Sagamore Rowing Association’s Crew Club of Oyster Bay returned victorious from the May 14-15 New York State Rowing Championships in Saratoga Springs with five boats qualifying for the United States Rowing Jr. National Regatta, which will take place in Oak Ridge, Tenn., on June 10-12. Overall, seven of Sagamore’s CCOB boats placed in the top three with medals, with five earning gold or silver.
The SRA Crew Club of Oyster Bay were competing in the state championship regatta against more than 600 boats, these high school athletes competed over two days in heats, semi-finals and finals. The weather on Fish Creek in Saratoga featured white caps, strong winds, and at times, pounding rain, but the rowers persevered.
The finals consisted of 38 events with the top two boats moving on to the national competition. CCOB brought the following five boats and crews through this rigorous regatta for the state champion award, as well as qualifying for the national championship event:
Men’s Lightweight Double: Mackenzie Blanz (Oyster Bay HS), Gabe Rohrberg (St. Anthony’s HS) – Gold Medals in both divisions
· Women’s Lightweight Four: Liam Gagliano (Oyster Bay HS), Sigal Markowitz (Friend’s Academy), Micailah Donner (Locust Valley HS), Gabby Dell’Aquilo (Locust Valley HS), Amanda Massey (Harborfields HS) – Gold Medals in both divisions
· Men’s Pair: Robert Caderas (Northport HS) & Blake Berger (Harborfields HS) – Gold Medal in Club Division, Silver – State Division
· Women’s Pair: Shannon Dennington (Harborfields HS), Emma Gugerty (Locust Valley HS) – Gold Medal in Club Division, Silver – State Division
· Women’s Single: Nina Viscotto (Friend’s Academy) – Silver Medal in both divisions
All five boats can be seen practicing rain or shine six times a week on Oyster Bay or working out on indoor rowing machines in the Sagamore boathouse as they prepare for the Tennessee event, which will feature more than 1,500 athletes vying for 18 national titles.
