Rising juniors Wesley (left) and Graham Richardson went undefeated in double scull racing during Ridgewood Crew’s 2026 summer season, placing first in the Mens Youth 2x event at the Independence Day Regatta in July, and then winning the program’s second international gold, in the Mens U19 Doubles event (pictured here) at the 142nd annual Royal Canadian Henley Regatta in St. Catharines, Canada. (Photo credit: HenleyRegatta.ca)
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, This summer, Ridgewood Crew established itself as not just one of the elite high school rowing teams in the US, but also a program that can consistently race with — and beat — some of the best youth competition at the international level.
Nowhere was that more obvious than in the team’s varsity double scull boat, crewed by twin brothers and rising Ridgewood juniors Graham and Wesley Richardson. The duo went undefeated during all time trials, heats, semifinals, and championship races during the team’s 2026 summer season. Their perfect streak was highlighted by winning the Mens Youth 2x final at the Independence Day Regatta (IDR) in Philadelphia in July (6:43.59) — and then bringing home the program’s second-ever international gold with a victory in the Mens Under 19 Double final at the 142nd Royal Canadian Henley Regatta in St. Catharines, Canada in August (6:36.57).
The Independence Day Regatta, a 2,000-meter sprint race on Philadelphia’s Schuylkill River, brings together some of the biggest clubs on the US East Coast every summer and, this year, featured 1,093 entries from nearly 100 clubs. But that event is merely the warm-up for the Canadian Henley, which is North America’s pre-eminent summer 2,000-meter sprint regatta, and, this year, it attracted more than 2,100 entries from 130 clubs hailing from the US, Canada, and Mexico, as well as Argentina and Germany.
“I can’t say enough about how this team performed overall against this competition these past two months,” said Ridgewood Crew Head Coach Boris Roque-Alvarez. “Everyone stretched themselves, some rowing in different boats or with completely new crew mates, but they still rose to the challenge and out-raced more experienced rowers from much bigger clubs and some of the best from other countries.”
“Still, the varsity double had an especially impressive journey,” Roque-Alvarez added. “Last August at the Henley, Wesley was a swim athlete and watched as Graham won gold in the U17 single. Then, in September, he decided to try rowing. After they both rowed in singles and quads during the fall and spring, I finally put them together this summer. And now, one year later, Wesley is back at the Henley, but this time he’s not watching, he’s winning gold with his brother in the same boat.”
Notably, the path to victory for Ridgewood’s varsity double included overcoming the second-largest competitive fields at both the IDR and the Canadian Henley — 45 and 66 boats, respectively. At the former, the fastest 18 boats in the time trial moved on to the semis, and then the top two in each of those races faced off in a six-boat final. The Henley has a similar semifinals and final structure but replaces the time trial with an initial round of seeded seven-boat heats.
But the Richardsons were far from the only standout performers on the team this summer. Rising sophomore Jaya Suri, still only a 15-year-old, notched two impressive runner-up finishes during the season, placing second in the crowded Womens U17 1x races at both the IDR (8:32.72) and Canadian Henley regattas (8:17.26).
Rising sophomore Jaya Suri claimed two second-place finishes during the 2026 Ridgewood Crew summer season, in the Womens U17 Singles events at the Independence Day Regatta in Philadelphia and the 142nd Royal Canadian Henley Regatta, in St. Catharines, Canada. (Photo credit: Mark Riedel)
Rising junior Kai Bissie also scored podium finishes twice this summer. First, he slid into third in the Mens U17 1x final at the IDR (7:45.77). He also came in third — along with the Richardson brothers, and rising senior Tristan Riedel — in a nail-biting photo finish in the Mens U19 Quad final at the Canadian Henley (6:11.24), where just .75 seconds separated first from third place.
Riedel likewise raced in the single at the IDR — but in the Mens U19 category — where he just missed out on scoring a second podium finish for the summer, coming in fourth in the final (7:34.77).
