USRowing’s 2023 Fall Speed Order Underway

USRowing's 2023 Fall Speed Order got underway this morning with time trials 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, and PR3 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.

In the men's single sculls, USRowing Training Center – Princeton's Chris Carlson (Bedford, N.H./University of Washington), who was part of the men's eight that finished sixth at the 2023 World Rowing Championships in Belgrade, Serbia, posted the fastest time, clocking a 6:42.25 to finish a little over a second ahead of New York Athletic Club's Eliot Putnam (Littleton, Mass./Cornell University). Putnam, who finished 19th in the single in Belgrade, crossed the line in a 6:43.71. California Rowing Club's Andrei Potapkin finished third, followed by Penn AC's Cedar Cunningham and NYAC's Sam Melvin (Huntington Beach, Calif./Columbia University).

USTC-Princeton's Michelle Sechser (Folsom, Calif./University of Tulsa), who won silver in the lightweight women's double sculls in Belgrade, took the top spot in the women's single sculls time trial ahead of Craftsbury Green Racing Project's Emily Delleman (Davenport, Iowa/Stanford University). Sechser, a Tokyo 2020 Olympian, clocked a 7:22.97 to finish over two seconds ahead of Delleman, a six-time national team member across all levels. Delleman finished with a time of 7:25.14. USTC-Princeton's Molly Reckford (Short Hills, N.J./Dartmouth College) finished third in a 7:26.62. A Tokyo 2020 Olympian, Reckford raced in the women's quadruple sculls in Belgrade. Cambridge Boat Club's Maggie Fellows (Warwick, Mass./St. Lawrence University) and ARION's Savannah Brija (Lemont, Ill./Ithaca College) rounded out the top five.

In the women's pair, USTC-Princeton's Molly Bruggeman (Dayton, Ohio/University of Notre Dame) and Regina Salmons (Methuen, Mass./University of Pennsylvania) finished more than seven seconds ahead of the field in the time trial. Bruggeman and Salmons finished with a time of 6:57.00, with teammates Kaitlin Knifton (Austin, Texas/University of Texas) and Emily Kallfelz (Jamestown, R.I./Princeton University) finishing second in a 7:04.08. Bruggeman was part of the women's four at this year's world championships, while Salmons was part of the silver-medal winning women's eight. Kallfelz was part of the women's quadruple sculls in Belgrade, while Knifton has raced internationally at the under 19 and under 23 levels. The ZLAC/NYAC composite crew of Tracy Eisser (Fair Lawn, N.J./Cornell University) and Megan Kalmoe (St. Croix Falls, Wis./University of Washington) finished third in a 7:07.36. Eisser is a two-time Olympian and seven-time national team member, while Kalmoe is an Olympic bronze medalist, four-time Olympian, and 13-time national team member.

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 time trial of the men's pair by nearly eight seconds. Mead and Karwoski covered the course in a 6:24.46, with Penn AC's Evan Olson (Bothell, Wash./University of Washington) and Jamie Copus (Winnetka, Ill./Oxford Brookes University) taking second in a 6:32.10. 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. California Rowing Club's Gus Rodriguez (Rye, N.Y.) and Charlie Fargo (Winnetka, Ill./Brown University) finished third.

Ben Washburne (Madison, Conn./Williams College), who was part of the PR3 mixed four with coxswain that won silver in Belgrade, won the time trial in the PR3 men's single sculls ahead of Cambridge Boat Club's Andrew Wigren (Providence, R.I./Hobart College), a three-time national team member. Washburne clocked a 7:49.04 to win by more than 30 seconds. Wigren finished second in a 7:49.04.

Six-time national team member and two-time Paralympic silver medalist Dani Hansen (Patterson, Calif./University of Washington) won the PR3 women's single sculls by more than 40 seconds, clocking a 9:08.88. Capital Rowing Club's Lauren Fish finished second in a 9:50.78.

Racing will conclude with finals on Sunday morning. Click here for the latest schedule and 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.