Continue from the jump...

The question is always there: Does this make the boat go faster? The answer is a resounding “yes”. The fitness that each boat had in their races was evident in the 2nd 1000m of each race where the splits were much faster than their counterparts. The varsity (frustratingly) would spot all the crews a good distance in the 1st 500m and then move through the field. This is a racing aspect that if we can enhance something in the future, that is where I would pinpoint the energy.
Each boat got off the water at the return dock on Mercer Lake feeling proud and happy with their performances. In the end, the 1V placed 20th, the 2V and 3V both placed 16th. This places us 19th overall as a team. As for the Chapman Trophy, we finished 2nd overall to Georgetown (who did not have a 3V last year but had a 3V entry this year, garnering enough points to earn the trophy). This is a little off of what our stated goals but to show that improvement from year to year, I would count that as a success.

Follow this link to watch the finals:

Overnght | 2024 INTERCOLLEGIATE ROWING ASSOCIATION (IRA) Championships: Day 3

3V Final C is 1:21:00 into the video
2V Final C at 1:32:00
1V Final D at 1:42:00

This year’s seniors (and super seniors) were some of the all-around best athletes that I have coached. They raised the bar in all aspects of the team. From a top 8 all-time erg scores (Evan Hankins Hull pulling a 6:01 2K), to our highest ever team GPA (3.37 overall for the 48 athletes), to having the most total volunteer hours in the athletic department, the seniors led the way. There are 13 in all graduating this spring. It is a giant vacuum to fill but they have built a foundation and a template of what it means to be an Oregon State rower for all to look to as the model.
 
The 2024 Seniors:

Andrew Balsbaugh: Mechanical Engineering. From Sacramento, CA. Andrew stroked the varsity 8+ for 4 years straight he was an excellent oarsman and the impetus to many successes in our races. He will be working at an engineering firm in Portland, OR.

Ryan Coulter: Marketing. From Woodbridge, VA. Ryan was in the varsity all 4 years, showing the tattoo of the Occaquan River in Virginia on his leg, his home course, as a mark of his loyalty. Ryan worked at Nike last summer and is looking to pursue a career in the shoe sphere.

Ethan DeBorja: Business Administration. From Vienna, VA. Ethan was the varsity coxswain all 4 years here at Oregon State. His creativity in his calls and his cool demeanor were perfect for his position. He was the OSU SAAC (Student Athlete Advisory Committee) president this year, as the voice (just like a coxswain) of all the student athletes at Oregon State. He will be moving to Florida soon to work in the business sphere.

Ryan Ghalayini: Business information systems. From Fairfax Station, VA. Ryan came to Oregon State in 2020 sight unseen and the team was lucky to have such a great guy in the boats. He will be returning to Oregon State in the fall to complete his degree and to continue to train.

Evan Hankins-Hull: Environmental Science. From Little Rock, AR. Evan now has placed himself on our all-time record board for erg scores. He is incredibly strong. For this reason, he has been selected to train at the Green Racing Project, an elite team based in Craftsbury, VT with the hopes of representing the USA on the National Team

Isaac Connelly: From Brookline, NH and  Majored in Psychology.   Isaac has a passion for rowing and is relentless in his grit. He is applying for coaching jobs around the country.

Ben LaFond: Political Science. From Lake Oswego, OR. Ben was elected captain overwhelmingly for the last 2 years. He has shaped our team culture and led with his work ethic for the past 5 years. It is for these reasons why he was named this year’s Impact Award which is given to the athlete that has made the largest impact on the team. He will be going to law school at Texas A&M next year.

Will LaFond: Political Science. From Lake Oswego, OR. Will was the passion of the team. His spirit was infectious and got the team hyped every day. From 3 x’s 30 minutes on the erg, to sprint pieces at “The Pond”, you know the effort Will brought to the practices. He will be studying film and film writing in Texas next fall

Cal Labonski: Economics. From Rockville, MD. Cal was in the varsity for 3 years during his time here at Oregon State. A disciple of the tenants of Ted Lasso, he is one of the nicest guys to have in any boat. He capped his career off by winning a bronze medal in the V4+ at the PAC-12 Championships this past May. He will continue to row at Potomac Boat Club in Washington, DC this summer

Colin Lindquist: BioHealth Science. From Bainbridge Island, WA. Colin was in the 1V 8+ for EVERY race over 4 years from his freshman to senior years, racing in the top boat more than 40 (!!) times. This has never been done before and is an extremely hard feat to accomplish. Colin is always looking for adventure and is trying to find work in some remote places in the world with an eye on being stationed in Antarctica.

Tanner Mathews: Biochemistry and Molecular biology. From Cocoa Beach, FL. Corvallis is not like Florida at all but Tanner excelled on the team for the past 5 years. Always an intellectual, he is planning on continuing his research in the biochemistry realm at Oregon State for the next months with the hopes of publishing his research with the findings.

Chris Neihoff: Forestry. From Rockford, MI. There is nothing better than Chris Neihoff’s mustache. His plan is to move to Bend, OR and to become a forest-fire fighter and eventually a smoke jumper this summer.

Tristin Vanderlind: Finance. From Petaluma, CA. Tristin was the co-captain for the last 2 years earning unanimous support from his peers on the team. He was in the varsity for 3 years leading the team to victory in some of the closest races that we have had. He will be moving to Boston to work at a financial firm.

Each one of these graduates will be deeply missed and I want to thank all of them for 4 (and even 5) amazing years!
The success of the team is built with the generous help from all the family and alums. I want to thank everyone for helping us have another amazing Dam Proud Day this past April. We are getting faster with all the help everyone has given us.
 
Go Beavs!
Gabe Winkler