2018 Head of the Estuary
Adam Ray
Oakland Strokes kicked off the Fall 2018 racing season yesterday with a head race on our home water with crews from North Bay, St. Ignatius, Artemis, OARS, East Bay, and Pacific all in attendance.
News & Results
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Strokes Excite At Nationals!
Adam Ray
Men's Lightweight 8+ National Champions
The Oakland Strokes rowing team capped off another incredible year by winning a National Championship, two silver medals, and an 11th place finish at the Youth National Championships. Hosted by the United States Rowing Association, the event awards National Championships in nine different boat classes for high school aged men and women. This year the event was raced on Lake Natoma near Sacramento, CA on June 8-10. The Oakland Strokes rowing team brought four squads to the race, who had earned qualification through their performance at the Southwest Regional Championship in early May.
From left to right: Rocky Davis (Asst. Coach), Bert Harney (Ltwt. Coach), Ryan Tripp (8 –Piedmont HS), Jack Woll (7 – College Prep), Richard Reid (6 – St. Joseph Notre Dame), Andrew Stoddard (5 – Piedmont HS), Elizabeth “Z” Romero (cox – The Athenian School), Carter Young (4 – San Ramon Valley HS), Quinn Pelichoff (3 – Burlingame HS), Matt Schade (1 – San Ramon Valley HS), Marius Van Dongen (1 – Miramonte HS), Brian de Regt (Head Men’s Coach), Jovan Jovanovic (Asst. Coach)
The Men’s Lightweight Eight led the way for the Strokes, winning a National Championship by storming through the field. Trailing in the early moments of the race to the two time defending champions from Belen Jesuit Preparatory School (Miami, FL), the lightweight men out paced the field through the middle half of the race, going on to win by two seconds. Belen Jesuit came second, with Newport Aquatic Center (Newport, CA) third. Their coach Bert Harney added, “It was deeply satisfying to see the boys build speed throughout the season, and they capped it off right by taking home the National Championship.”
From left to right: Allison Ray (Women's Varsity Head Coach), Nyah Morgan (8 – Alameda HS), Betty Hosler (7 – Piedmont HS), Martha Yates (6 – Acalanes HS), Caroline Birdsall (5 – San Ramon Valley HS), Caroline Ricksen (cox – Miramonte HS), Grace Nimmo (4 – Carondelet HS ), Isabel Wang (3 – Campolindo HS), Grace MacLean (2 – Bishop O'Dowd), Olivia Harrison (1 – Alameda Science and Technology Institute), Anita Sarrett (Women's Lightweight Coach)
The Women’s Lightweight Eight, under pressure as the defending National champions, pushed the eventual winning crew from Greenwich Crew (Greenwich, CT) in the early portions of the race before holding off cross bay rivals Marin Rowing Association (Greenbrae, CA) for the silver medal. Their gutsy race earned praise from their coach Anita Sarrett, who noted, “We are so proud of our lightweight 8+, who competed today with impressive grit and tenacity!”
From left to right: Rocky Davis (Asst. Coach), Bert Harney (Ltwt. Coach), Noah Kim (8 –Independent Charter), Spencer Dettlinger (7 – San Ramon Valley HS), John Mark Ozaeta (6 – Miramonte HS), Kai Hoite (5 – Berkeley HS), Audrey Gates (cox – Miramonte HS), Matt Boranian (4 – Head-Royce), Cameron Kumagai (3 – Acalanes HS), Adrian Layer (2 – Piedmont HS), Jason Sun (1 – College Prep), Brian de Regt (Head Men’s Coach), Jovan Jovanovic (Asst. Coach)
The Men’s Varsity Eight, last year’s silver medallists, raced for the win by pushing out to the lead through the middle of the race. That effort cost them in the end as they weren’t quite able match the closing speed of Sarasota Crew (Sarasota, FL). The fight between the top two crews put Oakland in second place, 3.5 seconds clear of third place Montclair High School (Montclair, NJ). This performance was their best of the year as noted by Head Coach Brian de Regt, “This was a heck of a year. It was very satisfying to watch the boys start to believe what they were capable of, and to emerge as the fastest crew in the region and runner up in the nation.”
