Stage Set for Finals at Inaugural USRowing Small Boat National Championships

The inaugural USRowing Small Boat National Championships presented by the McNabb Family began this morning, bringing together some of the nation’s top elite, collegiate, Para, and youth athletes on Mercer Lake. Nine boat classes took to the water for time trial racing, followed by semifinal racing.

Due to wind and water conditions, all D, E, and F semifinals were canceled, and the D, E, and F Finals will be seeded based on the time trial results. The Youth M1x Semifinals A/B/C were also canceled due to conditions, and boats will be placed into their respective finals based on time trial results.

Here’s a recap of today’s racing, with the full results and tomorrow’s finals racing schedule available on HereNow.com:

Women’s Single Sculls

70 athletes took to the water in the Women’s Single Sculls Time Trial, with two-time U.S. Olympian Kristi Wagner (USTC - Boston) leading the pack with the fastest time. Fellow U.S. Olympians Grace Joyce (California) and Sophia Vitas (USTC - Princeton) followed in second and third, respectively, with two-time senior national team member Evan Park (USTC - Princeton) taking fourth. U.S. Olympian Lauren O'Connor (ARION) rounded out the top five.

In the women's single sculls, the three A/B/C Semifinals produced seven qualifiers for Sunday's A Final. The top two finishers in each race advanced, with the fastest third-place finisher earning the seventh spot. Wagner, Joyce, and Park won their respective semifinals. Vitas, Savannah Brija (ARION), and O'Connor finished second to secure the other automatic qualifying spots. Isa Darvin (California) earned the seventh A Final spot with the fastest third-place time, finishing third in her semifinal.

Youth Women’s Single Sculls

Shay Triepel (Coastal Virginia) led the field in the Women’s Youth 1x Time Trial with a time of 7:57.04 and earned her spot in Sunday’s A Final amongst the top seven competitors. Marlena Neff (Potomac) closely followed just under two seconds later for second place, with Conshohocken rowers Egypt Strickland, Eloise Goldfine, and Kiyoko Kubach taking the third, fourth, and fifth fastest times, respectively. Whitney Coyle (Penn AC) and Emiko Kubach (Conshohocken) also punched their ticket to the A Final by finishing sixth and seventh.

Men’s Single Sculls

American World Championship rower Sam Melvin (New York AC) led the pack nearly six seconds faster than two-time U.S. Olympian Ben Davison (California). Second through fifth place in the top five of the trials was decided by 2.49 seconds, with 2026 World Championship U.S. bronze medalist Cedar Cunningham (USTC - Sarasota) following Davison for third, former U23 National Team member Isaac Spokes (California) taking fourth, and two-time World Rowing U23 Championship medalist Timothy Parsons (Boston Federation) taking fifth.

In the men’s single sculls, the three A/B/C Semifinals produced seven qualifiers for Sunday's A Final. The top two finishers in each race advanced, with the fastest third-place finisher earning the seventh spot. Melvin, Parsons, and Cunningham each won their semifinal, with Davison, Spokes, and U.S. Olympian Jacob Plihal (Green Racing Project) placing second in their respective races. Dylan Green (California) posted the fastest third-place time and booked his ticket to Sunday’s A Final.

Youth Men’s Single Sculls

27 athletes competed in time trials, with the top seven advancing directly to Sunday's A Final after the Youth Men's Single Sculls Semifinals A/B/C were canceled due to weather conditions. Brogan Fernald (Piscataqua Pirates) led the trials by nearly two seconds over second-place Christian Penny (Mohawk). Penny was quickly followed by Parker Mansfield (Saratoga), who took third over Graham Kokas (Conshohocken), with Jackson Kerr (River City) earning fifth. Rory Coleman (Malvern Preparatory School) and Peter Madigan (Potomac) took sixth and seventh place, respectively.

Women's Pair

USRowing Training Center and national team athletes claimed the top four positions in the time trial, with T. Cohen/A. Vallancey-Martinson (USTC - Princeton V) finishing 3.73 seconds ahead of M. Lee/D. Levine (USTC - Princeton L) in second, M. Levy/A. Czajkowski (USTC - Princeton C) in third, and H. Drapp/M. Hedeman (USTC - Princeton H) in fourth. A. Jeffery/E. Wheeler (California Composite X) closed out the top five.

