Ridgewood Crew’s Tristan Riedel, Will Nasr, Lucas Evers, and Sam Scharfenberg won gold (Mens High School Junior 4x) on Saturday at the Garden State Regatta. (Photo Credit: John Nasr)
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Pennsauken NJ, Ridgewood Crew put on a dazzling team rowing performance during back-to-back regattas at the Cooper River Park race course this past weekend, bringing home eight gold, six silver, and five bronze medals overall.
On Saturday, Ridgewood dominated at the SRAA Garden State Scholastic Championships, scoring 10 podium finishes in total, including four gold, four silver, and two bronze. This meet, which is limited to current high school athletes (grades 9 – 12) from New Jersey, featured 1500-meter races and drew 274 entries and 46 different clubs.
Ridgewood followed up that impressive performance with an equally strong showing on Sunday at the Cooper Cup, a US Rowing-sanctioned meet that dates back to 2004. Here, Ridgewood took home a total of nine medals, including four more gold, two silver, and three bronze. This event mixes 1500-meter time trials and 2000-meter finals races for Under-17 and Under-19 athletes with 1500-meter flight races for junior varsity and novice rowers.
“This weekend, the teams’ ability to demonstrate excellence in back-to-back events proved their exceptional caliber. Moreover, every rower who pushed themselves to the limit, especially in races decided by a second or less, has shown that true victory lies in the effort and spirit they bring to the water” said Ridgewood Crew Head Coach Boris Roque-Alvarez.
Standout performers for Ridgewood Crew men’s team over the weekend included the quartet of Lucas Evers, Will Nasr, Sam Scharfenberg, and Tristan Riedel. On Saturday, the group scored a collective first-place finish in the Mens High School Junior 4x race (4:59.250). The next day, rowing as pairs at the Cooper Cup, Evers and Nasr (7:06.440) took third in the Mens Under-19 2x 2000-meter final, while Scharfenberg and Riedel (7:05.310) added another gold to their tally in the Mens Under-17 2x final, coming from behind to take the lead with 250 meters left.
Samantha Ponomarciuc, Thelma Flowers, Ryan Mincey, and Aoife Ali (5:52.190) won their Womens High School Junior 4x race on Saturday. The latter pair of this group, Mincey and Ali (6:26.970), went on to win the Womens Junior Varsity 2x race a day later at the Cooper Cup.
Ridgewood’s Womens High School Junior 4x boat showcased their gold medals at the Garden State Regatta. Left to right, Ponomarciuc, Mincey, Flowers, and Ali (Photo Credit: Cheryl Corigliano)
Ridgewood’s Julia Smith and Maya Ashwin were among many others who did double podium duty over the weekend, taking silver in both the Women’s High School Junior 2x (6:49.890) on Saturday and the Womens Junior Varsity 2x (6:37.410) on Sunday. James Ryan and Daniel Hept scored a bronze in the Garden State Mens High School Lightweight 2x (5:48.790) and a gold in the Cooper Cup’s Mens Junior Varsity 2x (5:28.690).
The all-freshman boat of Atticus Smith, Andrew Segura, Chris Liang, and Joshua Reynolds powered through the weekend with a silver on Saturday and gold on Sunday, respectively, in the Mens High School Freshman 4x (5:52.190) and Mens Novice 4x (5:25.310) races.
In freshman doubles, the boat of Chris Corigliano and Kamran Sarmad took second in the Garden State Mens High School Novice 2x (6:43.010) race and third in the Cooper Cup Mens Novice 2x (6:31.460) competition.
The senior twin sisters of Anais and Elsa Friedrich also continued their month-long hot streak this past weekend, winning their third consecutive race. After taking gold at the 3rd and 5th Manny Flicks Girls Varsity 2x races earlier in the month in Philadelphia (all girls’ races at the 4th Manny Flick meet were canceled due to weather), the pair completed their first-place hat trick at the Garden State Womens High School Lightweight 2x race (6:25.280) on Saturday.
Finally, Ridgewood’s only multiple-podium finish in the same race came on Sunday in the Cooper Cup’s Mens Under-17 1x event. Eighth grader Graham Richardson (7:56.310) took second, while his teammate, sophomore Luciano Saladino (8:06.740) came in third.
Full times and results for Ridgewood Crew for the 2024 Garden State Scholastic Championships (https://www.regattacentral.com/regatta/results2/?job_id=8624&org_id=0 ) and Cooper Cup (https://www.regattacentral.com/regatta/results2/?job_id=8915&org_id=0).
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.
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