Fifteen Boats Accept Spots on 2022 Under 23 National Team

Fifteen boats accepted spots on the 2022 Under 23 National Team on Wednesday at the 2022 Under 23 and Under 19 National Team Trials at Nathan Benderson Park in Sarasota, Fla. Those boats will now represent the U.S. at the 2022 World Rowing Under 23 Championships this July in Varese, Italy.

In the under 23 men's single sculls, Coeur d'Alene Rowing Association's Isaiah Harrison easily won the final, finishing with a time of 7:04.30, 41 seconds ahead of Michael Wilson. Harrison won the bronze medal in the single at the 2021 World Rowing Junior Championships.

"We approached the race optimistic about what I could do but uncertain what others could do, so it was a matter of just being consistent, racing a plan, and executing as best we can," Harrison said. "We got down here a little early to deal with the Florida weather, Florida heat. We added an extra day. We've found its really helpful to cover all of our bases and do the best we can from there."

Oklahoma High Performance Center's Katelin Gildersleeve won the U23 women's single sculls by just over eight seconds. Gildersleeve, who won a bronze medal in the single at the 2019 World Rowing Junior Championships, finished with a time of 7:54.67, with Oak Neck Academy's Ella Barry finishing second in an 8:02.79. Gildersleeve, however, declined her spot in the single, with the option rolling down to Barry. The Oak Neck sculler then accepted the spot.

In the closest race of the day – the U23 lightweight men's single sculls – Oak Neck Academy's Nicholas Aronow chased down Redwood Scullers' Matthew Willer in the final five strokes to make his second under 23 national team. Aronow, who finished seventh in the event at the 2021 World Rowing Under 23 Championships, clocked a 7:13.60 to finish 0.3 seconds ahead of Willer.

In the U23 lightweight women's single sculls, University of Virginia Women's Rowing's Isabella Begley defeated Vesper Boat Club's Eva Harris by nearly 25 seconds. Begley, who raced in the lightweight women's quadruple sculls at the 2021 World Rowing Under 23 Championships, finished with a time of 8:11.41, with Harris finishing in an 8:36.06.

In the U23 men's double sculls, Craftsbury Green Racing Project's Tucker Thomas and Thomas Foltz won their race by over 20 seconds, finishing with a time of 6:37.69. Conshohocken Rowing Center's Gianluca Foschi Walko and Jason Kennedy finished second.

In the U23 women's double sculls, Craftsbury Green Racing Project's Susan Cook and Simone Vorperian defeated Redwood Scullers' Hailey Mead and Meena Baher by just over seven seconds, finishing with a time of 7:12.00. Cook finished ninth in the quadruple sculls at last year's World Rowing Under 23 Championships.

In the U23 lightweight men's double sculls, Newport Sea Base's Clay Rybus and Sean Rybus defeated Conshohocken Rowing Center's Thomas Russell and Daniel Ward by nearly 11 seconds. The Rybus brothers, who raced the double at last year's World Rowing Junior Championships, finished with a time of 6:36.50.

In the U23 men's pair, Tiger Rowing Development Camp's Floyd Benedikter and Nick Taylor defeated the unaffiliated boat of Brahm Erdmann and Henry Bellew by 9.5 seconds. Benedikter and Taylor finished with a time of 6:47.53.

In the U23 women's pair, Craftsbury Green Racing Project's Sue Holderness and Megan Lee defeated the unaffiliated pair of Jeri Rhodes and Elena Collier-Hezel by just under five seconds. Holderness and Lee clocked a 7:29.02, with Rhodes and Collier-Hezel finishing in a 7:33.71.

In the U23 lightweight men's pair, Buffalo Scholastic Rowing Association's Nathaniel Sass and Collin Hay claimed victory in a 6:58.20, finishing 15 seconds ahead of the second-place boat. Sass and Hay finished fourth in the event at the 2021 World Rowing Under 23 Championships.

In the U23 lightweight men's quadruple sculls, Conshohocken Rowing Center's crew of Simon Dubiel, Eli Rabinowitz, Justin Schmidt, and Troy Riesenberger took home the victory by over four seconds, clocking a time of 6:09.19. Dubiel, Rabinowitz, and Riesenberger have all made national teams in previous years.

Five boats raced uncontested to earn the right to race in Varese, with four boats accepting those berths.

In the U23 lightweight women's double sculls, the Oklahoma City High Performance Center/Oklahoma City University composite crew of Brooke Ruszkiewicz and Ruthie Lacy crossed the finish line in a time of 7:51.99 to earn their national team spot. Lacy raced in the lightweight women's quadruple sculls at the 2021 World Rowing Under 23 Championships.

In the U23 lightweight women's pair, the unaffiliated duo of Ava Sack and Elsa Andrews clocked a 7:45.97 to claim their spot in Italy.

In the U23 women's four, the University of Texas, Austin boat of Kaitlin Knifton, Fran Raggi, Anna Jensen, and Caitlin Esse clocked a 6:51.07 to claim their spot in Varese. The four has a lot of international racing experience. Raggi stroked the women's eight to a gold medal and the women's four to a silver medal at the 2021 World Rowing Under 23 Championships, while Jensen was a member of that gold-medal eight. Esse won silver in the U23 women's pair in 2021. Knifton has represented the U.S. at the junior level, having won a bronze medal in the four with coxswain at the 2018 World Rowing Junior Championships.

In the U23 lightweight women's quadruple sculls, the Conshohocken Rowing Center crew of Claire Friedlander, Savanna Jacovini, Kathleen Love, and Ava Gamble crossed the line with a time of 7:14.31 to earn their spot in Italy.

In the U23 men's four, the Craftsbury Green Racing Project crew of Braeden Arthur, George Lawton, Caleb Nollenberger, and Evan Albers finished with a time of 6:23.15. However, the crew declined their world championships' berth, meaning the U.S. will not be taking that boat class to Varese.

Click here for complete results.

In total, more than 125 athletes competed at the trials for the chance to represent the U.S. later this summer in Varese. Click here for yesterday's release on the under 19 trials.

The 2022 World Rowing Under 23 World Championships and 2022 World Rowing Under 19 Championships will take place July 25-31 on Lake Varese in Varese, Italy. The remainder of the boats will be chosen through selection camps and named in early July.