BY DAN BRAUCHLI
OCTOBER 27, 2018
http://www.usrowing.org/news/2018/10/27/2018-head-of-the-schuylkill-saturday/

PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – On day one of the 2018 Head of the Schuylkill, gusty winds and sustained rain made for challenging race conditions. With the cumulative efforts of race staff, volunteers, referees and many others, the race went on.

Headlining the first day of racing was the third and final race of the 2018 U.S. Lotman Challenge along with the Gold Cup Challenge. Both of these races brought together some of the top single scullers in the country and world for a 750-meter sprint offering a shot at a cash grand prize.

With $9,000 on the line for the Lotman Challenge champions, female scullers Felice Mueller, Gevvie Stone, Kara Kohler and Mary Jones backed into the stake boats for the A Final of the event. With a surging start, the four athletes traded strokes in the sprint, where Mueller pulled ahead and crossed the line in first with a time of 2:25.81, 1.1 seconds ahead of Stone. Jones and Kohler finished third and fourth, respectively.

In the men’s race,Justin Keen, John Graves, Kevin Meador, and JP Kirkegard would duke it out for the top spot. At the end of the sprint, Keen had gained less than a bow deck over Meador and was able to retain his lead, crossing the line in 2:18.37, 0.29 seconds ahead of Meador. Graves and Kirkegard finished third and fourth respectively.

With a weighted points scale across the 2018 National Selection Regatta I, the Head of the Charles and this weekends race on the Schuylkill, Stone’s second-place finish and Graves’ third-place were enough to crown them both champions of the 2018 U.S. Lotman Challenge.

“I think it’s an awesome experience and opportunity for single scullers,” said Stone. “I hope it encourages more people to race more frequently in singles, because I think they’ll learn a lot for whatever boat they end up racing in. Look at Felice, she beat me today in the single, but also won a gold in the eight this summer.”

Winning the inaugural U.S. Lotman Challenge in 2017, Graves has continued to his excellence in the single.

“I feel lucky to be sculling at this time, where people see value in supporting us,” Graves said. “I put a lot more value on the NSR, being the 2k, but’s fun to see how you all stack up on different distances.”

The Gold Cup Challenge saw New Zealand scullers Robbie Manson and Hannah Osborne each take home the $10,000 first-place grand prizes. The Kiwis, both newcomers to the Gold Cup Challenge, had exciting sprint finishes, coming from behind to win their respective races.

“It’s been a really good week,” Manson told USRowing. “Getting to see different parts of the city of Philadelphia, learning the history of the Gold Challenge Cup and giving back to the community has all made racing here in Philly a great experience.”

Originally not slated to compete in the Gold Cup, Osborne was only notified of her invitation to compete about two weeks ago. When hearing of the opportunity, she was eager to make the trip to the states and compete, but she also grew to enjoy the outreach component of this years event.

“It was just so unexpected,” Osborne said. “We don’t really do that much [outreach] in New Zealand and I wish we did a bit more. Reaching out to people who aren’t readily exposed to rowing all the time and showing [the sport] and that we are also just people, that’s important.”

In addition to the U.S. Lotman Challenge and Gold Cup races, 15 additional event categories were contested today, with another 16 to be run tomorrow.

Throughout Sunday USRowing will be hosting it’s “Relax and Recharge” area in the main vendor tent. Stop in, talk with membership, and meet some of our current and former U.S. National Team athletes. The following athletes will be available for meet and greets, photos and autographs at the times listed below:

Sunday

11:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.

Vicky Optiz (2018 Gold Medalist W8+, 2018 USRowing Senior Female Athlete of the Year)

Tracy Eisser (2018 Gold Medalist W8+, 2017 Silver Medalist W2-, 2016 Olympian W4x)

1:00 – 3:00 p.m.

Emily Regan (2018 Gold Medalist W8+, 2016 Olympic Gold Medalist W8+)

Erin Boxberger (2018 Gold Medalist W4-)