We’re thankful to Nick Olivier of US Canoe/Kayak for this update on the 2013 U.S. Sprint National Championships at the Oklahoma City Boathouse District in Oklahoma City, OK.
Congratulations to our friends from Lanier Canoe & Kayak Club for their outstanding performances.
Gig Harbor Canoe and Kayak Race Team (GHCKRT) has outgrown the parking lot outside of its training grounds. Pretty soon they will need a bigger trophy case as well.
Based in Gig Harbor, Wash., GHCKRT won its second consecutive Sprint National Championship team title under Head Coach Alan Anderson. The club takes home the Yonkers Trophy with 28 athletes accumulating 473.5 points.
Lanier Canoe and Kayak Club, based in Gainesville, Ga. finished 2nd in points with 382.5.
Anderson planned to let some of his top athletes who paddled in Canada for the Junior World Championships last weekend take off the long-distance 5,000-meter races this weekend. That plan changed when he did the math and realized the opportunity ahead of him. He called a team meeting the night before the first day of racing.
“I said, ‘I needed everybody in every race. We miss no races, we [will] have no underweight boats,'” Anderson said. “There were a lot of frowns, I don’t know if they believed me. I said, ‘we have a shot at winning our second National Championship and we’re going to take it.'”
The small city north of Tacoma has produced a thriving feeder club for U.S. Junior and Senior National Teams. Previous members Cedric Bond and Katy Hill (Gig Harbor, Wash.) have enrolled in the Oklahoma City University varsity kayak program, the only one of its kind in the U.S. Adding to that list is Natalie Griffin (Gig Harbor, Wash.), who paddled her last race in a GHCKRT jersey on Sunday.
Griffin won two Golds and one Bronze medal in junior women’s kayak on the weekend.
“I’m really sad, I was really connected with everyone on my team and especially my coaches Alan and Mr. [Jon] Sousley,” Griffin said. “They have been like dads to me and every girl on the team like a sister and all the guys like a brother.”
“Every single day we go out and work hard in the beginning of the day before school. And in the afternoon we just work our hardest and push each other. With our coaches right there along our side, it makes it all worthwhile.”
One year into the 2016 Olympic quadrennial, kayaker Ryan Dolan (Kailua, Hawaii) feels good about where he stands having placed 11th in the Under-23 World Championships last week and then winning the senior men’s K1 200m National Championship on Saturday.
Dolan, who narrowly missed out on qualifying for the 2012 Games, finished in 38.159, which was +0.877 seconds ahead of Chris Miller (Gainesville, Ga.). Miller and fellow Lanier Canoe and Kayak Club member Stanton Collins (Gainesville, Ga.) teamed up to win the senior men’s K2 200m title with a time of 36.777.
In senior men’s canoe, Rob Finlayson (Gainesville, Ga.) clinched the C1 200m title with a time of 42.088, which was +1.726 seconds ahead of LCKC teammate Ian Ross (Bethesda, Md.). The two then joined forces to win the C2 200m title with a time of 42.467. Both athletes will be heading to the 2013 World Championships later this month in Duisburg, Germany.
In senior women’s kayak, Kaitlyn McElroy (Oklahoma City, Okla.) finished first in K1 200m with a time of 45.066, ahead of Oklahoma City Riversport (OKCRS) teammates Arezou Fakhr (Oklahoma City, Okla.), Maggie Hogan(Oklahoma City, Okla.), and Katy Hill (Gig Harbor, Wash.). McElroy and Hogan then teamed up to win the K2 200m title with a time of 40.864.
In ParaCanoe, Nik Miller of Washington Canoe Club (WCC) won the K1 title with a time of 54.858, which was +1.918 seconds ahead of the second place finisher. Greg Crouse of San Diego Canoe and Kayak Team finished first in V1 (outrigger) with a time of 1:02.289.
“It feels great to be a National Champion, I work hard for this point,” Crouse said. “I made the National Team and I wanted to come here and get some pre-race in before Worlds. I feel strong, I feel confidence, I’m going to have a good showing at Worlds.”
Megan Blunk of GHCKRT won the women’s K1 title with a time of 59.279, which was +2.400 seconds ahead of the second place finisher. Kelly Allen of Texas finished first in V1 (outrigger) with a time of 1:03.233.
In the junior men’s ranks, Dylan Puckett (Jones, Okla.) of OKCRS won the K1 200m final in 40.972, while Gavin Ross (Bethesda, Md.) of WCC claim the National Championship in C1 200m with a time of 45.279.
“It feels really good to win out here,” Puckett said. “Again, just like [at Nationals in OKC] in 2010, I was hoping that I would make everybody proud here in Oklahoma City to take the win again.”
Junior women’s kayaker Natalie Griffin (Gig Harbor, Wash.) of GHCKRT won the K1 200m final in 46.229, while junior canoeist Lydia Keefe Sampson (Seattle, Wash.) took gold in C1 200m with a time of 57.591.
QUOTES:
- Rob Finlayson, Lanier Canoe & Kayak Club, on his form heading into World Championships:Â “It’s good. I’m preparing for World Championships, so everything is coming into place and it’s going pretty well.”
- Finlayson on paddling for LCKC:Â “I love representing Lanier. I’ve been racing for this club for a real long time, ever since I was 14 and I’m almost 25 now. So it feels good.”
Headquartered in Oklahoma City, USA Canoe/Kayak is a member of the U.S. Olympic Committee and the International Canoe Federation. It governs the Olympic disciplines of Flatwater Sprint, Whitewater Slalom, the Paralympic discipline of Paracanoe and sanctions Freestyle, Marathon, Outrigger, Wildwater, Stand Up Paddle Board, Kayak Polo, Dragon Boat and Canoe Sailing in the United States.
For more information about USA Canoe/Kayak, please visit us on the web at: www.usack.org, on Twitter at @usacanoekayak and Like us on Facebook at facebook.com/USACanoeKayak.
