Vashon Island Rowing Club finishes strong on Vancouver Lake

Published 1:30 am Thursday, May 26, 2022

Vashon Island Rowing Club (VIRC) wrapped up a fun and successful year at the Northwest Youth Championships on May 19 and 20, at Vancouver Lake.

New and experienced VIRC rowers tested their mettle against the region’s best, as the team finished strong with five boats advancing to the finals and two boats qualifying to compete at the US Rowing Youth National Championships in Florida.

Ninth-grader Eban Tracy placed third in the Mens U17 Single and eighth-graders Henry Cooper, Will Parker, Quentin Cherry, Xander Nelson, and cox Tyler Davis swept the mens’ U15 Coxed Quad winning first place in the region.

All six rowers have received a bid to the 2022 Youth National Championships next month.

The team had several other boats with notable performances including grand final races from the Women’s Single (Liv Ormseth), and the Men’s Pair (Baker Van Buren and Joshua Kyles).

Finishing first in their timed finals were the Women’s Novice Coxed Quad with rowers Laurel Calhoun, Julianna Steffens, Ava Webb, Selene Dalinis and cox Max Kline. The Women’s 3V Double with rowers Laila Mortensen and Amanda Kyles, and the Men’s 3V Double with rowers Cooper Thorpe and Jack Cummings also finished first in their timed finals.

The Men’s Novice Coxed Quad finished third with rowers Henry Cooper, Will Parker, Owen Dempsey, Lance Westbrook, and cox Tori Hu.

”This is the first Spring Season where racing has looked even a little bit like what it did in 2019, and this was the first time a majority of the team experienced Regional Championships,” said VIRC coach Delany Steele, “I am so proud of the athletes and all of the work that they put in over the the past few months.”

VIRC contributes its success to a supportive team environment. Over half the team were novice rowers this year and everyone benefited from the strong leadership of senior varsity rowers Baker Van Buren, Joshua Kyles, Tori Hu, and Gus Holmes along with coaches Delany Steele, Aidan Teachout, and Ben Steele.

“The collaboration and support system that Aidan and I established with the team leaders was very important to our success as a team and I absolutely feel the athletes grew as rowers and community members,” said Delany Steele. The senior crew members were instrumental in creating a tightly knit, successful team based on support, encouragement, and of course fun.

VIRC will miss the graduating seniors, but their positive influence will continue on in the next generation of rowers.

“As a senior it’s sad to be leaving the team, but the fact that it’s so sad only shows how much crew and the team have been to me throughout these past four years,” said senior Tori Hu.

Many past and current youth rowers discovered their love of the sport while attending one of the VIRC summer rowing camps offered each year. New rowers have fun getting fit with friends on the idyllic waters of Quartermaster Harbor, sometimes falling in love with the sport and rowing all through high school.