USRowing’s 2023 Fall Speed Order Complete

Racing at USRowing's 2023 Fall Speed Order finished up this morning with finals at Lake Mercer in West Windsor, N.J.

More than 120 athletes raced in the men's single sculls, women's single sculls, men's pair, women's pair, PR3 men's single sculls, PR3 women's single sculls, and PR2 women's single sculls for an opportunity to test their speed as they go into winter training ahead of selection for the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Six-time national team member and two-time Paralympic silver medalist Dani Hansen (Patterson, Calif./University of Washington) opened things up with a dominant victory in the PR3 women's single sculls. Hansen, who is back after taking a couple of years off following the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, crossed the line in a 9:15.92 to defeat Capital Rowing Club's Lauren Fish by more than 30 seconds. Fish finished in a 9:47.18.

Racing unaffiliated, Ben Washburne (Madison, Conn./Williams College), who was part of the PR3 mixed four with coxswain that won silver at the 2023 World Rowing Championships in Belgrade, Serbia, had no trouble winning the PR3 men's single sculls, posting a time of 7:53.44 in the final. Washburne finished more than 37 seconds ahead of Cambridge Boat Club's Andrew Wigren (Providence, R.I./Hobart College), a three-time national team member. Wigren crossed the line in an 8:30.64.

USRowing Training Center-Princeton's Michelle Sechser (Folsom, Calif./University of Tulsa), an 11-time national team member who won silver in the lightweight women's double sculls in Belgrade, defeated Cambridge Boat Club's Maggie Fellows (Warwick, Mass./St. Lawrence University) by more than two seconds to win the final of the women's single sculls. Sechser, a Tokyo 2020 Olympian, won the race in a 7:44.63. Fellows took second in a 7:47.01 to finish less than one second ahead of Tokyo 2020 Olympian Molly Reckford (Short Hills, N.J./Dartmouth College/ USTC-Princeton), who clocked a 7:47.77.

In the women's pair, USTC-Princeton's Molly Bruggeman (Dayton, Ohio/University of Notre Dame) and Regina Salmons (Methuen, Mass./University of Pennsylvania) earned the victory by less than one second over teammates Claire Collins (McLean, Va./Princeton University) and Madeleine Wanamaker (Neenah, Wis./University of Wisconsin). Bruggeman and Salmons covered the course in a 7:18.27, with Collins and Wanamaker crossing the finish line in a 7:19.96. Bruggeman was part of the women's four at the 2023 World Rowing Championships, while Salmons was part of the silver-medal winning women's eight. Collins and Wanamaker won bronze in the pair at the 2022 World Rowing Championships and were boatmates with Bruggeman in the four in Belgrade. USTC-Princeton's Kaitlin Knifton Austin, Texas/University of Texas) and Emily Kallfelz (Jamestown, R.I./Princeton University) finished third on Sunday with a time of 7:21.78. Kallfelz was part of the women's quadruple sculls in Serbia, while Knifton has raced internationally at the under 19 and under 23 levels.

After finishing second in yesterday's time trial in the men's single sculls, New York Athletic Club's Eliot Putnam (Littleton, Mass./Cornell University) came back to win the final by a little over two seconds in front of USTC – Princeton's Chris Carlson (Bedford, N.H./University of Washington). Putnam, who finished 19th in the single in Belgrade, won the race in a 7:00.95. Carlson, who was part of the men's eight that finished sixth at this year's world championships, took second in a 7:03.25. NYAC's Sam Melvin (Huntington Beach, Calif./Columbia University), who finished seventh in the lightweight men's single sculls in Belgrade, took third in today's race, clocking a 7:05.85.

King's Crown Rowing Association's Nick Mead (Strafford, Pa./Princeton University/New York Athletic Club), who won silver in the men's four in Belgrade and was recently named USRowing's 2023 Male Athlete of the Year, and 10-time national team member Alex Karwoski (Moultonborough, N.H./Cornell University) won the final of the men's pair by nearly six seconds. Mead and Karwoski clocked a 6:39.63 ahead of Penn AC's Evan Olson (Bothell, Wash./University of Washington) and Jamie Copus (Winnetka, Ill./Oxford Brookes University), who finished with a time of 6:45.42. Olson and Copus both raced at this year's world championships, with Olson finishing fifth in the pair and Copus racing in the lightweight men's quadruple sculls. The NYAC/California Rowing Club composite boat of Andrew LeRoux (Venice, Fla./Princeton University) and Michael Knippen (Germantown, Wis./University of Wisconsin) finished third in a 6:47.44.

Racing uncontested, Community Rowing's Cassandra Eddy won the final of the PR2 women's single sculls, crossing the line in a 12:25.59.

Click here for complete results.

The Paris 2024 Olympic Games will take place July 26-August 11, 2024, with the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games taking place August 28-September 8, 2024.

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 Centers.