SEATTLE – The fifth-year women and the senior men won the marquee races as the UW Rowing program got the 2024 spring season underway with the 123rd annual Class Day Regatta Saturday on sun-soaked Montlake Cut.
 
Class Day, the traditional season-opening event at UW, pits an eight-oared crew each of freshmen, sophomores, juniors and seniors against each other in a standard, 2,000-meter race. The women's race also included a fifth-year senior crew, and prior to the two main events, two other races featuring additional rowers from the two rosters, competed.
 
Here's a look at the two Class Day races, along with the two preliminaries.
 
George M. Varnell Men's Eight
The final race of the day, the George M. Varnell men's eight featured one crew from each class, and it proved to be an excellent race, as all four boats moved off the starting dock strongly and kept within striking distance of one another for the majority of the race.
 
"It was awesome," said UW head coach Michael Callahan. "The start of that race was just epic. It's great to see such competitive racing across all those classes You couldn't draw it up any better."
 
At 1,000 meters, the seniors held the advantage, with the juniors and sophomores close behind. Another 500 meters later, that order remained in tact, but with the seniors beginning to pull away.
 
The senior crew – coxswain Casey Neumann, and rowers Darcy McCluskey, Blake Bradshaw, Gus Altucher, Ethan Blight, Archie Drummond, Louis Gallia IV, Giulio Acernese, and Caleb Cowles) won the race with a time of 5:32.293, a boat-length in front of the juniors, who were four seats ahead of the sophomore shell.
 
"it's part of the tradition of our program that you come in as a class and you go through this transformational process of Washington rowing as a group, not just as an individual," Callahan said. "You get bonded really tightly with your classmates and also with the whole team. This regatta emphasizes and accentuates how important that is, so they're fired up to win this."
 
The Seattle Times Women's Eight
The featured women's race included five crews – one from each class, including fifth-year seniors. That crew broke out of the starting dock in the early lead, but all five crews remained in contention over the first 500 meters. The sophomores established themselves in second as they moved through the midway point of the 2,000-meter course, with the juniors a close third.
 
In the second half, those three separated from the other two, with the order remaining in place. The fifth-year crew (coxswain Grace Murdock, and rowers Christiana Congdon, Nikki Martincic, Elena Collier-Hezel, Angharad Broughton, Isabel van Opzeeland, Abby Adebiyi, Caitlin Bentley, and Victoria Gevaudan) finished in first with a time of 6:26.719, with a few feet of open water back to the sophomores in second. The junior crew finished third, four seats behind the sophomores, while the seniors and freshmen crossed the line in fourth and fifth, respectively.
 
"I think that was the most exciting Class Day since I've been here. It was the tightest, and we had five boats in both the Seattle Times trophy and the fours challenge," said eighth-year UW women's head coach Yasmin Farooq. "It was really special with those women choosing to stick around for another year. That's just a game changer for the program when you have really successful, experienced athletes choosing to be here."
 
Martincic, Adebiyi, Broughton and Collier-Hezel were all in the senior crew that won last season's Seattle Times race.
 
Men's Varsity/Novice Challenge
The men's "Classless" race featured two eight-oared crews – one of freshmen in seven of eight seats, and one of a mix of classes. The more experienced crew in lane three, rowing in the new "The Boys the Boat" shell, broke away from the other entry early on and had an open-water lead by the halfway mark.
 
At the end, the crew of coxswain Maggie Gibbons, and rowers Ryan Martin, Max Heid, Ewan Morrow, Lucas Woodruff, Connor Shoup, Finn Griskauskas, Oliver Black, and Luke Collins, won the race in 5:51.994
 
Women's Fours Challenge
The first race of the day featured five women's coxed fours, with freshmen comprising most of the crews. Unsurprisingly, the most experienced crew led from wire to wire, winning the race with a time of 7:29.303. That crew – coxswain Camille Randall and rowers Isabella Tinsley, Scout Wilson, Dani Lohrenz and Cora Madison – was made up of upperclassmen, while the other four were almost entirely first-year athletes. The crew in lane 4 finished second.
 
 
As a part of the Class Day weekend, Washington announced its team captains and winner of awards for top GPA and most inspirational, as well as a relatively new award (now in its second year): the Katy Wallace Memorial Award for the women's team's outstanding walk-on rower. Here are the winners:
 
2024 Team Captains
Women: Nikki Martincic
Men: Ethan Blight
 
Pigott Award Winners (Most Inspirational)
Women: Grace Vander Griend
Men: Harry Fitzpatrick
 
Schaller Award Winners (Highest GPA)
Women: Izzy Peters
Men: Cameron Tasker
 
Katy Wallace Memorial Award (Outstanding Walk-On Rower)
Sofie Sand
 
Up Next
The UW men will travel to Chula Vista, Calif., for a spring break camp, where they'll also take on UC San Diego (March 20) and the University of San Diego (March 23) in dual regattas. The women will open their season in earnest at the San Diego Crew Classic April 6-7.
 
