Ridgewood Crew sophomore Graham Richardson won first place in the Mens High School Junior Varsity Singles event at the 2025 Head of the Schuylkill Regatta in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. This is his second victory in three years at this regatta. Also pictured is Ridgewood Head Coach Boris Roque-Alvarez (center left), and assistant coaches Joe Calvarusso (left) and Bob O’Connor (right). Photo Credit: Monika Richardson
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania – To match the peak autumn foliage on display this past Sunday in Philadelphia, Ridgewood Crew captured its own array of dazzling colors by bringing home six medals from the Head of the Schuylkill Regatta.
The regatta’s 3,800-meter course requires rowers to navigate through four bridges as well as rival boats, which compete in a staggered, time-trial head racing format. The 2025 Head of the Schuylkill, the race’s 55th year, was a two-day event that featured several thousand rowers of all ages from nearly 300 clubs across nine countries. On Sunday, mainly reserved for youth races, Ridgewood had a robust 29 entries in 15 different events, with almost all athletes competing in two races.
“For us to land on the podium at this regatta across so many levels — from novice to JV to varsity — and different crews — from single to double to quads — really is incredible and shows we are peaking at the right time,” said Ridgewood Crew Head Coach Boris Roque-Alvarez. “Our success is not just a testament to all the athletes’ hard work and commitment, but also to the team’s focus on building up the next generation.”
Ridgewood’s top performance of the day came in the Jim Barker Mens High School Junior Varsity Singles race, where sophomore Graham Richardson claimed gold (14:28.463). Among the last to start in the field, Richardson quickly moved up the course and finished with the fastest time by more than 10 seconds. His win in the JV singles race this year follows a similar victory in the Jim Barker series from 2023, when he claimed the trophy in the Mens High School Frosh/Novice Singles race.
Coincidentally, Richardson’s twin brother, Wesley, competed in the Mens Frosh/Novice Singles race this past Sunday. To be eligible for Frosh/Novice events, athletes have to be either a freshman in high school or in their first year of competitive rowing. Racing from an early position, Richardson smoothly pulled away from most of the field, and ultimately came in second (15:08.498).
Following up on an impressive eighth-place finish the previous weekend at the prestigious Head of the Charles Regatta, the duo of junior Tristan Riedel and senior Will Nasr nabbed one of Ridgewood’s three silver medals on the day in the Mens High School Varsity Doubles event (13:30.818). The pair’s runner-up finish came thanks to a furious late charge — with 1,500 meters to go they were in ninth place — and, by the end, less than two seconds separated second from fourth place.
Riedel and Nasr were also half of Ridgewood’s silver-medal-winning boat in the Mens High School Varsity Quads race (12:19.051). Joined by Graham Richardson and senior Sam Scharfenberg, this group pulled off its own razor-thin second-place finish, coming in a literal eye-blink — .116 seconds — ahead of the third-place team.
This podium finish was also a step up for three of the boat’s returning crew — Riedel, Nasr, and Scharfenberg — who took fifth in this Varsity Quads event in 2024. (The lone Ridgewood senior from that boat last year, Lucas Evers, took gold at this year’s Head of the Schuylkill in the Mens College Frosh/Novice Eights on Saturday with Drexel University.)
Ridgewood’s first medal of the day came in the Womens High School Frosh/Novice Quads event. There, the all-freshman boat of Jaya Suri, Lucia Krauza, Gracie Demercado, and Courtney Spence, claimed bronze (15:04.508).
The all-freshman boat of Jaya Suri, Lucia Krauza, Gracie Demercado, and Courtney Spence (order TK) won bronze in the Womens High School Frosh/Novice Quad race at the 2025 Head of the Schuylkill Regatta in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Also pictured is Ridgewood Assistant Coach Sara Gilman (left). Photo: JR Krauza
Suri just missed a second medal in Ridgewood’s second-to-last race, the Womens High School Varsity Doubles. She and senior Maya Ashwin, coming off their strong, 11th-place doubles finish at last week’s Head of the Charles, took fourth on the Schuylkill in a crowded field of 40 boats (14:56.352).
The team’s other bronze medal of the day came in the Mens Junior Varsity Quads category. Sophomores David Pasternak and Kai Bissie, along with juniors Atticus Smith and Brendan Finucane, combined to take third out of 34 boats (13:11.556). Notably, they were the fastest American boat in the event, as Canadian teams took first and second place.
Other notable Ridgewood races on Sunday included a fifth-place finish for the all-sophomore boat of George Rivkin, Conner Cinco, Matt Bason, and Alex Evers in the Mens High School Frosh/Novice Quad race (13:55.842). And a sixth-place finish for freshman Lucia Krauza and sophomore Zurie Yela in the Womens High School Junior Varsity Doubles race (15:39.183).
Full times and results for Ridgewood Crew at the 2025 Head of the Schuylkill (https://legacy.herenow.com/results/#/races/21377/results).
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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