From left, coxswain Timmy Taylor, Nick Entress, Alex Derry, Keegan Dymoke, Thomas Musselwhite
Photo by Geoff Entress
By Peggy Musselwhite
Special to The Sports Paper
The Bainbridge varsity boys lightweight 4+ boat of Thomas Musselwhite, Keegan Dymoke, Alex Derry, Nick Entress and coxswain Timmy Taylor took second at the U.S. Rowing Youth National Championships on Sunday (June 9) in Oak Ridge, Tennessee.
In the first heat on Friday, the boys were second, crossing the finish line less than three seconds behind Long Beach Junior Crew. The next day, the Bainbridge boys stormed back, handily winning their second-chance heat and then the semi-final with open water on all the other boats. With that, they were one of the six fastest boats in the country — and preparing for the race of their lives the following day.
With flat water and little wind, the Bainbridge rowers showed precision and power in the A final race on Sunday. In the first 500 meters, the boys battled it out with Seattle Rowing Center, Marin Rowing Association and again with Long Beach Junior Crew.
They kept up the intensity and rower Derry called out a power 10. In the final 500 meters, the Bainbridge crew sprinted, pulling away from Long Beach and Marin, crossing the finish line just 2.29 seconds behind Seattle Rowing Center to take second place.
Long Beach then sprinted in the last few seconds of the race, stealing third place from Marin. Rounding out the race were St. Louis Rowing Club in fifth place and Pocock (Seattle) in sixth.
Before each race, the boys carefully tucked an eagle feather from their home course in Eagle Harbor into the bow of the boat, a gift from their coach Bruce Beall who gave it to the boys for good luck in the races. Beall found the feather floating in Eagle Harbor on the last day of practice before heading to Tennessee.
The BIR varsity girls 8 raced mightily through the progression of the initial heat to their best race in the C finals, placing 18th in the country. The competition was intense with no Northwest teams making it to the final race of six boats.
“They should be proud of their effort and sportsmanship,” said coach Barb Trafton. “Their biggest victory really happened at Northwest Regionals where they were the first Bainbridge varsity 8 crew ever to qualify for the premier race at nationals.”
The varsity 8 girls are: Justeen Komok, Samantha Dore, Eryn McCassey, Hannah Schneiderman, Hanna Christoffersen, Elisabeth Chun, Katrina Kerrigan, Ena Nimb, coxswain Maia McNett, and Samantha Pelliciotta, alternate.
The national races wrap up a spectacular season of firsts for the Bainbridge Island Rowing Juniors (high school). In addition to the girls 8 qualifying for nationals, it was the first lightweight boys boat to qualify for nationals, and in turn, they were the first crew to make it into an A finals race at nationals.
Four senior girls on the team that missed Bainbridge High School graduation ceremonies Sunday were honored in a poignant graduation ceremony Saturday night in Oak Ridge officiated by Trafton and Beall. Dressed in caps and gowns, each of the girls was recognized for their achievements and contributions to the rowing team.
The ceremony was also attended by all of the Bainbridge rowers and parents who traveled to Tennessee for the races. All four girls – Hanna Christoffersen, Katrina Kerrigan, Maia McNett and Ena Nimb – are going on to row in college next year.
Approximately 450 crews competed in 221 heats and races during the three-day period. Races were delayed both Friday and Sunday due to fog on the Melton Lake racecourse. Officials also held up one of the girls’ races briefly to allow a family of geese to paddle off the course.
“These kids showed a lot of determination, discipline and focus,” said coach Tim Goss. “They worked hard all year conditioning, developing precise coordination and perfecting strokes. We’re proud of them. They are our home-grown champions.”
Bainbridge Island Rowing’s Lynn Chun expressed thanks to T & C Market and many individual donors whose generous contributions helped send the rowers to nationals.
“We appreciate all the support back on Bainbridge,” said Chun. “A lot of islanders who watched the races on live stream were calling and emailing to congratulate the kids.”
