By: Julia Valencia

Opinion Editor 

Now that Los Gatos Rowing Club (LGRC) has finished its official season, a small group of junior athletes is in the team’s post-season training period, where they will prepare for the Youth National Championships (YNC) in Sarasota, Florida. This preparation phase is a time of intense selection, finalizing boats for the racing in June. All rowers are working to fight for a seat in the boat, knowing that even if they helped qualify the boat at the Southwest Youth Championships (SYC), there is no guarantee that they will travel with the team to the YNC. 

At the beginning of May, all LGRC athletes drove to Folsom, California, to compete in SYC, also known as Regionals. There, more than 1,850 athletes competed on Lake Natoma, all vying for the same coveted spots that send a crew to Nationals at the start of the following month. LGRC dominated the competition at Regionals, bringing back nine regional titles and qualifying over 15 crews to send to Florida.

LGRC’s men’s team had one of its most impressive years in club history, earning not only six first place finishes, but for the first time in 30 years, winning the Men’s Team Trophy. This award is given to the team that earns the most points throughout the weekend; it’s measured by how well a boat finishes in its race. This result is especially notable given that their varsity eight was not allowed to compete in finals on Sunday, May 3, because of a boat breakage that happened in the warmup. Officials did not allow LGRC to get another boat, resulting in their not participating in the race and being awarded zero points for that event. Luckily, the LGRC’s men’s team quickly rebounded and went on to win many medals on Finals day, like their Junior Varsity eight, coxed by senior Mariko Okubo and rowed by seniors Cameron Degraff and Declan McInerney and juniors Luke Degraff and Matthieu Boillet, who won their race by four seconds.

LGRC’s Women’s team also had a very successful weekend of racing, coming away with three regional titles and medaling in eight different categories. The Women’s Varsity quad with sophomore Chloe Stopford and senior Jenna Yoder won their final by nearly 18 seconds, and their Junior Varsity quad, with junior Sophia Juarez, also won their final, defending the club’s title from last year. The Under 16 quad with freshmen Annette Lee and Makayla Kelley finished in second place after a close race with lane one, Newport Sea Base, and the Club four, coxed by Mimi Moghaddam and rowed by senior Nainica Kapoor, placed third.

As these LGRC athletes continue their training, they all have one goal in mind and are willing to do anything and everything to achieve it; they want to win the national championship. Follow their journey through LGRC’s Instagram, @losgatosrowingclub, as they get closer to Nationals! 

(Sources: Regatta Central, USRowing)