February 15, 2017
West Windsor, NJ – Three Mercer Junior Rowers finished in the top ten of their divisions of the C.R.A.S.H.-B. World Indoor Rowing Championship on February 13, 2017. Andrew Hickey led the Mercer Rowers by finishing 3rd with Jack Gallagher finishing 7th in the Lightweight Men’s Division. Sara Hansen finished 5th in the Lightweight Women’s division to lead the Mercer women competing in the event. The C.R.A.S.H.-B. Championships bring athletes from around the world to Boston, MA, to compete by rowing 2,000 meters on indoor rowing machines. 2017 marked the 38th year of the C.R.A.S.H.-B. event.
Andrew Hickey finished the 2000 meter race in 6:23.9, just under three seconds behind the winner in a Lightweight Junior Men’s field that featured 190 rowers. Mr. Hickey who is a senior at Notre Dame High School has committed to row for Cornell University next fall. Jack Gallagher (Council Rock North) finished in 6:32.2 to finish in 7th place. Also representing Mercer in the Lightweight Junior Men’s division was Pavel Zhelnin (Princeton HS) and Evan Kinter (Steinert). Representing Mercer in the open Junior Men’s Division was Brian Radvany (Princeton Academy) who finished in 41st and Andrew Moss (Princeton HS) 44th.
Sara Hansen finished the race in 7:28.6 to earn a third place finish in Lightweight Junior Women’s field of 107 athletes. Ms. Hansen is a junior at West Windsor Plainsboro South. Emmanuelle Adamson (Princeton HS) and Mia Barkenbush (West Windsor Plainsboro South) led the Mercer Juniors in the open Junior Women’s division contingent finishing 23rd and 36th out of almost 200 rowers. Sarah Closser (Princeton HS), Taylor Vierling (Northern Burlington), Kieran Wild (Council Rock North) and Morgan Linsley (Princeton HS) also competed in the open Junior Women’s division.
“We are very proud of the strong performance by our rowers,” stated Director of Mercer Rowing Justin Ochal. “Most of them set personal records at the event. It is a good sign as we prepare for our spring racing season.” The Mercer Juniors open their spring season at the San Diego Crew Classic on April 1-2 in San Diego, CA. They return home the following weekend to take on Boston’s Community Rowing and Gonzaga High School.
The Mercer Rowing Program is operated by the Princeton National Rowing Association (PNRA) located Caspersen Rowing Center in West Windsor, NJ. The Mercer program is open to all student-athletes from 8th-12 grades. PNRA also conducts the Mercer Masters Rowing Program and holds summer learn to row camps for 7th-12th grades. For more information on PNRA’s programs go to www.rowpnra.org.
The Princeton National Rowing Association will host its own indoor rowing event, the Mercer Indoor Row for the Cure, on February 26, 2017 at the Peddie School. All proceeds for this event will go to support breast cancer research through the Susan G. Komen Foundation of Central and South Jersey.
About the Princeton National Rowing Association
The Princeton National Rowing Association, a 501(c)3 organization, operates the Finn M.W. Caspersen Rowing Center located on the shores of Mercer Lake, Mercer County Park in West Windsor, New Jersey. The Princeton National Rowing Association is dedicated to operating a world-class training site for our nation’s elite athletes, providing opportunities for area youth to excel in the sport of rowing and to expand rowing in the area through community-based programs. PNRA runs the Mercer Junior Rowing Program which provides rowing opportunities for youth from over 30 area schools and the Mercer Masters Rowing Program which provides rowing opportunities for adults. The center is a home to the USRowing National and Olympic Teams, as well as rowing clubs and schools. PNRA received generous support from Killarney’s Publick House, JLRacing, Bai, Holiday Inn and Residence Inn by Marriott.
For more information, contact Kristopher Grudt, tel: 609-977-1094, krisgrudt@rowpnra.org or visit www.rowpnra.org.