From left to right: Sarah Coufal (8 – Miramonte HS), Payton Fraser (7 – Campolindo HS), Kate Miles (6 – Campolindo HS), Jessica O’Reilly (5 – Campolindo HS), Sara Covin (cox – Head-Royce), Lilly Mei (4 – Dougherty Valley HS), Bridget O’Kelly (3 – College Prep), Genevieve Raushenbush (2 – Piedmont HS), Mary Kate Henderson (1 – Miramonte HS)
The Women’s Varsity Eight finished the weekend with a fifth place finish in the B final (11th overall). The eight was the first women’s varsity eight from Oakland to qualify for Nationals since 2014 and fought hard all weekend long as noted by head coach Allison Ray, “The V8 raced with composure and resilience all weekend. This crew has demonstrated the true meaning of team at every step along by the way and we are so proud of their performance."
The Oakland Strokes are a rowing club for High School and Middle School youth that serves the East Bay, Lamorinda, and San Ramon Valley areas. The National Championship won by the Men’s Lightweight Eight marks the nineteenth National Championship since their inception in 1974, with twelve championships won in the last ten years. Most of Stroke’s athletes have never rowed before joining, and in a few years many are competing at a national level. “What makes this club exceptional is the community of coaches, parents, and other supporters that have come together to enable the young men and women on our club to learn, grow, and flourish. It is truly remarkable what they can achieve with the right support!” notes Dana Hooper, Managing Director.
To find out more about the Oakland Strokes Rowing programs, visit www.oaklandstrokes.org.
2018 Empire Sprints Regatta
Adam Ray
The Oakland Strokes traveled to Southern California for the first ever running of this event. Held on the lake planned as the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics course, this event featured great racing by the Strokes!
2018 Lake Natoma Invite
Adam Ray
A rare strong wintery April storm made its presence known at this year’s Lake Natoma Invite, providing challenging conditions for the Strokes crews in the morning before finally shutting the regatta down early due to high winds. Regardless, the Strokes worked hard to take advantage of the opportunity to race on this championship course.
2018 San Diego Crew Classic
Adam Ray
The San Diego Crew Classic came a bit early this year, nonetheless the Strokes came prepared to race the fastest crews on the west coast, with a few from across the country for good measure. Regarded by many as the first major regatta of the year, the San Diego Crew Classic brings together thousands of athletes from more than 100 universities, clubs and high school programs from across the United States to participate in this premier rowing event. The Strokes sent five Varsity and two Novice crews south to San Diego to compete.
Standout results include silver medals in the Men’s JV8+ and Women’s Novice 8+, bronze medal finishes in the Men’s Varsity 8+, Women’s Varsity 8+s, and Men’s Novice 8+, and grand final appearances by the Men’s Lightweight 8+ and Women’s JV8+.
2018 Shamrock Regatta
Adam Ray
The Strokes traveled across the bay to Redwood Shores for some head to head racing on one of the premier race courses on the west coast. And they did not disappoint, posting some fast early season times!
2018 Battle of the Bay
Adam Ray
The 2018 Battle of the Bay was held under sunny skies on the Oakland Estuary Brooklyn Basin course and featured great racing by the Strokes, Marin, and San Ignatius.
Results: https://www.herenow.com/results/#/races/20475/results
2018 Faultline Faceoff -- with video!
Adam Ray
Faultline Faceoff 2018 was a great event, with mother nature (mostly) cooperating to allow for fast early season racing. Thank you to all of the competitors and fans for making this another great regatta weekend!
Results: https://www.herenow.com/results/#/races/20448/results
2017 Head of the Lagoon Regatta
Adam Ray
The entire Oakland Strokes club was out in full force this past weekend at the Head of the Lagoon regatta in Foster City, CA.
2017 Head of the Lake Regatta
Adam Ray
The Oakland Strokes varsity teams travelled to Seattle, Washington to compete at the Head of the Lake regatta on November 5th, competing in the Men's Jr 8+, Men's U-17 8+ and Women's Jr 8+ events.