GROSSE POINTE SOUTH STUDENTS CLAIM NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP IN ROWING

BY JONATHAN SZCZEPANIAK jszczepaniak@candgnews.com

— The Grosse Pointe culture of athletic success isn’t just limited to on-land sports.

Metro Detroit

Any sport Grosse Pointe students can get their hands on seems to turn into a successful venture, and Grosse Pointe South High School students Olivia Bachert (senior), Ava Sjogren (senior), Ryleigh O’Donoghue (senior), Carly Brown (junior) and Cassie Summerfield (freshman) proved rowing was no different.

On June 11 at the 2023 USRowing Youth National Championships at Nathan Benderson Park in Sarasota, Florida, South’s five students competed for the Detroit Boat Club, earning the national championship in the Women’s Youth 4+ by five seconds in a field of 32 boats. South’s Brennan Supino and Sam Belishi, Grosse Pointe North’s Michael Roustemis, and Detroit Cass Tech’s Ethan Kent took eighth at nationals in the Men’s U17 Quad.

“It was really surreal,” Bachert said. “It didn’t set in for a minute. We were on the water, and we were celebrating. You get off the water, and everybody is just cheering.”

Bachert, a Syracuse University commit, is one of four rowers set to continue their rowing careers collegiately. Sjogren, O’Donoghue, and Brown have committed to Northeastern University, the University of Wisconsin and Stanford University, respectively.

Competing alongside each other for the past two seasons, it was a perfect ending for the three seniors and a memorable moment for Brown as she looks to lead the squad next year.

“They’re four of the best athletes I’ve ever coached and four of the toughest athletes I’ve ever coached,” Detroit Boat Club head junior coach Michael Gentile said. “The great part is that they all came from other sports, and that’s part of it. They know what it takes to win, and they’re all experienced as rowers go. They’ve rowed together quite a few times and lost some really tough races, and they were very poised in Florida.”

While the four upperclassmen flexed their muscles for the first-place finish, Summerfield

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