GRP's senior and U23 athletes had a successful weekend of racing in Princeton at the 2026 Summer Speed Order and the U23 World Championship Trials. As expected, extreme heat played a major role throughout the weekend, leading to shortened practice sessions and earlier race times. The GRP athletes came prepared, freezing shirts, socks, and cooling towels to help manage the challenging conditions.

Friday morning's time trials began at 6:30am with favorable racing conditions. The senior men opened the regatta in the men's single, with Evan Hankins-Hull finishing 15th, Ben Harper 17th, Kevin Harvell 19th, and Kai Hoite 24th. In the women's single, Paige Wheeler placed 5th, Sera Busse 10th, Sophie Calabrese 14th, Charlotte Wiley 15th, Jane Doyle 20th, Catie Castle 22nd, Natalie Hoefer 26th, Sue Holderness 27th, and Grace Donabedian 33rd. Jesse Ryno and Quin Woods finished 7th in the men's pair, while Anna Jensen and Holly Drapp placed 5th in the women's pair.

Only the top 6 for the U23s would advance out of the time trials for the opportunity to race the A final on Sunday morning. The U23 athletes also had a strong opening day. Sam van Boogaert finished 2nd in the men's single, followed by Owen Roberts in 6th, Andrew Ehlers in 12th, Dylan West in 13th, and Jack Wagner in 14th. In the women's single, Cillian Mullen finished in first, while Katy Koleto finished 6th. The U23 women's pair of Alex Pearson and Sophia Cavaleri advanced after placing second in the time trial.

Racing resumed early Saturday morning as the heat continued. Ben and Evan each finished 6th in their respective semifinals, earning spots in Sunday's C Final. In the second women's semifinal of the day, Paige placed 3rd and Sophie 4th, sending both athletes to the B Final. In the third semifinal, Sera finished 4th to advance to the B Final, while Charlotte's 5th-place finish earned her a spot in the C Final. Jesse and Quin raced aggressively and well in the men's pair semifinal, finishing 3rd to qualify for the A Final.

Saturday’s finals featured several intersquad matchups. Kevin finished 3rd and Kai 6th in the men's D Final. Jane placed 2nd in the women's D Final, with Catie finishing 4th. Sue won the women's E Final, while followed Natalie closely behind in 3rd. Grace capped off the day with a photo finish in the F Final, taking 3rd by just 0.28 seconds.

Sunday morning brought slightly cooler temperatures for the finals. Despite a difficult cross-wind and having to steer at the start, Jesse and Quin battled through the full 2,000 meters to finish 6th in the men's pair A Final. Anna and Holly also finished 6th in the women's pair A Final.

The U23 athletes delivered several standout performances. Sam finished 2nd and Owen 6th in the men's single A Final. One of the highlights of the weekend came in the women's single, where Cillian dominated the field, crossing the finish line nearly 20 seconds ahead of second place to secure the spot representing the United States at the U23 World Championships later this month in Germany. Katy also had a strong race, finishing 5th in the same event. Sophia and Alex threw down a great race to earn a 2nd-place finish in the women's pair.

The senior singles wrapped up the regatta later that morning. Sera produced an impressive sprint to finish 2nd in the B Final, while Paige placed 4th and Sophie 6th. In the men's C Final, Ben and Evan raced clean, fast races to finish 2nd and 3rd, respectively. Charlotte closed out the weekend with a 5th-place finish in the women's C Final.

Overall, the weekend was a successful one for the GRP squad. Several athletes stepped into new boat classes or competed at a higher level than before, and every athlete gained valuable racing experience.

The group is headed back to Craftsbury to continue summer training until they head up to Canadian Henley in the beginning of August.

We wish the best of luck to Holly, Anna, Jesse, and Jacob as they remain in Princeton for worlds selection camp.

GRPRow completes racing at ‘26 SSO and U23 trials.

2026 GRP Goodbyes