USRowing Beach Sprint Trials, Speed Order, and National Championships Conclude with National Team Selections and National Titles

The USRowing Beach Sprint National Championships, Speed Order, and Trials concluded August 9 with the majority of the U.S. Beach Sprint National Team named and multiple national championships decided. The event brought together experienced beach sprint athletes, returning national team members, and newcomers to the discipline, with several athletes first introduced to beach sprints through the USRowing Beach Sprint Pathways Development Camp (PDC) hosted at Tabor Academy ahead of the championships.

On Friday, time trials established the rounds for the men’s and women’s solo speed orders, junior men’s and women’s solo trials, and open men’s and women’s solo national championship events. The women’s solo time trials advanced into knockout rounds later that afternoon.

Conditions became increasingly challenging throughout the afternoons of the event, with stronger conditions making buoy turns, boat entries, and beach exits more difficult. The changing conditions highlighted the advantage of athletes with coastal and beach sprint experience.

Speed Orders

The women’s solo speed order opened Saturday’s racing, with Christine Cavallo defeating Sera Busse in the final. Cavallo has represented the U.S. on multiple national teams since competing as a junior athlete and is aiming to earn her fourth Beach Sprint National Team selection this year.

Several accomplished flatwater rowers also took on the beach sprint speed order, including Maddy Focht, Maggie Fellows, and Michelle Sechser.

On the men’s side, Chris Bak defeated Kory Rogers in the A Final. Bak, the reigning world champion in the event, is the most decorated beach sprint athlete in the world. Rogers is also an accomplished beach sprint athlete, having won gold in the mixed quadruple sculls in 2023 and 2025.

National Team Trials 

Allison Grove of Next Level earned her first U.S. national team selection after defeating Olympia Catalino, a USRowing Beach Sprint Pathways Development athlete, in the final. 

Ronan Maher earned his third Beach Sprint National Team selection after defeating Isaac Moos of the California Yacht Club. 

Time trials for the doubles and quadruple sculls events closed out the day.

The mixed double sculls trial was won by Annabelle Miller and Justin Stevens, two returning national team athletes. Miller competed in the PR3 mixed four with coxswain at the 2025 World Championships, while Stevens is a two-time Beach Sprint National Team member who also competed on the senior national team in 2022. The pair earned the spot with their victory over Elise Hill and John Olbrys.

Elizabeth City’s Emma Mayer and Ella McFadden defeated the Catalino sisters in the A Final of the junior women’s double sculls trial to secure a spot on the national team.

Maher will compete in another event at the 2026 World Rowing Beach Sprint Finals after winning the junior men’s double sculls trial with partner Tim Mayer. The pair defeated Hagen Leuthe and Jackson Peltier, two athletes new to the sport through the USRowing Pathways Development Camp, by just under six seconds.

The mixed quadruple sculls provided the closest trial finish of the event, with the two crews separated by just 0.4 seconds. The result came down to the final sprint on the beach.

The crew stroked by Kory Rogers was behind coming through the final buoy, leaving Malachai Anderson with the task of winning the sprint to the buzzer. Anderson outsprinted Simeon John to secure the victory. The winning crew of Coral Kasden, Kory Rogers, Sera Busse, Audrey Boersen, and Malachai Anderson was made up of athletes from last year’s World Championships team. All but Busse won the world championship in the quadruple sculls, while Busse competed in the mixed double sculls and earned a silver medal.

In the mixed junior double sculls, Allison Grove and Leland Angel came out on top over Justin Herrera and Khloe Cabrera. The challenging conditions favored athletes with previous beach sprint experience, including Angel, who was a member of the 2025 Beach Sprint National Team. Angel and Grove won in a time of 2:28.9

National Championships

In the women’s solo national championship, handling the challenging conditions proved to be one of the most important skills. Alyssa Trebilcock claimed the title after a close battle with Julia Lonchar.

In the men’s solo championship, Next Level’s Nate Endebrock defeated Riverside’s Ashton Knight in the final by a decisive margin.

The mixed double sculls championship came down to the final sprint, with the crews separated by just over a second at the finish. Next Level’s Morgan Zahner and Cameron Kumagai claimed the championship in 2:22.1, followed closely by Ariana Townsend and Maurice Scott of Long Beach in 2:23.4.

USRowing Beach Sprint Pathways Development Camp (PDC)

The USRowing Beach Sprint Pathways Development Camp at Tabor Academy provided an opportunity for athletes new to the discipline to learn the fundamentals of beach sprint racing and gain experience ahead of the national championships. 

"The Beach Sprints Pathways Development Camp in New Bedford was a tremendous success, introducing developing athletes to beach sprints while giving them a clear understanding of the USRowing High Performance pathway," said Sarah McAuliffe, Chief Program Officer at USRowing. "The impact was immediate, with athletes taking what they learned at camp and going on to compete at USRowing Beach Sprint Trials, Speed Orders, and the National Championships. Seeing athletes progress from learning the sport to competing on the national stage is exactly what these pathway programs are designed to do.

"A huge thank you to the Row New Bedford Foundation and the City of New Bedford for supporting this event and helping create such a valuable experience for our athletes. We look forward to building on this momentum and hosting more camps that create opportunities for athletes to discover beach sprints and pursue their potential on the High Performance pathway."

Athletes who participated in the camp went on to compete in the weekend’s trials, with several advancing to the semifinals and finals and gaining valuable experience racing in challenging coastal conditions alongside experienced national team athletes.

The combination of returning national team members, experienced beach sprint competitors, and athletes making their first foray into the discipline showcased the continued growth of beach sprint rowing in the United States. With the majority of the national team now selected, the athletes will turn their attention toward representing the U.S. at the 2026 World Rowing Beach Sprint Finals taking place October 18–21, 2026, in Qingdao, China.