By Eric Odegard

For The Beachcomber

The Burton Beach Rowing Club (BBRC) traveled south to American Lake on Sunday, Oct. 17, for the Fall Classic, a regatta hosted by Commencement Bay Rowing Club.

Burton is young this year, with more than half the team in the novice category. That didn’t hinder the medal totals though, with the team attaining eight medals out of twelve races.

Leading the way for the club were both ends of the experience spectrum, with US National Junior Team members Davis Kelly and Jordan Dykema teaming up in the Varsity double for a 10-second victory over a strong Commencement Bay crew. The Novice Boys Quad of Zack Merrigan, Forest Macnab, Avery Davis, Nate Wass de Czege, and coxswain Caroline Barnes took the gold by nearly a minute in a field of eight crews.

Merrigan’s performance was especially noteworthy as he woke up in Boston that morning, flew across the country, and ran through the park to meet his crew at the dock, making it to the race with only a few minutes to spare.

In addition to her gold coxing the boys quad, Barnes also won two silvers: One with the same rowers in the Novice Boy’s Four and another with the Novice Girl’s Four rowed by Haley Hopper, Molly Elhardt, Sasha Thompson, and Ella Odegard.

Burton Beach also earned silver medals with Dylan Carmody in the Varsity Boy’s Single and with the Boys’ Varsity Quad of Davis, Dykema, Simon Grant, and Bryan DeLoach. The team took bronze with DeLoach in the Varsity Boy’s Single and in the JV Boys Double (Carmody and Grant).

The team also saw strong rowing from Kaylee Radford, Jewel Wass de Czege, and Keziah Rutschow in multiple events.

Kelly and Dykema traveled across the country for the prestigious Head of the Charles Regatta in Boston, held Oct. 22 to 24, to compete against crews from all across America and around the world.

BBRC will wrap up its fall racing season at the University of Washington’s Head of the Lake Regatta on Sunday, Nov. 7.