Weekend Wrap: Records Fall at Leander Indoor Rowing Championships
The 2020 indoor season kicked off in style this weekend at the Leander Indoor Rowing Championships in Hamilton, Ont.
The annual event, which is hosted by the Leander Boat Club at St. Mary C.S.S, took place on Saturday, Jan. 11 and saw six record breaking performances from its competitors. Leander rower Braden Durcak led the way for the host club as he set the event record in the bantam men’s 1km event with a time of 3:35.7.
Other record-breaking performances over the weekend on the men’s side included Shane Keagan in the U17 2km event (6:35), Owen Bartel of Eden H.S. in the U17 165 2km (6:48.6), and Kai Bartel, also of Eden H.S., in the U19 165 2km (6:37.7). In the women’s draw, Alivia Thornton of Lakeshore C.H.S. etched her name into the record books in the U17 women’s 2km in a time of 7:31.1, as did Grace Weaver of Grimsby S.S. in the U19 135 2km with a time of 7:42.7.
The remaining gold medal performances in the 2km high school draw included Nico D’Amelio of Welland Centennial S.S. (U17 150 men, 7:10.7), Owen Kudreikis of Eden H.S. (U19 150 men, 6:48.9), Ian Lamothe of South Niagara Rowing Club (U19 men, 6:25.4), Payton Tonnos of Eden H.S. (U17 135 women, 8:02.1), Alicia Cocca of Wellend Centennial S.S. (U17 145 women, 8:22.5), Sequoia Deathe of Westdale S.S. (U19 145 women, 7:52.4) and Emma Lazenby of St. Mary C.S.S. (U19 women, 7:31.5). Tonnos’ performance in the U17 135 women’s category was especially impressive as she bested 30 competitors, the most of any category at the meet.
In the U23 events, Lee Vivian of McMaster University Rowing Club took home first place in the women’s U23 135 (8:03.3) while Daria Martire of Leander Boat Club finished first the women’s U23 (7:46.3). Alex Cowman, also from McMaster, claimed first place in the men’s U23 165 (7:00.5) and Matthew D’Amico of the University of Toronto Rowing Club finished first in the men’s U23 in the fastest time of the day (6:33.2).
Rounding out the winners on the weekend were Aubrey Oldham of Leander Boat Club (Senior men, 6:47.5), Bryan Davies of Sunnyside Beach Athletic Club (Masters men 50+, 7:28.8), and Hallee Woodard of Bishop Tonnos C.S.S. (Women’s coxie crawl, 4:43.8).
Overall the event featured 156 competitors from 15 different rowing clubs. For full results visit Regatta Central.
The next event on the Ontario indoor rowing calendar is the Canadian Indoor Rowing Championships which take place on Feb. 9 in Mississauga, Ont. Not long after the entire country will join together on Feb. 22 for the first ever Indoor Rowing Day in Canada with the goal of logging enough miles on the erg to row the entire distance across Canada. To view our events calendar with all upcoming Ontario events please visit our website.
