Finals Set at Pan American Games Trials

Finals are now set at the 2022 Pan American Games Trials, while racing at the 2022 USRowing Fall Speed Order finished up on Thursday morning on Lake Mercer in West Windsor, N.J.

The Pan American Games Trials, which will select the athletes who will represent the U.S. at the 2023 Pan American Games Qualification Regatta this coming March in Chile, features 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 will represent the U.S. in the lightweight double sculls at the qualification regatta. In the open weight single sculls, the winner will represent the U.S. in the single sculls, the second and third-place finishers will compete in the double sculls, and the top four finishers will race the quadruple sculls at the qualifier. On the sweep side, the winners of the pairs will represent the U.S. at the qualifier, with the top two pairs earning spots in the fours.

After racing quarterfinals in the morning, the women's single scullers were back on the water Thursday afternoon for the semifinals and a chance to advance to Friday's final. 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, bested ARION's Kristi Wagner (Weston, Mass./Yale University), who raced the double sculls at this year's world championships, by just under five seconds in the first semifinal. Joyce stroked a 7:38.93, with Wagner finishing in a 7:43.81. ARION's Hannah Paynter (Lyme, Conn./Princeton University) finished third in a 7:47.14. Paynter served as an alternate at this year's world championships. In the second semifinal, ARION's Lauren O'Connor (Belleville, Wis./University of Wisconsin), 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, finished nearly four seconds ahead of ARION teammate Maddy Focht (Long Beach, Calif.). ARION's Savannah Brija (Lemont, Ill./Ithaca College), who raced in the quad at this year's world championships, finished third to claim the last spot in the final.

In the men's single sculls, New York Athletic Club's Greg Davis (Hillsborough, Calif./Cornell University) recorded the fastest time of the three semifinals. Racing in the first semi, Davis topped Saugatuck Rowing Club's Casey Fuller (Newtown, Conn./Fairfield University) by a little less than three seconds to win the race. Davis crossed the line in a 7:14.84, with Fuller clocking a 7:17.71. NYAC's Eliot Putman (Littleton, Mass./Cornell University), who won yesterday's time trial, won the third semifinal with a time of 7:15.41, finishing more than three seconds ahead of Craftsbury Green Racing Project's Luke Rein (College of Charleston). Green Racing Project's Jacob Plihal (Vashon Island, Wash./Northeastern University), who raced in the quadruple sculls at the 2022 World Rowing Championships this summer, won the second semifinal in a 7:17.01, finishing more than four seconds ahead of Riverside Boat Club's Kevin Meador (Berkeley, Calif./Northeastern University), a two-time national team member. The six scullers will face off against each other in tomorrow's final.

New York Athletic Club's Madeleine Wanamaker (Neenah, Wis./University of Wisconsin) and Claire Collins (McLean, Va./Princeton University), who won the bronze medal in the women's pair at the 2022 World Rowing Championships, posted the fastest time of the day while winning the first semifinal. Wanamaker and Collins clocked a 7:25.51 to finish nearly five seconds ahead of USRowing Training Center-Princeton's Alina Hagstrom (Seattle, Wash./Oregon State University) and Charlotte Buck (Nyack, N.Y./Columbia University), who crossed the line in a 7:30.41. USTC-Princeton's Allyson Baker (North Royalton, Ohio/The Ohio State University) and Kelsey Reelick (Brookfield, Conn./Princeton University) narrowly defeated Craftsbury Green Racing Project's Emily Froehlich (Fishers, Ind./University of Texas) and Daisy Mazzio-Manson (Wellesley, Mass./Yale University) in the second semifinal, finishing just 0.16 seconds ahead in a 7:28.38. USTC-Princeton's Regina Salmons (Methuen, Mass./University of Pennsylvania) and Jessica Thoennes (Highlands Ranch, Colo./University of Washington) will join the four crews in tomorrow's final.

In the lightweight men's single sculls, New York Athletic Club's Sam Melvin (Huntington Beach, Calif./Columbia University) clocked the fastest time in the semifinals, winning the first semi by more than 15 seconds over Riverside Boat Club's John Mannion (Berlin, Mass./University of Rhode Island). Melvin, who won the event at the 2019 World Rowing Under 23 Championships, crossed the line in a 7:16.39. 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 and posted the fastest time in yesterday's time trial, won the second semifinal by 11 seconds over Riverside Boat Club's Ashton Knight (Weston, Mass./Tufts University). Copus clocked a 7:23.13 to easily win the race. Riverside Boat Club's Sean Richardson (Beverly, Mass./University of Massachusetts) won the third semifinal by four seconds over teammate Alex Twist (Boston, Mass./ University of Puget Sound). Richardson finished with a time of 7:32.07. The six scullers will face off against each other in tomorrow's final.

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, won the two semifinals to earn the top seeds in tomorrow's final. Racing in the second semifinal, Reckford dominated her race, clocking a 7:55.40 to finish more than 26 seconds ahead of Vesper Boat Club's Mary Wilson (Laurens, S.C./Duke University). Sechser won the first semifinal in an 8:09.50, finishing three seconds ahead of Riverside Boat Club's Elizabeth Martin (Lexington, Mass./Massachusetts Institute of Technology). Keara Twist (Seattle, Wash./Seattle University), a member of the 2019 Pan American Games squad, will join those four scullers in tomorrow's final.

With only two entries, the men's pair will race for the first and only time in Friday's final. Craftsbury Green Racing Project's boat includes Ezra Carlson (Eureka, Calif./University of Washington), who was an alternate on this year's national team and won the championship single at the Head of the Charles, and Alexander Hedge (Morristown, N.J./Columbia University). Craftsbury will take on the Penn Athletic Club boat of Cooper Hurley (Andover, Mass./University of Delaware) and Nicholas Ruggiero (Haddonfield, N.J./University of Delaware). Hurley represented the U.S. at the 2019 Pan American Games.

Racing in the Pan American Games Trials concludes on Friday with the finals in all six events. For complete Pan American Games Trials results, click here.

The Fall Speed Order serves as an opportunity for up-and-coming athletes to test their speed as they head into winter training, with racing being contested in the men's and women's single sculls.

In the women's single sculls, ARION's Sophia Hahn (Braselton, Ga./Yale University) won the speed order in a time of 7:59.78. In what was a tight, three-way race at the top of the field, Hahn, a three-time national team member at the under 19 and under 23 levels, finished 1.02 seconds ahead of Boston Rowing Federation's Margaret Hedeman (Concord, Mass./Yale University), who is also a three-time national team member at the U19 and U23 levels. ARION's Lauren Miller (St. Cloud, Minn./University of Minnesota) finished third, just 0.40 seconds behind Hedeman.

In the men's single sculls, Saugatuck Rowing Club's Jansen van Arsdale (Westport, Conn./University of Connecticut) won the final with a time of 7:35.02, finishing more than 12 seconds ahead of Potomac Boat Club's Solomon Bell.

For complete speed order 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.