KTUL.com – Tulsa, Oklahoma – News, Weather
Tulsa Rowing Club Juniors are going to represent our community at the Henley Royal Regatta in the United Kingdom. This is the first time in the history of the sport that a high school crew from Oklahoma will be represented at this prestigious event. The Henley Royal Regatta started in 1839 and is a longstanding tradition in international rowing. Crews from all over the world compete in a head to head knockout race over a five-day period that takes place the first week of July.
Our club is sending a crew to compete in HRR’s Thames Cup, an event especially for intermediate level crews. The crew will be required to compete in a time trial qualifier before the event to earn a spot in the main regatta. Additionally, our crew will compete at a local regatta in Reading the weekend before the Henley Royal Regatta.
Our crew is comprised of 10 student athletes representing 7 local high schools. The athletes are: Katie Grantham (Cox – Booker T. Washington), John Seely (Booker T. Washington), Alex Mears (Cascia Hall), Baruch Price (Augustine), Cody Shafer (Union), Karl Fetsch (Cascia Hall), Josiah Grzywacz (Jenks), Ronnie Baker (Bixby), Aaron Pohl (Holland Hall) and Grant Buchman (Holland Hall). Micah Hartwell and Brock Turner coach the team.
“We’ve been working really hard in terms of training and organization to help make this trip a reality, and it’s great that the crew represents so many different schools in the community. It’s been terrific to receive an abundance of support from all of our fans. As someone who grew up in the UK and was able to compete at Henley Royal Regatta as a teenager, this is a dream come true,” said Head Coach Neil Bergenroth.
We have currently raised $29,000 towards our goal. We are still working hard to procure to an additional $20,000 to fully subsidize this once-in-a-life opportunity for our team.
The Tulsa Rowing Club Juniors has experienced much success this past spring. Our team recently performed well in the Central District Regional competition, medaling in several events! Consequently, we will be competing in the USRowing Youth National Championships in June before leaving for the UK.
Our club is actively recruiting high school and 8th grade rowers to be a part of our fall team. For more information on the club’s summer camps, please visit the club’s website at http://www.tulsarowing.org/juniors.
The Tulsa Rowing Club Juniors is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization serving Tulsa and the surrounding areas.