Racing Underway at USRowing’s 2023 National Selection Regatta

Racing at the 2023 National Selection Regatta got underway Tuesday in Chula Vista, Calif., with time trials in the men's and women's single sculls, double sculls, and pairs.

In the men's single sculls, New York Athletic Club's Eliot Putnam (Littleton, Mass./Cornell University) posted the fastest time in the time trial, covering the course in a 6:35.05, to earn the top seed in Thursday's semifinals. Putnam, who last raced for the U.S. in the men's quadruple sculls at the 2021 World Rowing Final Olympic Qualification Regatta, finished 3.74 seconds ahead of California Rowing Club's Andrew LeRoux (Venice, Fla./Princeton University). LeRoux, who was an alternate at the 2022 World Rowing Championships, finished with a time of 6:38.79. Both Putnam (sixth) and LeRoux (fourth) reached the finals in the men's single at the 2023 Winter Speed Order last month in Sarasota, Fla. Texas Rowing Center's Jonathan Kirkegaard (Philadelphia, Pa./Purdue University), who raced the quadruple sculls at last year's world championships, finished third in today's time trial in a time of 6:44.41, while San Diego Rowing Club's Tom Peszek (Farmington Hills, Mich./University of Michigan), a 2012 Olympian and 10-time national team member, finished fourth in a 6:47.07.

In the women's single sculls, USRowing Training Center – Princeton's Michelle Sechser (Folsom, Calif./University of Tulsa), a Tokyo 2020 Olympian who won a silver medal in the lightweight women's double sculls at last year's world championships, clocked the fastest time in the time trial, winning with a time of 7:15.02. TRC's Kara Kohler (Clayton, Calif./University of California, Berkeley), a nine-time national team member and two-time Olympian who won the bronze medal in the event at the 2019 World Rowing Championships, finished 0.34 seconds behind in a 7:15.36. ARION's Savannah Brija (Lemont, Ill./Ithaca College), who raced the women's quadruple sculls at last year's world championships, finished third in a 7:21.01, with Craftsbury Green Racing Project's Emily Delleman (Davenport, Iowa/Stanford University) taking fourth in a 7:24.31. Delleman was a boatmate with Brija at last year's worlds. Sechser will be the top seed in Thursday's semifinals.

California Rowing Club's Ben Davison (Inverness, Fla./University of Washington) and Sorin Koszyk (Grosse Pointe Park, Mich./Cornell University), who finished one-two in the single sculls at the 2023 Winter Speed Order, dominated the time trial of the men's double sculls. The duo posted a time of 5:55.21 to finish more than 10 seconds ahead of TRC's Kevin Cardno (Huntsville, Ala./University of Alabama, Huntsville) and Dominique Williams (Madison, Conn./University of Pennsylvania) and earned the top seed in Friday's final. Cardno and Williams clocked a 6:05.64 to finish second. Davison finished eighth in the single at the 2022 World Championships, while Koszyk finished seventh in the double sculls. The two are racing together for the first time this week. Cardno and Williams were boatmates in the men's quadruple sculls at last year's world championships. TRC's Zachary Heese (Pelham, N.Y./University of Virginia) and Jasper Liu (Phoenix, Ariz./University of Pennsylvania), who raced the lightweight double sculls at last year's world championships, finished third in a 6:12.24 in today's time trial.

In the time trial of the women's double sculls, ARION's Kristi Wagner (Weston, Mass./Yale University) and Lauren O'Connor (Belleville, Wis./University of Wisconsin) posted the fastest time, clocking a 6:32.95 to finish a little more than three seconds ahead of the TRC/Cambridge Boat Club combination of Sophia Vitas (Franklin, Wis./University of Wisconsin) and Emily Kallfelz (Jamestown, R.I./Princeton University). Vitas and Kallfelz finished with a time of 6:36.28. Wagner, a Tokyo 2020 Olympian in the event, raced the double with Vitas at last year's world championships. Kallfelz was a member of the women's quadruple sculls at last year's worlds, while O'Connor finished second in the single at last month's speed order. The Sarasota Crew/CBC duo of Molly Reckford (Short Hills, N.J./Dartmouth College) and Mary Jones Nabel (Huntsville, Ala./University of Tennessee) finished third in a 6:41.20. Reckford, a Tokyo 2020 Olympian, won a silver medal with Sechser at last year's world championships, while Jones Nabel raced the lightweight women's single sculls at worlds. Wagner and O'Connor enter Friday's final as the top seed.

