Men’s Pair, Men’s Single Win Heats, Advance to Semis at World Rowing Junior Championships

The U.S. men's pair and men's single sculls won their heats on Wednesday to advance to the semifinals, highlighting the first day of competition at the 2021 World Rowing Junior Championships in Plovdiv, Bulgaria.
 
Racing in the second of three heats, the men's pair of Emmett Infante (Mountain Lakes, N.J./Row New Jersey) and Wilson Morton (Summit, N.J./Row New Jersey) defeated

Spain by a little less than two seconds to win the race and advance to the semifinals. With two to advance, Infante and Morton got off to a strong start, taking the early lead on Turkey and Spain in the first 500 meters. By the midway point, the crew had built its advantage on Turkey to nearly two-seconds. The U.S. continued to pull away from the Turkish crew in the third 500 meters, with Spain moving into second position. At the line, the U.S. boat crossed in a 5:53.98, 1.84 seconds ahead of Spain. Turkey finished third. The U.S. will race next in the semifinals on Friday.
 
"We were able to execute our race plan perfectly," Infante said. "We got out ahead around the first 500 meters and settled down to a pretty low rate and kept our pace from the boat in second place. When the other crews attempted to make a move, we were able to move with them and just pace a length between us and them basically the whole race."
 
In the men's single sculls, Isaiah Harrison (Coeur d'Alene, Idaho) dominated his heat, winning by nearly 10 seconds. With two to advance to the semifinals, Harrison and Denmark's August Wisholm got off the line quickly, taking firm hold of the two qualification spots in the opening quarter of the race. Harrison led by nearly two seconds just 500 meters into the row and had doubled his advantage by the halfway point. Harrison continued to walk away from Wisholm over the back half of the race, winning by 9.85 seconds in a 7:08.06. Racing in the first of four heats, Harrison clocked the fastest time of the day.
 
The men's quadruple sculls crew of Andrew Manns (Cherry Hill, N.J./South Jersey Rowing Club), Timothy Parsons (Eugene, Ore./South Eugene Rowing Club), Henry Ramstad (Seattle, Wash./Pocock Rowing Center) and Owen Rulyak (Seattle, Wash./Pocock Rowing Center) finished fifth in its heat and now will race in the repechage on Thursday. With one to advance, the U.S. sat in third position 500 meters into the race but could never challenge for the top spot. Russia built a commanding lead in the first 1,000 meters. Poland cut into the Russians' advantage over the back half of the race, but the Russian crew rowed to an easy victory in a 6:00.47. The U.S. finished with a time of 6:26.93. The crew will take on Denmark, Canada, Belgium and Romania in the fourth of four repechages on Thursday, with the top two finishers advancing to the semifinals.
 
The men's double sculls duo of Clay Rybus (Newport Beach, Calif./Newport Sea Base) and Sean Rybus (Newport Beach, Calif./Newport Sea Base) also finished fifth in their heat and now will race in a repechage on Thursday. With two crews to advance to the semifinals, the U.S. boat dropped to fifth off the line and was unable to get back on terms with the leading pack. Slovenia led France through the 1,000-meter mark before the French crew moved into the top position just after the halfway point. During the third quarter of the race, the Czech Republic also overtook Slovenia to secure the other qualification spot. France won the race in a 6:33.48, with the Czech crew crossing in a 6:37.10. The U.S. finished in a 6:48.54. The Rybus brothers will take on crews from Thailand, Slovenia, Ireland, Latvia and South Africa in the first of two repechages on Thursday, with the top three crews advancing to the semifinals.
 
Like their men's counterparts, the women's double sculls crew of Olivia Meskan (Aledo, Ill./Y Quad Cities) and Ella Saunders (North Liberty, Iowa/Y Quad Cities) finished fifth in the heat and will race in tomorrow's repechages. With only one to advance, Ireland and Greece made it a two-boat race for the qualification spot in the first 500 meters. Ireland took the early lead before Greece moved into the top position as the crews approached the midway point. The Greek boat continued to pull away over the third 500 to easily earn a spot in the semifinals. Meskan and Saunders raced in fifth position the entire way down the course. Greece finished with a time of 7:24.43. The American boat clocked a 7:45.97. Meskan and Saunders will take on boats from Canada, The Netherlands, Russia and Slovakia in the third of four repechages, with the top two finishers advancing to the semifinals.
 
