Eight girls from Port Rowing are headed to National Youth Rowing Championships in Sarasota, FL, after qualifying at the New York State Championships.
At the state championships, the women’s pair came in first overall, the lightweight women’s four came in second (Scholastic), the women’s varsity four came in sixth overall, the women’s varsity eight came in seventh overall, the women’s junior four came in second (club) and the women’s varsity four quad came in eighth overall.
“Our Girls varsity 8+, featuring no girls from the Varsity 4+, was able to row to a seventh place overall and fourth place among all clubs racing against the top boats of other programs in state,” said women’s head coach Isa Rahman. “The result in the Eight is most encouraging as we had three freshmen and one sophomore in the boat and being more competitive than we have been in the past.”
Lindsey Rust (Roslyn), Carter Shields (Port Washington), Michele Lanfant (Port Washington), Isabella Argyros (Port Washington), Riley Fanning-Hughes (Port Washington), Laura Maroney (Port Washington), Dalia Bercow (Port Washington) and Paige Lind (Roslyn) are all headed to the sunshine state for nationals the week of June 4.
“It means a lot,” said Rahman of the girls qualifying for nationals. “I’m grateful as a coach. If they’re able to do something like qualify themselves, it makes me proud. They’re the ones performing, putting in the sweat, grit and hard work. Seeing them hit their targets and go through this process, grind and compete, it’s just great to see. The kids wake up in the morning, train and work hard and try to do the best they can. This is just a reward for them—getting to go to a higher level—because they’re willing to put in those hours.”
The Youth National Championships serves as the premier youth rowing event in the United States and sees about 1,500 athletes competing in more than 350 crews, representing approximately 150 teams from across the country—all vying for national titles in 18 boat classes.
“It’s really competitive,” said Rahman. “Crews come from all over the country. It’s top boats, even the boat that finishes in the bottom, works hard to even be the last team at the event. You show up and everyone is the fastest from where they train.”
Rahman explained that he’s just excited for the girls to go to the event, see the other teams that are out there and “stay in touch with the speed,” so the girls can find out what standards they’re aiming for and set new goals.
—Additional information provided by Port Rowing