In the men's pair, California Rowing Club's Michael Grady (Pittsburgh, Pa./Cornell University) and Liam Corrigan (Old Lyme, Conn./Harvard University) followed up their victory in the event at the 2023 Winter Speed Order with a win in today's time trial, earning the top seed in Friday's final. Grady and Corrigan, who both raced at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, crossed the finish line with a time of 6:11.44, finishing more than five seconds ahead of CRC's Henry Hollingsworth (Dover, Mass./Brown University) and Pieter Quinton (Portland, Ore./Harvard University), who posted a time of 6:16.91. CRC's Justin Best (Kennett Square, Pa./Drexel University) and Oliver Bub (Westport, Conn./Dartmouth College) finished third with a time of 6:18.88. All six rowers were part of last year's world championships' squad. Grady raced the pair with Best at last year's worlds, while Corrigan and Quinton were part of the men's eight. Hollingworth raced in the men's four, with Bub serving as an alternate.

In the women's pair, California Rowing Club's Meghan Musnicki (Naples, N.Y./Ithaca College) and Alie Rusher (West Bend, Wis./Stanford University), who finished fourth in the event at the speed order, won today's time trial in a 6:55.39, finishing less than one second ahead of USRowing Training Center – Princeton's Claire Collins (McLean, Va./Princeton University) and Molly Bruggeman (Dayton, Ohio/University of Notre Dame) to earn the top seed in the final. Collins and Bruggeman clocked a 6:56.13. Musnicki is a two-time Olympic gold medalist and three-time Olympian, while Rusher is a Tokyo 2020 Olympian. Collins, a Tokyo 2020 Olympian, won a bronze medal in the pair and finished fourth in the eight at the 2022 World Championships, while Bruggeman, a Tokyo 2020 alternate, raced in the women's eight at last year's world championships. Craftsbury's Mary Mazzio-Manson (Wellesley, Mass./Yale University/University of Texas) and Emily Froehlich (Fishers, Ind./University of Texas) finished third in a 6:57.33.

Click here for complete results from today's racing.

In total, 55 rowers in 38 boats are competing this week at the Lower Otay Reservoir. In addition to the six boat classes that got underway today, final-only racing in the PR1 men's single sculls and PR2 mixed double sculls will take place later this week. Racing continues on Thursday with the semifinals in the men's and women's single sculls. Finals will be held Friday. Racing is scheduled to start at 8 a.m. each day.

Winners in the singles, doubles, and pairs will earn the right to race at World Rowing Cup 2 in Varese, Italy. A top-six finish in Varese (if six of the top eight nations from the 2022 World Championships are in attendance) will earn the athletes the opportunity to represent the U.S. in the event at the 2023 World Championships in Belgrade, Serbia. If six of the top eight nationals are not in attendance, the placement criteria will be adapted. Click here to see the complete 2023 Senior National Team Selection Procedures.

In the PR1 men's single sculls and PR2 mixed double sculls, the winning crew will earn the right to race at the Gavirate International Para Regatta. A top-six finish in Gavirate (if six of the top eight nations from the 2022 World Championships are in attendance) will earn the athletes the opportunity to represent the U.S. in the event at the 2023 World Championships. If six of the top eight nationals are not in attendance, the placement criteria will be adapted. Click here to see the complete 2023 Para National Team Selection Procedures.

The 2023 World Rowing Championships will take place September 3-10 in Belgrade, Serbia.

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.