RCTW Juniors Going to Nationals

THE WOODLANDS, Texas -- The Rowing Club of The Woodlands Juniors competed at the Central District Youth Rowing Championships (CDYRC) regional event in Oklahoma City, OK hosted by Oklahoma City Boathouse Foundation on the Oklahoma River on May 8 and 9th, 2010. This 2,000 m sprint race is a qualifier for the USRowing Youth National Championships on June 11-13, 2010 in Cinncinati, OH. The CDYRC is open to junior athletes from Arkansas, Colorado, Louisiana, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas.

On rough water and passing under 2 bridges, Nathan Carbajal, a senior at TWHS, and Justin Koch, junior at TWCP, won first in their heat and advanced to the finals to capture second place in the Mens varsity double.

“It was a successful weekend for our team. Justin and Nathan had to come from behind almost 2 boat lengths at 300 meters from the finish to win second by a ½ a boat length” said assistant coach Mike Rosman. Shaving 16 seconds off of their heat time, they finished the course in 7:06.19.

“It feels good to finally be going to Nationals in Cinncinati. I’ve had a couple of opportunities slip through my fingers before, but Justin and I work really hard. Our friendship and hard work has been the foundation for our teamwork. Our goal was to qualify for Nationals and we did,” Carbajal said.

Head coach Leonard Anderson is very proud of what the juniors have accomplished this year. “Weather conditions were not favorable for good racing at CDYRC. It was cold and windy with a threat of rain. All of our kids showed the ability to focus on the task at hand. We had some heartbreakers and extreme successes at this regatta. All in all it was a great regatta for our kids even though not as well as we had hoped,” Anderson said.

The Women’s Novice quad of Grace Carbajal (TWHS), Cambridge Bolen (TWHS), Stephanie Mallard (TWCP) and Paris Rosman (Homeschool) won third in their heat. This race was a heart breaker; the girls were in position to advance to the final, when at the last 50 meters they had a couple of bad strokes that cost them the probable win. Only two boats advanced from each heat and they missed by the smallest margin.

The last race of the day on Sunday was one of the most exciting. RCTW put two boats in the water for the Mens Novice double. There were 19 entries and to get to the final you had to win your heat or have the next fastest time. Neither boat had won their heat but by virtue of their time, Mark Racioppi (TWHS) and Casner Pernice (TWCP) were the first non-heat winners to get into the final. J.D. Telford, freshman at TWHS, and Hugo Gomez, freshman at TWCP knocked them out with a faster heat time, but that didn’t damper their spirit. They rowed like they belonged in the final and brought home a bronze.

“Hugo and I upset a lot of people today and ruined their day. In our boat, communication, technique and determination were key to stay in with the other boats. I would glance over and see we were getting closer and closer to passing the others” Telford said. “We worked so hard I thought I was going to pass out at the end of the race.” Telford and Gomez finished the race in 7:57.87.

The RCTW Juniors had two boats qualify for the final in the Men’s Novice quad. Bringing home a bronze with a fast time of 7:10.18 were J.D. Telford, Mark Racioppi , Hugo Gomez and Andrew Gomez (McCullough Junior High). Finishing sixth in finals in the Men’s Novice quad was Surahbi Reddy (TWCP), Casner Pernice , Paolo Holgado (TWHS) and Nate Johnson (TWCP).

For some of the kids it was the last race of the season, for others, it was the last race as a junior. “Our team made others aware of how competitive RCTW is. In the history of our juniors program, it seemed other teams were the ones to beat. Now we are the one that other teams look up to,” Anderson said. “This regatta is a stepping stone that all the returning rowers will look forward to next year.”

Other results from regionals:
Women’s Novice Double: 3rd place in heat 2 of women’s novice double: Stephanie Mallard and Paris Rosman.

Women’s Varsity double: 3rd in heat 1 were Marjorie Ferrone and Tara Dalton.

3rd in heat 2 were Camille Sumodobila and Mariana Bandera.

Men’s Varsity single: 3rd in heat 3 was Thomas Eastwick.

RCTW Juniors are recruiting new members for the 2010-2011 season. For more information, please visit their Web site at the link below.