The weekend of May 18-20 saw both the Junior Women’s and Men’s squads of Rogue Rowing competing for state and regional titles. All the teams enjoyed excellent racing conditions: flat water with little to no wind with temperatures ranging from high 50’s to mid-70’s. The overall team goals going into this weekend were to stay focused on controlling what can be controlled; their boat, their mindset, and how they raced. Accomplishing this put themselves in a place to have their best race possible. Results are good and confirm the work done, but racing results are not the primary goal.

Additionally, the varsity men and women’s squad each developed goals for the weekend. The varsity women’s goals were, 1) push ourselves to a point that we can be proud of, 2) put at least one boat in grand finals, and 3) support and respect each other in every race. The varsity men’s goals were, 1) Treat this race like the culmination of every practice, 2) leading by example in performance and in setting and achieving goals, and 3) creating a focus and being gritty in each boat that we are in. I am happy to report that these goals were met thus taking a huge step forward in developing team culture.

There are many notable performances (listed below) across all squads this year at regionals. So the focus here is on one statistic that flew under the radar a bit. The team is starting to enter more competitive events and competing with more teams. The men’s 4+, 2-, 2x and the women’s lightweight 4+, lightweight 2x, and 2-. The men built speed throughout the season and reported having some of the best rows of the season racing down the course. The women entered the 2- for the first time and placed 5^th in grand finals in the lightweight 2x and lightweight 4+. Another note is that all the events mentioned are qualifying events for Youth National Championships which indicates the direction the athletes are taking the team. This is a good indicator of growth of the team. More importantly it puts on display the development of a team culture that is having fun learning to make boats go fast.

• Jonathan

Below is a full list of Oregon State Champions and Nothwest Regional Champions.

Oregon State Champions:

Women’s 1^st Varsity Single (1x) – Alexis Benton (St. Mary’s)

Women’s 2^nd Varsity Single (1x) – Chelsea Bowland (Ashland)

Women’s 1^st Varsity Pair (2-) – Rachel Wilder (South Medford), Emma Glatte (Ashland)

Women’s 2^nd Varsity Pair (2-) – Ellie Carter (Ashland), Satori Savoie (Ashland)

Women’s 1^st Varsity Double (2x) – Alexis Benton (St. Mary’s), Rachel Wilder (South Medford)

Women’s Lightweight Varsity Four (4+) – Gillian Hammond (Coxswain; South Medford), Analiese Kirschel (North Medford), Emma Glatte (Ashland), Reyna Kirschel (North Medford), Kate Vasey (St. Mary’s).

Men’s 1^st Varsity Double (2x) – Aiden Duval (Ashland), Noah Jones (Ashland)

Men’s 1^st Varsity Pair (2-) – James Robinson (Ashland), Sam Powell (RCC)

Men’s 1^st Novice Double (2x) – Cormac Webb (South Medford), Rowan Wallace (Ashland)

Men’s 1^st Novice Four (4+) – Ethan Frank (Coxswain; North Medford), Victor Jones (Ashland), Rowan Wallace (Ashland), Cormac Webb (South Medford), Ethan Glassy (South Medford)

Men’s 1^st Novice Coxed Quad (4x+) – Mia McCleary (Coxswain; Ashland), Victor Jones (Ashland), Ethan Glassy (Ashland), Lucas Harleman (Ashland), Anderson Coons (South Medford)

Men’s 1^st Youth Coxed Quad (4x+) – Auniko Hisamoto (Coxswain; North Medford), Ben Sandow (Ashland), Isaac Kahn (Ashland), Lucas Harleman (Ashland), Kai Rockwell (Ashland)

Northwest Regional Medal Winners:

First Place - Men’s 1^st Novice Double (2x) – Cormac Webb (South Medford), Rowan Wallace (Ashland)

Second Place - Men’s 1^st Youth Coxed Quad (4x+) – Auniko Hisamoto (Coxswain; North Medford), Ben Sandow (Ashland), Isaac Kahn (Ashland), Lucas Harleman (Ashland), Kai Rockwell (Ashland)