Eight Oklahoma City High Performance Athletes Named to the 2011 Pan American Games Team

The 2011 Pan American Games will feature a lot of familiar faces, including five Olympians that earned berths on Thursday at the conclusion of trials.

Finals got underway Thursday morning on Mercer Lake with volatile weather that delayed racing for more than an hour mid-way through the morning program. The trials determined 11 of the 14 crews that will represent the United States at the Pan American Games October 15-19 in Guzman City, Mexico.

In the final of the men’s four, the Penn A.C. crew of Matt Wheeler, Joe Spencer, Steve Kasprzyk and Jason Read posted a winning time of 6:05.43 over USRowing Training Center – Oklahoma City’s 6:08.24 with the crew of Ryan Monaghan, Andrew Melander, Hans Struzyna and Brad Bertoldo.

Michelle Sechser

USRowing Training Center – Oklahoma City’s Tom Paradiso and Bob Duff won the lightweight men’s double sculls with a time of 6:35.61. Paradiso is 2008 Olympian in the lightweight four, while Duff is two-time national team member. Riverside Boat Club crossed second in a 6:47.44, followed by Undine Barge Club’s 6:49.63.

USRowing Training Center – Oklahoma City’s Mike Gennaro and Ty Otto, two members of the winning men’s eight at the 2011 World Rowing Under 23 Championships, crossed the line in 6:37.49 to win the final of the men’s pair. Gennaro and Otto crossed 5.26 seconds ahead of USTC – OKC’s Blaise Didier and Derek Johnson’s 6:42.75. The 2nd place finish in the men's pair event qualifies Didier and Johnson for the men's eight which will compete at the Pan American Games, comprised of the men's four and top two pairs.

Megan Smith

In the men’s double sculls, Undine’s Andy Quinn and Dan Urevick-Ackelsberg took first with a time of 6:21.94. USRowing Training Center – Oklahoma City with Ryan Shelton and Martin Etem crossed second in a 6:24.04, followed by Durham Boat Club’s 6:25.91.

In the lightweight women’s double sculls, the USRowing Training Center – Oklahoma City crew of Chelsea Smith and Michelle Sechser crossed the line first with a time of 7:14.11. Smith and Sechser were more than seven seconds ahead of Undine/Penn A.C.’s 7:21.85.

Megan Smith and Monica George, also racing for USRowing Training Center – Oklahoma City, won the women’s pair with a time of 7:31.38 over Potomac Boat Club/Seattle Rowing Center’s 7:39.48. Vesper Boat Club finished third with a time of 7:42.84.