In the Adaptive 2x 1,000-meter event at the IDR, Ridgewood’s Marelia Leou, a rising junior with a PR3 para racing classification, joined with rising sophomore Lucia Krauza to win gold (4:23.23). In this event, only one rower in the double is required to have a para classification and rowers can be of any gender.
Rising junior Marelia Leou (PR3 classification) and rising sophomore Lucia Krauza won the Adaptive 2x event at the 2026 Independence Day Regatta in Philadelphia. Krauza also finished fourth in the Womens U17 2x final with rising junior Zurie Yela. At the IDR, tradition has it that winners get a wristwatch with a logo of the regatta’s organizer, the Schuylkill Navy, on its face. (Photo credit: Kalliopi Nissirios)
Krauza pulled double double duty, so to speak, at the IDR, as she also competed in the Womens U17 2x event with rising junior Zurie Yela. Together, they came in fourth in the final (8:15.66).
Their Ridgewood counterparts in the IDR’s Mens U17 2x event, rising junior Alex Evers and rising sophomore Graham Glidden, fought their way into the final where they ultimately finished fifth (7:34.20).
This past summer also saw Ridgewood Crew grow and strengthen its U23 alumni rowing program, where Ridgewood High School and other local high school graduates return and rejoin the team to compete during their college summer break.
For example, Seton Hall Prep alum Michael Balsamo (RHS ‘24, Georgetown ‘28) and Ridgewood Crew alum James Ryan (RHS ‘26, Delaware ‘30) both cruised into the top three at the IDR in the Mens U23 Lightweight 1x event. Balsamo outpaced the field to take first (7:39.28), while Ryan landed in third (8:01.56).
Balsamo reprised the Mens U23 Single event at the Canadian Henley, where he notched an impressive fourth-place finish against stiff competition from both Canada and Mexico (7:07.93). He and Ryan also teamed up at that regatta to race in the Mens U23 Lightweight Double, sliding into the finals where they also just missed landing in the top three, coming in fourth overall (6:29.65).
RHS ‘24 alum Michael Balsamo coming in 4th at the Royal Canadian Henley Regatta in the Mens Under 23 Lightweight 1x event rowing with Ridgewood Crew. (Photo credit: Mark Riedel)
Other returning RHS alumni racing on the Ridgewood Crew U23 summer team included Lucas Evers (RHS ‘25, Drexel ‘29) and Will Nasr (RHS ‘26, Northeastern ‘30). That pair’s top result of the season was a fifth-place finish in the IDR’s Mens U23 2x final (6:58.33).
Anais and Elsa Friedrich (RHS ‘25, Sacred Heart ‘29) also returned to row for Ridgewood again after a successful foray in 2025, where they scored a silver medal in the Womens Open 2x race at the Overpeck Summer Sprints. Against a crowded international field at this year’s Canadian Henley, the duo came in sixth in the final of the Womens U23 Lightweight Double race (7:33.57).
At the Royal Canadian Henley Regatta (from left to right), Ridgewood Crew Assistant Coach Bob O’Connor, 2026 Mens U19 2x champions Graham and Wesley Richardson, and Ridgewood Crew Head Coach Boris Roque-Alvarez.
Full times and results for Ridgewood Crew at the 2026 Independence Day Regatta (http://www.rowtown.org/results/schedule.jsp?regattaName=Independence+Day+Regatta®attaDate=2026-07-24&organizationName=All+Organizations) and the 2026 Royal Canadian Henley Regatta (https://www.regattacentral.com/regatta/results2?job_id=10263&org_id=0).
In the program’s 20-plus years, Ridgewood Crew has competed and excelled in both national and international competitions and its athletes have attracted interest from top rowing colleges and universities around the country. Ridgewood Crew offers several ways for you to experience our mission: join the team, volunteer, or donate. Student athlete programs begin with Learn-To-Row for middle schoolers. For more information contact Ridgewood Crew at http://www.ridgewoodcrew.com.
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So great for the Ridgewood kids. !!