In the women’s pair, the three A/B/C Semifinals produced seven qualifiers for Sunday's A Final. The top two finishers in each race advanced, with the fastest third-place finisher earning the seventh spot. A. Jeffery/E. Wheeler, M. Levy/A. Czajkowski, and T. Cohen/A. Vallancey-Martinson each won their semifinal, with H. Drapp/M. Hedeman, M. Lee/D. Levine, and E. Carpender/R. Salmons placing second in their respective races. K. Knifton/C. VanderMeer (USTC - Princeton K) posted the fastest third-place time and booked their ticket to Sunday’s A Final.

Youth Women’s Pair

C. Calderwood/L. Gulli (Connecticut Composite) won their four-entry time trial over S. Sampanthar/C. Jackson (Saratoga) by just under 0.5 seconds. J. Zhang/F. Mendoza Aparicio (PNRA/Mercer) took third place, with D. Develioglu/H. Kim (Lawrenceville) rounding out the pack.

With a small field in this boat class, all four crews will advance to Sunday’s A Final.

Men’s Pair

The top five pairs blended recent U.S. national team experience, ranging from U23 World Championships to Paris 2024 Olympic bronze medalists. The field of 58 pairs was led by S. Sullivan/W. Morton (California X) with a time of 6:12.57 and quickly followed by second-place P. Quinton/C. Carlson (USTC - Sarasota Q). P. Chatain/A. Rodriguez (California X) came in a close third with L. Bessler/J. Dykema (California X) coming in fourth, and S. Halbert/M. Molitor (USTC - Sarasota H) came in fifth.

In the men’s pair, the three A/B/C Semifinals produced seven qualifiers for Sunday's A Final. The top two finishers in each race advanced, with the fastest third-place finisher earning the seventh spot. Sullivan/W. Morton, P. Quinton/C. Carlson, and P. Chatain/A. Rodriguez each won their semifinal race, while L. Bessler/J. Dykema, S. Halbert/M. Molitor, and D. Godfrey/L. Andersen (University of Washington) came second in their race, while T. Landa/T. Wenger (Princeton B) posted the fastest third-place time and booked their ticket to Sunday’s A Final.

Youth Men’s Pair

In a small field of competitors with only the top seven crews progressing to the A Final, C. Martin/B. Collins (PNRA/Mercer) led the way, finishing ahead of R. Pollack/P. Martone (Brunswick School), who came in second, and J. Kovalick/J. Deverin (PNRA/Mercer D), who finished third. The battle between fourth and fifth was decided by 0.02 seconds when O. Yiacas/H. Kaputa (PNRA/Mercer B) inched out R. Masiuk/E. Thyrum (PNRA/Mercer F) for fourth place. N. Van de Graaff/C. Griffin (PNRA/Mercer C) took sixth place with L. Westrick/D. Asarpota (PNRA/Mercer E) earning the last spot in Sunday’s A Final.

PR3 Women’s Single Sculls

Coming off earning a bronze medal in the Inclusion Mixed Double Sculls (INMix2x) at the 2026 World Rowing Beach Sprint Finals, Annabelle Miller (USTC - Boston) won the two-athlete time trial over Leila Morris (Delaware - Women). Both athletes will progress to Sunday’s A Final.

PR3 M1x, PR1 M1x, PR3 YW1x

With only one entry per event, each athlete automatically progresses to race in their respective A Final.

Finals Racing

Competition will continue Sunday, November 15, with A Final racing beginning at 7:30 a.m. ET.

Watch, Follow, and Stay Updated

Livestream: Racing will be livestreamed on Overnght, November 14–15.
Racing: Schedule and results will be posted on HereNow.
Regatta update alerts (weather, schedule, etc.): Text #smallboat26 to (609) 354-7711 to sign up. After texting, remember to click the link to add your contact information to the community list.
Location: Mercer Lake, 334 S Post Rd., West Windsor Township, NJ 08550.

USRowing thanks the McNabb family for helping bring this new championship to life and looks forward to celebrating the crowning of national champions on the last day of racing.