Class Day Lineups
 
Race 1 – Women's Fours Challenge
 
Lane 1: Classless 4+
Shell: Allegra
Cox: Skya Dietz (Albany, Calif./Albany)
Emma Lamb-Smith (Portland, Ore./Grant)
Ella Avital (Newport Beach, Calif./Corona del Mar)
Shannon MacDonald (Bellevue, Wash./Sammamish)
Emma McIntosh (Issaquah, Wash./Issaquah)
 
Lane 2: Classless 4+
Shell: Evermore
Cox: Jordyn Costello (Newport Beach, Calif./Newport Harbor)
Stroke: Masey Milham (San Francisco, Calif./Saint Ignatius)
3: Samantha Coit (Hamilton, Ontario, Canada)
2: Greta Slaats (Crozet, Va./Western Albemarle)
Bow: Melony Bridgeman (Roy, Wash./Bethel)
 
Lane 3: Classless 4+
Shell: Folklore
Cox: Aileen Taing (Bothell, Wash./Bothell)
Stroke: Victoria Bresee (Seattle, Wash./Bothell)
3: Ceili Mahoney (Madison, N.H./Kennett)
2: Olivia Howe (Seattle, Wash./Holy Names Academy)
Bow: Cas Pendleton (King of Prussia, Pa./ John Carroll)
 
Lane 4: Classless 4+
Shell: Wendy Sykes
Cox: Elisabeth Wu (Seattle, Wash./Shorecrest)
Stroke: Ella Jones (West Seattle, Wash./West Seattle)
3: Isabella Crosby (University Place, Wash./Curtis)
2: Alise Castaneda (Woodinville, Wash./Woodinville)
Bow: Megan Romesberg (Satellite Beach, Fla./Satellite)
 
Lane 5: Classless 4+
Stroke: Shell: Sam & Raz
Cox: Camille Randall (Seattle, Wash./Seattle Prep)
Stroke: Isabelle Tinsley (Venice, Fla./Collegiate)
3: Scout Wilson (San Antonio, Texas/United World
2: Dani Lohrenz (Minnetonka, Minn./Minnetonka)
Bow: Cora Madison  (Kirkland, Wash./International Comm.)
 
Race 2 – Men's Varsity/Freshman Challenge
 
Lane 1: Classless
Boat: Peter William Allen
Cox: Chas Knittel '27 (Cleveland, Ohio/St. Ignatius)
Strok: Anton Boudzko '27 (White Rock, B.C., Canada)
7: Matteo Belgeri '27 (Bellagio, Italy)
6: Carter Yagle '27 (Seattle, Wash./Roosevelt)
5: Alex Ware '27 (Piedmont, Calif./Piedmont)
4: Dimitri Chamitoff '27 (Austin, Texas)
3: Mark Platanov '27 (Milford, Conn./Amity
2: Will Senenko '27 (Sammamish, Wash./Skyline)
Bow: Addison Smee '26 (Kalama, Wash./Kalama)
 
Lane 2: Classless
Boat: The Boys In The Boat
Cox: Maggie Gibbons '27 (Washington, D.C./Jackson-Reed)
Str.: Ryan Martin '26 (Newport Bch., Calif./Pacifica Christian)
7: Max Heid '23 (Seattle, Wash./Seattle Prep)
6: Ewan Morrow '26 (Seattle, Wash./Garfield
5: Lucas Woodruff '23 (Costa Mesa, Calif./Newport Harbor)
4: Connor Shoup '25 (Steilacoom, Wash./Steilacoom)
3: Finn Griskauskas '26 (Chesterfield, Mo./Marquette)
2: Oliver Black '26 (Sacramento, Calif./Jesuit)
Bow: Luke Collins '26 (Poulsbo, Wash./Bainbridge)
 
Race 3 – The Seattle Times Women's Eight
 
Lane 1: Freshmen, Class of 2027
Shell: Jenni Vesnaver Hogan
Cox: Perry McLoughlin (Port Washington, N.Y./Schreiber)
Stroke: Zola Kemp (Wellington, New Zealand)
7: Carmel Bollag (Seattle, Wash./University Prep)
6: Kate Russ (Plano, Texas (Plano East)
5: Kalee Verd (Olympia, Wash./Olympia)
4: Lita Howard (Seattle, Wash./Roosevelt)
3: Hannah Nowers (Palmer, Alaska (Palmer)
2: Fiona Rosales (Oakland, Calif./School for the Arts)
Bow: Olivia Fox (University Place, Wash./Curtis)
 
Lane 2: Sophomores, Class of 2026
Shell: Title IX Legacy
Cox: Olivia Murdock (Roswell, Ga./Milton)
Stroke: Cillian Mullen (Tacoma, Wash./Batavia (Ill.))
7: Sofie Sand (Rochester, Wash./Rochester)
6: Cait Whittard (St. Catherines, Ont., Canada)
5: Caitlin Hane (Irvine, Calif./University)
4: Mira Calder (Victoria, B.C., Canada/Claremont)
3: Izzy Peters (Ferndale, Wash./Squalicum)
2: Alex Dessart (Bronxville, N.Y./Bronxville)
Bow: Allison Jakeway (Maple Ridge, B.C., Canada)
 
