Pan Am Qualifier Trials and Fall Speed Order Underway in New Jersey

Racing at the 2022 Pan American Games Trials and 2022 USRowing Fall Speed Order got underway Wednesday morning with time trials 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 winner of the pair will represent the U.S. at the qualifier, with the top two pairs earning spots in the four.

In the men's single sculls time trial, New York Athletic Club's Eliot Putman (Littleton, Mass./Cornell University) posted the fastest time of the morning, crossing the finish line in a 7:07.78 to finish 1.4 seconds ahead of Craftsbury Green Racing Project's Jacob Plihal (Vashon Island, Wash./Northeastern University). Putnam won the 2020 U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Rowing in the men's quadruple sculls before competing at the 2021 World Rowing Final Olympic Qualification Regatta. He also was a member of the 2017 Under 23 National Team. Plihal made the senior national team for the first time this year, racing in the quadruple sculls at the 2022 World Rowing Championships in Racice, Czech Republic. A two-time under 23 national team member, Plihal finished second in the single at this year's National Selection Regatta I. Saugatuck Rowing Club's Casey Fuller (Newtown, Conn./Fairfield University) finished six seconds behind Plihal in the time trial to take third, with NYAC's Greg Davis (Hillsborough, Calif./Cornell University) finishing fourth. Putnam and Plihal will be the top seeds in tomorrow's semifinals.

ARION's Kristi Wagner (Weston, Mass./Yale University), a Tokyo 2020 Olympian, clocked the fastest time in the women's single sculls time trial. Wagner, who raced the double sculls in Tokyo and at this year's world championships, crossed the line with a time of 7:51.62, finishing just 0.80 seconds ahead of ARION teammate Lauren O'Connor (Belleville, Wis./University of Wisconsin). O'Connor 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. Boston Rowing Federation's Maggie Fellows (Warwick, Mass./St. Lawrence University) and ARION's Savannah Brija (Lemont, Ill./Ithaca College) finished third and fourth, respectively. Both were part of the women's quadruple sculls that competed in Racice. The four women will be the top seeds in tomorrow morning's quarterfinals.

Representing New York Athletic Club, Tokyo 2020 Olympians 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, recorded the fastest time in today's women's pair time trial by 2.32 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 covered the course in a 7:30.59, with Froehlich and Mazzio-Manson finishing in a 7:32.91. Froehlich and Mazzio-Manson both have under 23 national team experience. USRowing Training Center – Princeton's Allyson Baker (North Royalton, Ohio/The Ohio State University) and Kelsey Reelick (Brookfield, Conn./Princeton University) finished third, followed by USTC-Princeton's Alina Hagstrom (Seattle, Wash./Oregon State University) and Charlotte Buck (Nyack, N.Y./Columbia University). Reelick, Hagstrom, and Buck were all part of the women's eight that raced at this year's world championships, while Baker was part of the women's four. The crews will race in the semifinals on Thursday.

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, won the time trial ahead of New York Athletic Club's Sam Melvin (Huntington Beach, Calif./Columbia University). Copus finished with a time of 7:12.09, with Melvin clocking a 7:28.03. Copus has represented Great Britain internationally at multiple age levels, while Melvin is the 2019 World Rowing Under 23 Championships' gold medalist in the event. Riverside Boat Club's Sean Richardson (Beverly, Mass./University of Massachusetts) finished third, with Riverside's Alex Twist (Boston, Mass./ University of Puget Sound) finishing fourth. Copus and Melvin will be the top seeds in tomorrow's semifinals.

Tokyo 2020 Olympians Molly Reckford (Short Hills, N.J./Dartmouth College) and Michelle Sechser (Folsom, Calif./University of Tulsa), who won the silver medal in the lightweight women's double sculls at the 2022 World Rowing Championships, finished one-two in today's time trial of the lightweight women's single sculls. Representing Sarasota Crew, Reckford finished with a time of 8:02.46 to finish just over nine seconds ahead of Cambridge Boat Club's Sechser. Riverside Boat Club's Elizabeth Martin (Lexington, Mass./Massachusetts Institute of Technology) finished third. Reckford and Sechser will be the top seeds in tomorrow's semifinals.

With only two entries, the men's pair did not have a time trial. The final will be held on Friday.

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 men's single sculls, Saugatuck Rowing Club's Jansen van Arsdale (Westport, Conn./University of Connecticut) won the race with a time of 7:44.71, finishing more than 15 seconds ahead of Vesper Boat Club's Diego Delgado.

In the women's single sculls, ARION's Sophia Hahn (Braselton, Ga./Yale University) posted the fastest time in the time trial, winning in an 8:03.74. Hahn is a three-time national team member at the under 19 and under 23 levels, having won gold in the eight at the 2021 and 2022 World Rowing Under 23 Championships. ARION's Lauren Miller (St. Cloud, Minn./University of Minnesota) finished second, with Craftsbury Green Racing Project's Meena Baher (Mountain View, Calif./Harvard University) taking third.

Racing in the Pan American Games Trials continues on Thursday with quarterfinals and semifinals. Due to the weather forecast, finals in all Pan Am events now are scheduled for Friday and there is no racing scheduled for Saturday. Speed Order finals are scheduled to take place on Thursday morning.

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.