National Championships ever held by USRowing. The event boasts 411 entries with more than 1,771 athletes competing for eighteen national titles. Racing is scheduled to begin at 8 a.m. on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
“Each year, this regatta seems to up the ante,” said Events Manager AJ Dominique. “Historic numbers, a packed schedule, both on and off of the water, and a location at the U.S. National Team’s home course really are setting up for a memorable experience.”
In total, 178 clubs from 30 states will compete at this year’s event. California is the most-represented state with 20 entries, followed closely by New York with 19. With nine total entries, Saugatuck Rowing Club from from Westport, Conn. boasts the most entries in the regatta.
For a list of qualified crews, click here. Results and heat sheets will be posted to the event page on USRowing's website here. Videos of racing will be available to view after the semifinals Saturday and after the finals on Sunday on USRowing's YouTube channel.
One of the highlights of the event, the USRowing Graduation Ceremony, will be held at 6:30 p.m., on Thursday, June 9, at the outdoor Mercer County Amphitheater. An evening set to honor the graduating class of 2016, senior student-athletes will be honored in a 30-minute ceremony and receive a USRowing Certificate of Excellence. Alongside featured speaker Olympic men's eight stroke-seat Austin Hack (Old Lyme, Conn.) will be Scholastic Honor Roll Representatives from the Princeton National Rowing Association, Eileen Hu and Kathryn Miller.
In addition, USRowing will host an Olympic Day Meet and Greet on Sunday, June 12 from 12 p.m. to 3 p.m. at the finish line tent. All are welcome to meet and greet Olympic athletes, pose for photos and get autographs. Fans will have a chance to meet the U.S. men's eight, fresh off its performance in Lucerne, Switzerland where the crew qualified for the upcoming 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.
About USRowing: USRowing is a nonprofit organization recognized by the United States Olympic Committee as the governing body for the sport of rowing in the United States. USRowing has 85,000 individual members and 1,300 member organizations, offering rowing programs for all. USRowing receives generous support from the National Rowing Foundation and its corporate sponsors and partners.
There are no comments
Please login to post comments