Lane 3: Juniors, Class of 2025
Shell: USA Filippi
Cox: Nandini Pathak (San Ramon, Calif./California HS)
Stroke: Ava Meuleman (Seattle, Wash./Roosevelt)
7: Olivia Hay (Auckland, New Zealand)
6: Shakira Mirfin (Invercargill, New Zealand
5: Jordan Freer (Lotus, Calif./El Dorado/UCSB)
4: Jane Cox (Poway, Calif./Academy of Our Lady of Peace)
3: Paris Burbine (Alpharetta, Ga./Cambridge)
2: Madison Ohm (La Grange, Ill./Lyons Township)
Bow: Leah Nash (Chatham, Mass./Monomoy)
 
Lane 4: Seniors, Class of 2024
Shell: Dottie Simpson
Cox: Athena Baches (Bellevue, Wash./Newport)
Stroke: Grace Vander Griend (Bellingham, Wash/Sehome)
7: Claire Surbeck (Bellevue, Wash./International School)
6: Grace Epp (Redmond, Wash./Redmond)
5: Brianna Hoffman (Poulsbo, Wash./North Kitsap)
4: Margaret Young (San Anselmo, Colo./Williams)
3: Eliza Perry (Bellingham, Wash./Sehome(
2: Briana Hopper (Seattle, Wash./Holy Names/Cornell)
Bow: Luella Bowersock (Austin, Texas/Austin)
 
Lane 5: Fifth Years, Class of 2023
Shell: Kit Green
Cox: Grace Murdock (Roswell, Ga./Milton)
Stroke: Christiana Congdon (Stonington, Conn./St. Paul's)
7: Nikki Martincic (Newtown, Australia)
6: Elena Collier-Hezel (Buffalo, N.Y./Park School/Michigan)
5: Angharad Broughton (Cardiff, Wales, U.K.)
4: Isabel van Opzeeland (Hoofddorp, Netherlands)
3: Abby Adebiyi (London, England, U.K.)
2: Caitlin Bentley (Johannesburg, South Africa)
Bow: Victoria Gevaudan (Pittsburgh, Pa./Oakland Catholic)
 
Race 4 – George M. Varnell Men's Eight
 
Lane 1: Freshman Class of 2027
Shell: John Jacobi
Coxswain: Nikita Jacobs (London, England, U.K.)
Stroke: Rory McDonnell (Rugby, England, U.K.)
7: Hector Guimet (Lyon, France)
6: Giuseppe Bellomo (Bitritto, Italy)
5: Klas Ole Lass (Niepars, Germany)
4: Brady Shanle (Grosse Pointe Farms, Mich./Saguaro)
3: Mason Boulter (Sammamish, Wash./Eastlake)
2: Billy Osborne (Maffra, Australia)
Bow: Ryan O'Connor (Southborough, Mass./Saint John's)
 
Lane 2: Senior Class of 2024
Shell: Shoe DaWg
Cox: Casey Neumann (Pacific Palisades, Calif./Palisades)
Stroke: Darcy McCluskey (Brisbane, Australia)
7: Blake Bradshaw (Auckland, New Zealand)
6: Gus Altucher (Portland, Ore./Cleveland)
5: Ethan Blight (Auckland, New Zealand)
4: Archie Drummond (Twickenham, London, U.K.)
3: Louis Gallia IV (Sacramento, Calif./Jesuit)
2: Giulio Acernese (Rome, Italy)
Bow: Caleb Cowles (Newport Bch., Calif./Newport Harbor)
 
Lane 3: Juniors Class of 2025
Shell: Carl Lovsted
Cox: Kieran Joyce (Hamilton, New Zealand)
Stroke: Jonathan Wang-Norderud (Oslo, Norway)
7: Marius Bjørn-Hansen Ahlsand (Oslo, Norway)
6: Harry Fitzpatrick (Auckland, New Zealand)
5: Quinn Hall (Chester Springs, Pa./Malvern Prep)
4: Blake Vogel (Pittsburgh, Pa./Central Catholic)
3: Alex Gonin (Victoria, B.C., Canada/Oak Bay Secondary)
2: Luke Henry (Bellevue, Wash./Singapore American)
Bow: Parker Raines (Sammamish, Wash./Skyline)
 
Lane 4: Sophomores Class of 2026
Shell: Chuck Holtz II
Cox: Lilly Kurtz (Seattle, Wash./Holy Names Academy)
Stroke: Ryan Smith (Hannover, Germany)
7: Povilas Juskevicius (Kaunus, Lithuania)
6: Marc Tennesen (Seattle, Wash./Lincoln)
5: Sam Ford (Bath, England, U.K.)
4: Ben Shortt (Auckland, New Zealand)
3: Lyle Donovan (Milton, Ga./Cambridge)
2: Cameron Tasker (Norwich, England, U.K.)
Bow: Ethan Walsh (Philadelphia, Pa./Roman Catholic)