On Saturday 4th, 2012 the Tulsa Rowing Club competed in the South West Ergometer Amateur Tournament held in Dallas, TX. The club performed exceptionally well in both the adult and junior categories. This indoor rowing event features events for different age and weight categories. Individual athletes compete over two thousand meters on Concept Two rowing machines and try to record the fastest time possible in their age and experience categories. At the close of racing, the team had won five medals and also placed well in other events with the majority of the team recording personal best times.
At the start of the day in the Men’s 30-39 lightweight category, Micah Hartwell rowed well to win the gold medal in a time of 6:56.1. In the Men’s Masters 30 to 39 age group category Neil Bergenroth won the gold medal in a time of 6:40.4. Assistant novice boys coach Brock Turner placed 4th in the men’s open event in a time of 6:29.
In the Women’s Junior Lightweight category Jenks Senior Madison Davidson rowed to a gold place finish with a time of 7:42.3. Davidson has been rowing for a year and has signed to row for SMU this coming fall.
In the Men’s junior coxswain event, Cascia Hall junior Dan Vinyard won the silver medal in a time of 7:54.8. Vinyard was closely followed by fellow teammate Garrett Allan (Union) who placed 6th in the same event.
In the Men’s Junior Novice Lightweight event, Union Senior Alex Workman won the bronze medal in a personal best time of 7:09.9 followed by Edison Junior David Maxwell who placed fourth in 7:12.2. Workman recently broke a world record for longest continual row for his age and weight category so has fared well for an athlete who has rowed for only three months.
Other notable performances included Juliana Baluh who placed 6th in women’s junior lightweight novice. In addition, Mikey Shrier a Marquette 8th grader rowed to an impressive 5th place finish in the men’s junior high school freshman category. Shrier was closely followed by teammates Max Duenner (Holland Hall) and Chris Foley (Jenks) in 9th and 10th place in a large field of athletes.
“We were successful on the medal stand but the best part of the day was the excellent overall team performance, which is truly a testament to the dedication and training that the athletes have put in all winter,” said Head Coach Bergenroth. “The multitude of personal bests is a good indicator for future success this season.”
Full results from the competition can be found by click the link: SWEAT2012 Results.
The club is holding a learn to row basic training session in two weeks from Feb 20 to 24 for 8th grade and high school athletes looking to try the sport for the first time. For more information, please visit the club website at www.tulsarowing.org/juniors or contact Coach Bergenroth at coachb@tulsarowing.org.