Ridgewood Crew Dazzles at Overpeck Fall Classic, Scores Two Golds and 12 Medals Overall

Men’s 1st Varsity 4x Gold Medal Team Lyakerman, D. Kelly, M.Kirchhoff-Lajonchere, H. Rivera

(photo courtesy of M. Riedel)

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Leonia NJ,  Ridgewood Crew rowers dazzled at the annual Overpeck Fall Classic, a 3,200-meter head course meet in Teaneck, New Jersey, hosted by Montclair High School and New York Rowing Association. In all, Ridgewood rowers earned a top three spot in eight different races and took home two gold, seven silver, and three bronze medals. Only the meet co-host, Montclair, won more medals, with 15 overall. 

“We are happy with Sunday’s results, our rowers are very committed this fall,” said Ridgewood Crew head coach Boris Roque Alvarez. “We are also looking forward to the Head of the Passaic regatta this coming weekend.” 

This year’s Overpeck Fall Classic featured 35 clubs from the tri-state area, with teams ranging from juniors to masters. Ridgewood Crew had the second-most entries of the competition, with 22 boats in 10 different races. 

Leading the way were Ridgewood’s Mens Youth 4x boats, which took home top spots in both the first varsity and second varsity races, and added a silver in the second varsity race as well.

These two races were extremely competitive, with just 12 seconds and nine seconds, respectively, separating first, second, and third place. 

Rigewood’s first varsity 4x boat of Michael Lyakerman, Daniel Kelly, Moritz Kirchhoff-Lajonchere, and Henry Rivera (11:40) barely edged out a boat from GMS Rowing of New Milford, Connecticut, for first, winning by less than one second. Likewise, Ridgewood’s gold medal-winning second varsity 4x boat of Daniel Hept, Will Carroll, Matt Moomjy, and Uhmjoo Han (11:53), eked out a three-second victory over another Ridgewood boat, with James Ryan, Luciano Saladino, John Aguilar, and Graham Richardson (11:56). 

Women’s 1st Varsity 4x Silver Medal Team Flowers, E. Friedrich, A. Friedrich, S. Ponomarciuc

(photo courtesy of E. Friedrich) 

The Ridgewood Crew girls started off the morning with two second-place finishes in the Womens Youth 4x first varsity and second varsity races. Anais Friedrich, Elsa Friedrich, Samantha Ponomarciuc, and Thelma Flowers (12:50) brought home the silver in the first varsity 4x race, while the Ridgewood boat of Aoife Ali, Caterina Kirchhoff-Lajonchere, Julia 

Smith, and Ariana Wilk (13:43) placed the same in the second varsity race. 

The sister team of Anais and Elsa Friedrich scored another silver in the Womens Youth varsity 2x race (13:52). 

Ridgewood also dominated the podium in several other races, doubling up on medals in the Mens Youth 1x, Mens Youth varsity 2x, and Mens Youth second varsity 2x races. In the single-person boats, Will Nasr (13:21) and Lucas Evers (13:23) grabbed second and third. In the varsity 2x race, the duos of Sam Scharfenberg and Tristan Riedel (12:29) and Conor Sullivan and Henry Rivera (12:46), took home silver and bronze, respectively. John Cavagnuolo and Graham Richardson (13:06) and Luciano Saladino and John Aguilar (13:16) finished second and third, respectively, in the second varsity race.

Full Ridgewood Crew Results for the 2023 Overpeck Fall Classic Include: 

Womens Youth First Varsity 4x 2nd Anais Friedrich/ Samantha Ponomarciuc/ Thelma Flowers/ Elas Friedrich 

Womens Youth Second Varsity 4x 2nd Aoife Ali/ Caterina Kirchhoff-Lajonchere/ Julia Smith/ Ariana Wilk 

Mens Youth 1x 2nd 3rd 

6th 

Womens Youth 1x 9th 12th 

Will Nasr 

Lucas Evers 

Conor Sullivan 

Samantha Ponomarciuc Thelma Flowers 

Mens Youth First Varsity 4x 1st Michael Lyakerman/ Daniel Kelly/ Mortiz Kirchhoff-Lajonchere/ Henry River 

Mens Youth Second Varsity 4x 1st _ 

2nd 

_ 

5th 

Daniel Hept/ William Carroll/ Matt Moomjy/ Umhjoo Han 

James Ryan/ Graham Richardson/ Luciano Saladino/ John Aguilar 

John Cavagnuolo/ Gryphon Smith/ Erik Gregerson/ Mathias Nguyen-Van-Duong 

Womens Youth Varsity 2x 2nd Anais Friedrich/Elsa Friedrich 

Womens Youth Second Varsity 2x 5th 6th 

9th 

Mens Youth Varsity 2x 2nd 3rd 

Mens Youth Second Varsity 2x 2nd 3rd 

5th 

10th 

15th 

Aoife Ali/ Caterina Kirchhoff-Lajonchere Julia Smith/ Ariana Wilk 

Maya Ashwin/ Hallie Newman 

Sam Scharfenberg/ Tristan Riedel Conor Sullivan/ Henry Rivera 

Graham Richardson/John Cavagnuolo Luciano Saladino/John Aguilar 

James Ryan/Mathias Nguyen-Van-Duong Gryphon Smith/Erik Gregerson Damon Dessel/Mateo Reyes 

Complete results can be found at https://crewtimer.com/regatta/r13035.

About Ridgewood Crew 

In the program’s 20-year history, Ridgewood Crew rowers have 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.