Southeast Youth Championships conclude at Sarasota's Benderson Park

SARASOTA -- Riverview High School student Katie Beiler, 15, tried softball, soccer and basketball and then she went to a rowing camp put on by The Sarasota Scullers. a Sarasota rowing club, and finally felt like she was home.

"She got in a boat and knew this is where she needed to be," said Katie's mother, Dawn Beiler. "She's made a full commitment. She is 100 percent in this to win this. She works really hard, and it's her goal to be in the 2020 Olympics rowing for the USA."

Katie Beiler was one of more than 1,335 youth rowers from 42 clubs around the southern U.S. -- seemingly all who have made a 100 percent commitment to this ultra-high-intensity sport -- who spent Saturday and Sunday competing at USRowing's Southeast Youth Championships at Nathan Benderson Park.

When it was over Sunday around 1:30 p.m., The Sarasota Scullers and The Sarasota Crew, which together have a handful of Manatee County rowers, combined to qualify 12 boats for nationals at Mercer Lake near Princeton, N.J., June 12-14 and no one was happier than the Sculler's Beiler.

She teamed with Jessica Frisch from Sarasota Military Academy to come in first in the women's youth double, punching her ticket for New Jersey. Beiler and Frisch were one of three Sculler boats that qualified for nationals Sunday.

"If you have never been in a boat, it's the most uncomfortable place to be," Dawn Beiler said. "The first 500 meters of a race, their muscles are done so they are rowing the rest of it in pain."

In order to cope with rowing's demands, for six days every week Beiler and Frisch along with their roughly 100 Scullers teammates -- including boys quad national qualifiers Jack Mischak, Kris Schumann, Chris Irving and Marcel Griffioen and girls quad national qualifiers Anna Irving, Liz Mallet, Julia Roberts and Sierra Hillman -- practice two and a half hours beginning at 3:45 p.m. at Blackburn Point in Nokomis.

"When our whole team comes to the finish line and cheers for us when we finish," Beiler said when asked what is the reward for all that effort. "That is definitely rewarding and, of course, the medal at the end."

"Seeing the result for the hard work you put in," added Frisch.

The Sarasota Crew serves up a feast

The Sarasota Crew, with an impressive roster of 350 rowers, qualified nine boats for New Jersey.

As talented as the Crew rowers are, just as formidable are their parents and coaches when it comes to caring for them.

"It takes logistics to put on a big event like this," said Crew parent Seth Koplin. "It's a big thing to keep these kids hydrated and fed. It's a lot of effort by parents, coaches and especially the kids."

Under their tent Sunday, led by team president Ken Jackson. Sarasota Crew, which began about 10 years ago with only five or six rowers, served up a buffet of pulled pork sandwiches, pasta salad, black beans, guacamole and plenty of sweet desserts and bagels for energy.

Crew varsity boys' coach Caitlynn Crouch said Sarasota Crew had some boats that bounced back from slow starts Saturday to qualify Sunday.

"All around it's a good day, and they should be very proud of their efforts," Crouch said. "We had some boats that maybe were not happy with their turnarounds Saturday and had a good night's rest and moved on to a better race Sunday. We had never qualified a Lightweight Four, so that is very exciting this year to have that boat going. It was exciting to see the Lightweight Eight qualify for nationals, too."

Although there were no special awards given out by Sarasota Crew and Sarasota Scullers other than the medals the athletes won, Crouch gave a Rising Star Award to the Crew's Andrew O'Grady in the Men's Lightweight Eight boat, which qualified for nationals.

"Andrew was not even in a top boat as a freshmen, and now as a sophomore he has made it into the lightweight to qualify for nationals," Couch said. "He has learned how to pull hard. and he's figured out how to perform to his capacity."

While all nine Sarasota Crew national-bound boats are hot right now, the women's varsity four-seat boat plus coxswain may be the hottest.

That boat -- which finished first Sunday -- has unique chemistry with Ella Kennedy from Riverview High, Kate Mizell from Sarasota Military, Erin Johnson from Riverview High and Isis Madden from Lakewood Ranch High, all of whom are motivated by coxswain Samantha "Sammi" Ennis of Pine View.

Madden has another teammate, Hayley Todoroff, 18, who also goes to Lakewood Ranch High and lives in Lakewood Ranch.

The Crew also several other Manatee County performers, including Ava Vandroff, 14, who goes to Lakewood Ranch High and Campbell Shaw, 14, who attends Nolan Middle School.

The Lakewood Ranch High students said their non-rowing classmates at the school are curious about rowing, but the sport hasn't caught on there as much as some of the Sarasota schools.

"I feel we have wonderful coaches who push us every single day," said Mizell, 18, who attends Sarasota Military but lives in Lakewood Ranch. "All of the training, all of the extra miles we row, all pay off."

"All the hard work that goes into every single day of practice," Ennis added. "We just go out and put our blades in the water and pull as hard as we can. Everything that the coaching staff has put in us is what makes us special."

So, how does a coxswain motivate tired rowers?

"Knowing what they are rowing for and why they come to practice every day is really important," Ennis said. "I just want to make sure they know I am there for them."

Richard Dymond, Herald reporter, can be reached at 941-745-7072 or contact him via Twitter@RichardDymond.

This story was originally published May 15, 2016 at 9:39 PM with the headline "Southeast Youth Championships conclude at Sarasota's Benderson Park ."