NBRC wins medals despite inclement Oregon weather

Weather hampered the North Bay Rowing Club as it traveled to Eugene, Ore. to compete in the Covered Bridge Regatta on Dexter Lake. Strong winds dominated the morning on both days, but gave way to excellent conditions Saturday.

“This is our third year traveling to this race, and the first time conditions were anything but perfect,” said NBRC coach Will Whalen. “I am disappointed for the athletes that did not get a race due to the weather, but very happy with the racing we did get in.”

Saturday racing was halted for close to three hours after several boats flipped in rough water and caused the cancellation of several early events. The schedule picked back up late morning as the winds subsided.

North Bay earned gold in the first two races, the Men’s Pair (Ryan Cardiff, Ben Holm) and Women’s Novice Four (Maia Reilly, Emily Dolcini, Alexandra McDermott, Allegra Diamond and Savannah Hartford) each won by solid margins.

Afternoon racing included the Men’s and Women’s Quad and Women’s Double, who posted strong efforts, but were out of medal contention.

The last three races of the day for the Juniors resulted in more medals. The Men’s Varsity 4+ (Ryan Cardiff, Cole DeVries-Ayton, John Gause, Ben Holm and Bradley Hogin) won gold and the Men’s Lightweight Four (Will Griffin, Zach Majumdar, Matthew Holiday, Nate Crawford and Mygan Tran) raced in the heavyweight JV category and brought home a silver medal.

The last race of the day was the Women’s Varsity Eight. North Bay fought hard for a silver medal after another boat crashed into it at the start of the race, putting it behind by close to a boat-length. The girls (Natasha Kinmont, Shannon Gallup, Emma Mesches, Makenna Bortells, Brianna Lehane, Hannah Caruso, Hailey Windsor, Allegra Diamond and Sophia Falls) battled back to lose to a strong team from Seattle area.

“We showed good speed this weekend, and I am really excited with the progress we have made through the season,” Whalen said.

The regatta was all but canceled Sunday, with only one event making it down the course. During the next race, officials called another delay and eventually canceled the balance of racing due to high winds.

The women’s Varsity Four (Makenna Bortells, Emma Mesches, Brianna Lehane, Emily Dolcini Mygan Tran) raced to a bronze medal in blustery conditions to finish racing for the weekend.

Overall, North Bay finished fifth out of 17 teams in the Junior Points trophy competition, an improvement of three places from last year.

NBRC Masters were also in action, bringing home a strong collection of medals and entering a record number of events for the program.

The junior squad is now back home to prepare for the U.S. Rowing Southwest Regional Championships at Lake Natoma on May 6 through 8.