On to Bulgaria: OKC Rowers Shine at Trials

Eight Oklahoma City National High Performance Center athletes raced their way onto the 2012 Senior World Championships Team this morning in West Windsor, NJ. OKC will be represented in the Lightweight Men's Pair, Men's Pair with Coxswain, Lightweight Women's Quad, and Lightweight Men's Eight when the team competes in Plovdiv, Bulgaria next month.

Stangel, Didier and Young

Will Daly and Greg Flood won the lightweight men’s pair final. Daly, a 2008 Olympian who finished 11th in the lightweight four in Beijing, and his partner Greg Flood won their event in a time of 6:45.377 over training center teammates Christian Klein and Kyle Traub, who finished second in 6:46.713.

This morning’s finals wrapped up the combined trials for both the junior and senior teams that will compete August 14-19 at the 2012 World Rowing Senior and Junior Championships. In all, seven crews earned a place on the senior team.

In addition to the lightweight men’s pair, crews were named in the men’s pair with coxswain, lightweight women’s single, lightweight men’s single, men’s and women’s lightweight quadruple sculls and lightweight men’s eight.

The junior and senior world championship events and trials are combined in an Olympic year to accommodate athletes who compete in boat classes not contested at the Olympic Games.

In the men’s pair with coxswain, two USRowing Training Center – Oklahoma City crews went head-to-head in the finals with Justin Stangel, Blaise Didier and coxswain Stephen Young defeating the trio of Ryan Shelton, Max Goff and coxswain Marcus McElhenney in a time of 7:08.784 to 7:12.066.

In the lightweight women’s quad, the composite entry of Pocock Rowing Center, Riverside Boat Club and the USRowing Training Center – Oklahoma City of Hillary Saeger, Lindsey Hochman, Michelle Sechser and Chelsea Smith won in a time of 6:54.285 over Vesper Boat Club, which finished second in 7:09.630.

The final event of the morning, the lightweight men’s eight, saw the composite crew from Community Rowing, Inc., and Riverside Boat Club of coxswain Sean Fanning, Phil Grisdela, OKC's Anders Corbett, Andrew Hashway, Martin Forde, Nick Dawe, Sean McKenna, Will Robins, and Ryan Fox win in 5:57.839 over the Vesper Boat Club entry that finished second in 6:02.139.