Local student competes in national rowing competition
Sidney Briggs (rear) and her teammate, Charlotte Curri, recently competed on a national level.
{Contributed photo/Sidney Briggs}
If you happened to tune into ESPN 3 on June 11, 12, or 13, you would’ve seen some of the 2,800 youth rowers racing down the 2000 meter course at Nathan Benderson Park in Sarasota, Florida. Rowing isn’t a typical ESPN sport, so many don’t know much about it, but this event is infamous within the rowing world: USRowing Youth Nationals. Teams from California to New York all converge on the southern tip of Florida to see how fast they can row 2000 meters, hoping to take home a trophy. Although the most tangible representation of rowing in the public eye is the five second scene in “Dead Poet’s Society,” this event is not just for elite Northeastern private schools but anyone in the country including representatives from Davidson County.
The Triad United Rowing Association (Triad United) has two locations: Oak Hollow Lake in High Point and Lake Brandt in Greensboro. Triad United took 10 rowers to Sarasota after a limited competitive year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Typically, in the fall season, Triad United rowers compete in 5000 meter events in at least four regattas in North Carolina, Virginia, and Tennessee. In 2020, there were no regattas in the spring and fall. Spring season regattas are full of 2000 meter pieces, and are held in North Carolina, Tennessee, and Florida for Traid United rowers. This season was extremely special for the 10 senior rowers on the team.
At Nationals, Triad United brought three boats: a women’s four (Grace Denenny, Kate Messick, Holly Spong, and Hannah Edwards), a women’s pair (Charlotte Curri and Sidney Briggs), and a men’s four (Ben Huitt, Sarvesh Ventiku, Matthew Hronich, and Owen McArthur). Of these 10 rowers, six are graduating high school seniors. Next year, Denenny and Messick will attend UNC-Chapel Hill, Spong will attend Rhodes College, Ventiku will attend Duke and McArthur will attend UNC-Greensboro.
At Nationals, time trials are conducted on the first day. Rowers race by themselves down the course to be seeded for their next races. Their final (A, B, C, or D) is determined by how high they place in these time trials. If the crew gets top 12, then they will go to semifinals the next day to determine if they will go to A or B finals. The racing for Triad United went as follows:
Men’s Four: The boys four raced a smooth and fast race on Thursday during time trials. They placed 27th in the nation during the time trials. Although they didn’t make the finals, it’s a very impressive standing.
Women’s Pair The girls placed 16th on Thursday, landing them in the C final on Saturday. Curri and Briggs, were excited with their placement as they’re lightweights and were in an open weight event.. After a day of rest and cheering on their teammates, the women’s pair again raced down the course placing 15th in the nation during their C finals after a brief downpour in extremely humid weather.
Women’s Four In time trials on Thursday, the women’s four placed 10th, putting them in the A/B semifinals. The team was enthusiastic. which the whole team was very excited about. On Friday, the girls four placed 12th, putting them in the B finals. After they cheered for the pair on Saturday with the enthusiasm of great teammates, they raced on Sunday for their finals. In a close race, they placed 10th in the nation.
Coaches Mandy Greene and Gene Kininmonth were pleased, and the team was thrilled about the results. With few races in the past year, the results were very impressive for this up-and-coming team.
After four days of racing, a gallon of Strawberry Kiwi Gatorade, and having the team's name completely mispronounced on ESPN (Tree-ad University), the North Carolina rowers came back with smiles on their faces. Besides the amazing racing, the team grew closer as friends and teammates. Rowing is all about trusting each other; one is not pulling for themselves but for their teammates. This forms a strong bond between the crewmates, along with long-lasting friendships. Be on the lookout for this rapidly growing and developing team in the next year; they’re going to go far!
