Fun Times and Fast Racing for OKC Athletes at the Head of the Oklahoma

Oklahoma City National High Performance athletes enjoyed the opportunity to compete on their home course this past weekend at the OCU Head of the Oklahoma. The event consisted of a 4 kilometer head race and with a top six finish, an opportunity to compete in the famous 500 meter OG&E Night Sprints.

Grace Luczak and Kelly Pierce

The USRowing Training Center - OKC entries performed well across a variety of boat classes. The head race portion of the weekend was highlighted by first place finishes in the Women's Single, Lightweight Women's Single, Men's Double, Lightweight Men's Double, Men's Single, Women's Double, and Men's Elite Eight. Kate Bertko won the Women's Single event in a time of 17:54.04 while Michelle Sechser won the Lightweight Women's Single in 18:08.053. The two joined forces in the Women's Double to win gold in a time of 15:51.585. Ryan Shelton finished first in the Men's Single in 16:06.957 and along with teammate Greg Ansolabehere, won the Men's Double in 15:05.186. Olympians Robin Prendes and Will Daly won the Lightweight Men's Double in 15:04.857. The crew of coxswain Stephen Young, Ryan Monaghan, Olympian Tom Peszek, Max Goff, Blaise Didier, Peter Dwyer, Jameson Harper, Justin Stangel, and Henry Cole finished first in the Men's Elite Eight in a time of 12:50.558.

Later that evening, crews hit the water to compete under the lights in the OG&E Night Sprints. USRowing Training Center - OKC's Grace Luczak finished first in the Women's Single in a time of 1:43.99. Prendes and Daly won the Men's Double in 1:25.300 while Bertko and Sechser won the Women's Double in 1:37.523.

The next competition for OKC High Performance athletes will be the Head of the Charles Regatta in Boston, October 20-21.