(Photo credits: AnaÏs Friedrich – Mincy,
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ramsey NJ, Ridgewood Crew rowed its way to a gold medal, a silver medal, and seven top ten finishes overall at the 2024 Ironmen Erg Classic hosted by Don Bosco Preparatory High School. Nearly 500 youth rowers from 17 different clubs in New York and New Jersey competed at the indoor rowing event, which is now in its 11th year.
Lead photo Ryan Mincey, left, took first place in the Womens Novice 2000-meter race and Graham Richardson, took second place in the Mens Middle School 1000-meter race at the 2024 Ironmen Erg Classic
Mark Riedel – Richardson)
Hundreds of spectators filled the Don Bosco gym to watch the day-long event, creating a spirited and, at times, raucous atmosphere for the rowers. The athletes were spread across the gym floor in a long line of 20 erg machines facing the crowd, competing side by side in heats. Some events had as many as six heats.
Ridgewood Crew head coach, Boris Roque-Alvarez, noted that the competition at this week’s event was a notable step up from Ridgewood’s first meet of the season. “The level of competition at the Ironmen Erg Classic was a real challenge, but it’s exactly this kind of environment that pushes our team to grow. Our rowers showed commendable resilience, and each race is a stepping stone for our development. I’m proud of their efforts and the learning experience this event has provided.”
Much like last week’s meet, Ridgewood’s middle school rowers again led the team to a strong start.
Jaya Suri (4:17.3) nabbed the team’s first top-ten finish of the day in the Womens 7th/8th Grade 1000-meter race, coming in fourth. Teammate Courtney Spence (4:39.1) placed 15th.
Graham Richardson (3:25.2) scored one of Ridgewood’s two medals of the day — the silver — in the Mens 7th/8th Grade 1k, which featured 55 athletes. Richardson finished just 1.3 seconds behind first place. Fellow Ridgewood eighth grader Kai Bissie (3:46.8) surged past several rowers in the last half of the race to come in 7th.
In the women’s Freshman/Novice 2k race, sophomore Ryan Mincey scored the second of Ridgewood’s two medals – taking home gold with the Womens Novice 1st place spot (8:08.6). A huge triumph as Ridgewood’s lone entry in the category.
The Mens Freshman/Novice 2000-meter race was the largest youth event of the day, with 95 rowers finishing. Ninth-grader Tristan Riedel (7:07.4) was the top Ridgewood rower coming in 8th. Novice sophomore Michael Shkop (7:15.2) placed 14th overall.
Senior Elsa Friedrich (8:23.8) paced Ridgewood in the Women’s High School Lightweight 2000-meter race, finishing 11th. Sophomores Luciano Saladino (7:11.5) and Uhmjoo Han (7:11.8) placed 7th and 9th, respectively, in the Men’s High School Lightweight 2k race, with the former edging past the latter and another rower in the final 20 meters.
In the largest women’s race of the day, 51 rowers competed in the Women’s High School 2000-meter race. Ridgewood sophomore Teresa Flowers (8:04.5) was the team’s top finisher, in 20th place. Flowers also posted the fastest 2k time of the day for the Ridgewood women.
Saturday’s final race, the Mens High School 2k, was highly competitive, featuring 91 rowers and some scorching times, with more than half the field finishing in under 7 minutes and the top five all coming in under 6:30. Ridgewood sophomore Will Nasr (6:35.6) finished 11th, just one tenth of a second behind 10th place and less than a second from ninth place. Ridgewood junior Lucas Evers (6:59.5) tied for 39th.
Full times and results for Ridgewood Crew at the 2024 Ironmen Erg Classic can be found a thttps://rccdn.cachefly.net/results/8753_98e69382-e026-4851-b130-9eb02e04e482.pdf.
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.
Tell your story #TheRidgewoodblog , #Indpendentnews, #information, #advertise, #guestpost, #affiliatemarketing,#NorthJersey, #NJ , #News, #localnews, #bergencounty, #sponsoredpost, #SponsoredContent, #contentplacement , #linkplacement, Email: Onlyonesmallvoice@gmail.com
Another Wednesday…what stupid shit will Pee Wee and the 3 Dirtbags come up with tonight ?
No meeting tonight.
was this all done on machines? Not on water?
yes.
kind of stupid.