Finals Complete at Pan American Games Trials

Finals are now complete at the 2022 Pan American Games Trials on Lake Mercer in West Windsor, N.J., with 20 athletes earning the right to represent the United States at the 2023 Pan American Games Qualification Regatta this coming March in Chile.

The Pan American Games Trials featured racing in six events including the men's and women's single sculls, lightweight men's and women's single sculls, and men's and women's pairs. The top two finishers in the lightweight single sculls earned the right to represent the U.S. in the lightweight double sculls at the qualification regatta. In the open weight single sculls, the winners earned the right to race for the U.S. in the single sculls at the qualifier, the second and third-place finishers earned the right to race the double sculls, and the top four finishers earned the right to race the quadruple sculls. On the sweep side, the winners of the pairs earned the right to represent the U.S. at the qualifier, with the top two pairs earning the right to race the qualifier in the fours.

In the women's single sculls, Craftsbury Green Racing Project's Grace Joyce (Northfield, Ill./University of Wisconsin), who raced in the women's quadruple sculls at the 2022 World Rowing Championships, edged out ARION's Lauren O'Connor (Belleville, Wis./University of Wisconsin) by 0.44 seconds to earn the victory. Joyce covered the course in a 7:56.05, with O'Connor, who recently won the women's single at the U.S. Lotman Challenge and finished second in the single at USRowing's 2022 Senior National Team Trials in August, crossing the line in a 7:56.49. ARION's Kristi Wagner (Weston, Mass./Yale University), a Tokyo 2020 Olympian who raced in the double sculls in Japan and at this year's world championships, finished third in an 8:00.38, with ARION's Savannah Brija (Lemont, Ill./Ithaca College), who also raced in the quad at this year's world championships, taking fourth in an 8:02.95.

Craftsbury Green Racing Project's Jacob Plihal (Vashon Island, Wash./Northeastern University), who raced in the quadruple sculls at the world championships this summer, won the men's single sculls final by 0.62 seconds over New York Athletic Club's Greg Davis (Hillsborough, Calif./Cornell University). Plihal clocked a 7:09.11, with Davis coming home in a 7:09.73. NYAC's Eliot Putman (Littleton, Mass./Cornell University) finished third in a 7:14.18, with Saugatuck Rowing Club's Casey Fuller (Newtown, Conn./Fairfield University) taking fourth in a 7:21.10. Davis has represented the U.S. at the under 19 and under 23 levels, while Putnam has raced for the U.S. on an under 23 team and at the 2021 World Rowing Final Olympic Qualification Regatta. Fuller has represented the U.S. at the World University Games.

Craftsbury Green Racing Project's Ezra Carlson (Eureka, Calif./University of Washington) and Alexander Hedge (Morristown, N.J./Columbia University) dominated the final in the men's pair, clocking a 6:46.39 to win the race by more than 22 seconds. Penn Athletic Club' Cooper Hurley (Andover, Mass./University of Delaware) and Nicholas Ruggiero (Haddonfield, N.J./University of Delaware) finished second in a 7:08.55. Carlson served as an alternate at this year's world championships and won the championship single at the Head of the Charles last month. Hurley represented the U.S. at the 2019 Pan American Games.

New York Athletic Club's Madeleine Wanamaker (Neenah, Wis./University of Wisconsin) and Claire Collins (McLean, Va./Princeton University), who brought home the bronze medal in the women's pair at the 2022 World Rowing Championships, won today's final of the women's pair by two seconds over Craftsbury Green Racing Project's Emily Froehlich (Fishers, Ind./University of Texas) and Daisy Mazzio-Manson (Wellesley, Mass./Yale University). Wanamaker and Collins clocked a 7:21.36, with Froehlich and Mazzio-Manson, who have both represented the U.S. at the U23 level, crossing in a 7:23.47. USTC-Princeton's Allyson Baker (North Royalton, Ohio/The Ohio State University) and Kelsey Reelick (Brookfield, Conn./Princeton University) finished third, finishing in a 7:26.24.

In the lightweight men's single sculls, Oxford Brookes University Boat Club's Jamie Copus (Oxford, Great Britain/Oxford Brookes University), who won the lightweight single sculls at the 2022 Head of the Charles, bested New York Athletic Club's Sam Melvin (Huntington Beach, Calif./Columbia University) by 2.6 seconds to earn the victory. Copus finished with a time of 7:11.87, with Melvin crossing in a 7:14.47. Melvin won the event at the 2019 World Rowing Under 23 Championships. Riverside Boat Club's Sean Richardson (Beverly, Mass./University of Massachusetts) finished third, more than 11 seconds behind Melvin.

In the lightweight women's single sculls, Molly Reckford (Short Hills, N.J./Dartmouth College) and Michelle Sechser (Folsom, Calif./University of Tulsa), who teamed up to win the silver medal in the lightweight women's double sculls at the 2022 World Rowing Championships, took the top two spots in today's final, earning the right to race the lightweight double at the Pan Am qualifier. Reckford won the race in a 7:49.88, with Sechser crossing just over two seconds behind in a 7:51.05. Riverside Boat Club's Elizabeth Martin (Lexington, Mass./Massachusetts Institute of Technology) finished third.

For complete Pan American Games Trials results, click here.

USRowing would like to thank Filippi Lido, the Official Boat Supplier for the U.S. Senior, Under 23, and Para Rowing National Teams. Under the agreement, Filippi is providing USRowing a fleet of boats for international competitions including the World Rowing Cup regattas, World Rowing Under 23 Championships, World Rowing Championships, Olympic Games, and Paralympic Games, as well as a domestic training fleet for the USRowing Training Center.