Men’s High School 1x gold-medal rower William Nasr (photo courtesy of M. Riedel)
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Lyndhurst NJ, on their home course, Ridgewood Crew rowers powered to nine podium finishes at Sunday’s Head of the Passaic Regatta, a 4,150-meter head course meet co-hosted by the Passaic River Rowing Association and Nereid Boat Club. Ridgewood’s final medal tally included two golds, three silvers, and four bronzes.
“Our rowers did a great job at the Head of the Passaic. We knew the level of competition on our home course would be high, so our rowers have been preparing well with a lot of water time dedicated to technique and long steady state” said Ridgewood Crew head coach Boris Roque Alvarez. “We have two weeks to prepare before the final regatta of the season on the Schuylkill.”
This year’s Head of the Passaic Regatta, the 21st annual running of the event, featured 380 entries from 43 clubs across New Jersey, New York, and Connecticut, with competitors ranging from middle school age to masters over 70 years old. Ridgewood Crew fielded 32 boats across nine different races.
Sophomore Will Nasr scored Ridgewood’s first gold medal of the day in the Mens High School 1x (16:35), beating out 26 other competitors. Teammate Graham Richardson also picked up the
bronze in the race (16:55). Ridgewood had four overall racers finish in the top 10 of this event, including Matt Moomjy in 7th (17:02) and Lucas Evers in 8th (17:03).
Nasr medaled in the Mens High School varsity 4x race as well, as he and fellow Ridgewood rowers Evers, Sam Scharfenberg, and Tristan Riedel came in third (13:50). Ridgewood’s other boat in the race, crewed by Michael Lyakerman, Daniel Kelly, Conor Sullivan, and Henry Rivera, finished fourth (13:55).
Ridgewood took home the bronze in a hard-fought Mens High School junior varsity 4x race, as the boat of James Ryan, Paul Hallowell, Luis Saladino, and John Aguilar (14:33) came in just three seconds behind the second-place team.
Anais Friedrich led the way for the Ridgewood girls, finishing on the podium in two races. Racing solo, she took the bronze in the Womens High School 1x race (18:26), rowing against 12 other competitors. She also finished second in the Womens High School varsity 2x event, rowing with her sister Elsa Friedrich (15:40).
Womens High School varsity 2x silver-medal rowers Anais Friedrich, Elsa Friedrich (photo courtesy of E. Friedrich)
In the Womens High School junior varsity 4x race, the Ridgewood boat of Samantha Ponomarciuc, Thelma Flowers, Julia Smith, and Ariana Wilk took silver (15:50). The pair of Ponomarciuc and Flowers came in fourth in the Womens High School junior varsity 2x event (16:28).
Womens 2nd place junior varsity 4x team Thelma Flowers, Samantha Ponomarciuc, Julia Smith, Ariana Wilk (photo courtesy of A. Ali)
Ridgewood just missed a clean sweep of the medals in the Mens High School junior varsity 2x race. Scharfenberg and Riedel won gold (14:50), the pair of Saladino and Aguilar took silver (15:16), while the boat of Daniel Hept and Umhjoo Han came in fourth (15:19), finishing less than two seconds behind the third-place team.
Men’s 1st junior varsity gold medal team Sam Scharfenberg, Tristan Riedel (photo courtesy of E. Friedrich)
Ridgewood Crew athletes weren’t the only ones taking home medals on Sunday. Ridgewood Crew’s Assistant Coach Kassandra Luna, racing with the Passaic River Rowing Association, also brought home a gold medal in the Womens Masters 4x event (age-adjusted 16:34). Her teammates included Fernanda Lois, Jill Divilio, and Shannon Stewart.
Full Ridgewood Crew Results for the 2023 Head of the Passaic Regatta:
Complete results can be found at https://crewtimer.com/regatta/r12956.
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.