GRS at 2020 Indoor Row Championships

DSC scullers brought lots of excitement to this year’s Golden State Indoor Rowing Championships at the Sac. State Aquatic Center and to the Peninsula Indoor Rowing Championships at St. Ignatius High School in San Francisco.

The GSIRC venue was packed with rowers and their cheering supporters and coaches, and, as usual, DSC scullers and their families and friends were well represented. In fact, DSC once again earned cheering honors, providing the loudest cheers among all onlookers. For all but two of DSC’s Girls Row Stockton team it was their first indoor competition, and they fared extremely well.

All GRS’s novices (Amy McDaniel, Briana Arceo-Salgado, Maya Castillo, and Skylar Flowers) had personal records when comparing their best practice 2K times with what they achieved at Sac. State. With tired wobbling legs they all made it down the stairway to ring the famous PR bell. Injured novice Sydney Jones played a big role by being chief cheerleader and coaching two athletes during the day. Returnee varsity rower Hannah Noe, who has four years of competition
left, came home with a silver medal in her event, and Elise Hill competed very well, as always, at her last indoor championship as a high schooler. Elise wants to return as a DSC rower after she graduates. Pizza was the prize for everyone following the day’s competitions.

One of the highlights of the day was when Rachel Tappero and Jamie Nance had the privilege of racing against the inspirational Sally Callahan, who set the world indoor record for those in their 90’s by posting a 1K time of 2:48.2. She is a Masters able-bodied rower. Rachel, a PR 2 rower, beat Sally to the finish line by demolishing her own 1K record by 46 seconds, posting an amazing time of 10:46 (but hold on for some other news below). Jamie, a novice PR 1 rower, finished strong and was not far behind his competitors in his first-ever rowing competition. He will be a force to be reckoned with in future events.
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The day finished with DSC Masters rower Lesley Galloway ringing the PR bell by clocking a 2:18 time that earned her a gold medal in her event. Because she was the only participant in her Women’s lightweight event, she raced with all the teenage coxwains from the clubs attending the championships. Lesley’s time was better than that of seven of those coxes in the 16-person event, and they were all less than a third of her age!

A week later, Rachel and Jamie competed again in San Francisco. Rachel surprised us all by besting her personal record AGAIN, logging a time of 10:42, which is amazing for someone as light as she is. Her new nickname is “The Beast”. Jamie, coached by his wife Kathryn, found the experience of another competition invaluable in establishing baselines for future endeavors as a rower.

CONGRATS TO ALL THE DSC ATHLETES, PARENTS, RELATIVES, AND FRIENDS WHO EITHER COMPETED OR LENT SUPPORT AT THESE TWO INDOOR ROWING CHAMPIONSHIPS. HERE’S HOPING EVEN MORE DSC REPRESENTATION WILL BE AT THESE EVENTS NEXT YEAR!

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