In the women's single sculls, Eva Harris (Sarasota, Fla./Sarasota Crew) also finished fifth in her heat and will race in tomorrow's repechages for another opportunity to move on to the semifinals. With only one to advance, Germany's Rianne Lagerpusch led early before Switzerland's Aurelia-Maxima Janzen, who finished second in the event at the 2021 World Rowing Under 23 Championships last month, took the lead and rowed away from the field. Janzen won the race in a 7:55.39, with Italy's Giulia Clerici finishing second. Harris crossed the line in an 8:29.36 and will race scullers from Romania, The Netherlands and Portugal in the fourth repechage. The top two finishers from the rep will advance to the semifinals.
 
In addition to the four crews that will race in repechages, the U.S. will have six crews competing for the first time on Thursday in their heats.
 
The men's four with coxswain of Sammy Houdaigui (McLean, Va./First Coast Rowing), William Thayer (New Orleans, La./St. Paul's School), Samuel Kleiner (Westport, Conn./Saugatuck Rowing Club), Liam White (Chicago, Ill./Chicago Rowing Foundation), and Adam Pushner (Fairfield, Conn./Saugatuck Rowing Club) will race against Switzerland, Russia, France, and Ukraine in the second of two heats. The top two crews will advance directly to the final.

With two to advance to the final, the women's pair of Bridget Galloway (Ridgefield, Conn./Connecticut Boat Club) and Sophia Greco (Rowayton, Conn./Connecticut Boat Club) will race against crews from Sweden, Italy, Spain and Russia in the first of two heats.
 
The women's four of Paris Burbine (Alpharetta, Ga./St. Andrew Rowing Club), Meagan Goldsmith (Ocoee, Fla./Orlando Area Rowing Society), Cillian Mullen (Batavia, Ill./Chicago Rowing Foundation) and Maeve Heneghan (Chicago, Ill./Chicago Rowing Foundation) will face off against crews from Greece, Romania, Belarus and France in the first of two heats. The top two crews will move directly to Sunday's final

In the men's four, Troy Riesenberger (Sarasota, Fla./Sarasota Crew), Davis Kelly (Vashon Island, Wash./Burton Beach Rowing Club), J.J. Dubois (Gainesville, Fla./Sarasota Crew) and Declan Fry (Chicago, Ill./Chicago Rowing Foundation) will take on Romania, Greece, Poland, Ukraine and Denmark in the first of two heats. The winner will qualify for the final, while the remaining crews will have to race in the repechages.

Racing in the second of two heats, the women's quadruple sculls of Meena Baher (Mountain View, Calif./Los Gatos Rowing Club), Heather Schmidt (Niskayuna, N.Y./Niskayuna Rowing), Jackie Oruci (Oyster Bay, N.Y./Oak Neck Rowing Academy) and Annie Herring (Dallas, Texas/The Hockaday School) will race against crews from Italy, Switzerland, Romania and The Netherlands, with the winner moving on to the final.

The men's eight of coxswain Adam Casler (Newport Beach, Calif./Newport Aquatic Center), Tyler Horler (Sarasota, Fla./Sarasota Crew), Ryan Link (Burke, Va./Gonzaga College High School), Jordan Dykema (Seattle, Wash./Pocock Rowing Center), John Patton (Houston, Texas/Deerfield Academy), Miles Hudgins (Andover, Mass./Greater Lawrence Rowing Association), Julian Thomas (New Hope, Pa./Princeton National Rowing Association/Mercer), Aidan Murphy (Huntington Beach, Calif./Newport Aquatic Center) and Stephen Warming (Newton, Mass./Belmont Hill School) will take on Ukraine, Italy and Russia in the second of two heats. The top two crews will automatically qualify for the final, with the rest heading to the repechage.
 
Nearly 600 rowers from 43 nations are competing in the five-day regatta. Racing continues on Thursday with the remaining heats, as well as repechages from Wednesday's events. Friday's racing features the remaining repechages and the C/D semifinals. Saturday's schedule includes the A/B semifinals, as well as the C and D finals. The A and B finals are scheduled for Sunday.
 
Please visit USRowing's 2021 World Rowing Junior Championships coverage page for athlete bios, daily recaps/previews, photos, race schedule, results and more. The live race tracker and live audio will be available for ALL races on www.worldrowing.com. Live video streaming will be available on the World Rowing website on Saturday and Sunday.
 
Follow along with the U.S. Under 19 National Team at the by using the hashtags #WRJCHPlovdiv or #WRJCH.