Treasure Coast Rowers Grab Gold in Philadelphia
November 4, 2015
Staff Reporter
Stuart News/TCPalm
Crews from three Treasure Coast area rowing clubs recently competed at two of the nation’s largest and most prestigious regattas. And while everyone — high school students and adult rowers alike — enjoyed the experience at these internationally famous events, one boat earned a gold medal by winning its race.
Five members of the Treasure Coast Rowing Club Juniors were the fastest boat in the men’s high school fours (with coxswain, freshmen/novice division) race at the Head of the Schuylkill Regatta on Oct. 24-25 in Philadelphia. Martin County High School students Haven Rose, Hamilton Smith and Jacob Grimsdale, all sophomores, Blake Pegrum, freshman, and coxswain Bennett Rossell, an eighth grader at Hidden Oaks Middle School, completed the nearly 4,000-meter course in 16 minutes, 45.650 seconds to best a division with 20 other boats.
The HOSR regatta, one of the nation’s largest rowing events, hosted 271 clubs and 1,918 boats from the United States, Canada and England.
The TCRC Juniors, with nearly 60 male and female rowers, is made up of student athletes from 10 Martin and Palm Beach county schools. The club took 32 team members to Philadelphia to compete in five races. The Sebastian River High School Sharks crew also competed in two events with 10 rowers. Adult members of the TCRC and Indian River Rowing Club in Vero Beach also competed.
“I was optimistic that boat could do pretty well — I thought they were going to be competitive,” said Tolly Allen, TCRC Juniors men’s coach. “Based on the crews that started close to when they started, I thought we could beat them. We rowed against a lot of them at nationals in Ohio last summer. The first time I saw them, at about 2,200 meters, they were rowing in the clear, were swinging along nicely, and rowing beautiful strokes.”
Allen said the trip featured more than just a row.
“The whole experience was a great team-building exercise for our club,” Allen said. “Philadelphia is the center of gravity for American rowing, and this was an international event. We went into the Vesper Rowing Club with over 125 years of tradition, got to see photos of Olympic champions and meet other champions. It showed these kids that rowing is bigger than just an afternoon on the St. Lucie River.”