Sarasota Scullers advance six to USRowing B finals

Perhaps no duo overcame tougher odds to qualify for the USRowing Youth National Championships than Katie Beiler and Jessica Frisch, who found themselves in a precarious position during last month’s Southeast Regional final at Gainesville, Georgia.

The Sarasota Scullers teammates overcame three early crabs (an errant or out-of-sequence stroke) due to Beiler nicking a buoy with an oar, and fought to earn a runner-up finish at that regional. The pair had no such issues in Saturday’s women’s double semifinals. They posted the 11th-fastest time to advance to Sunday’s B final.

“We were 15 strokes in and I caught three crabs,” Beiler said of the regional race. “I just kept apologizing to (Frisch), but our adrenaline was up there.”

Added Frisch, “I’m not going to lie. I shed a tear.”

There was nothing to cry about in Saturday’s semifinal. Beiler and Frisch completed the 2,000-meter course at Nathan Benderson Park in 8 minutes, 11.36 seconds.

“We wanted to be in this,” Beiler said of the national championships. “We knew we couldn’t just sit on the sidelines and watch our teammates.”

Beiler and Frisch are among six scullers from the local area rowing in today’s B finals. Kris Schumann and Chris Cail produced the ninth-fastest time Saturday in a men’s doubles semifinal with a time of 7:06.69. On Friday, Patrick Wilson and Kaden Bowles advanced in men’s lightweight doubles with a 7:05.19 time.

For their part, Schumann and Cail have plans in rowing beyond this weekend’s competition. Cail, a 2017 Pine View graduate who has family in the Philadelphia area, landed a scholarship worth about $30,000 in academic money to attend Drexel University. And on Tuesday, Schumann is headed to San Diego for the USRowing Junior National tryouts.

That duo is among the most experienced in the Scullers’ program, which was founded in 1991. Cail has rowed for the Sarasota club for seven seasons, one more than Schumann.

“His weaknesses are my strengths and vice versa,” Cail said.

Wilson and Bowles also complement one another in a racing shell. Beleaguered by abdominal, leg and shoulder injuries in recent years, Wilson missed most of last season but has fared well since being paired with Bowles this season. A runner-up finish at regionals preceded Saturday’s effort.

“Just to have the opportunity to be here is amazing,” Wilson said. “I’ve always had the mindset to just get on the water and give everything I have.”

Asked if he has any trepidation after getting back on the water after an injury, Wilson did not get a chance to respond. Teammate T.J. Cochran interjected: “Not at all. He’s known for pushing himself as much as he can.”

Acknowledging that some of Wilson’s injuries have occurred during a race, Bowles said, “We just have to finish the race. We just have to keep going and pick it up.”

Sunday’s schedule will be more crowded than planned after inclement weather washed out 13 races scheduled for Saturday afternoon’s schedule and a practice session. Racing is scheduled to resume Sunday at 7:30 a.m. with the A Finals, followed by the B finals, the one remaining C final and 12 D finals.

Because of the condensed schedule, award ceremonies have been moved from the docks to the hospitality tent. And, general parking is being diverted to the North Lot near Dillard’s.

One local team still has a shot at one of the 18 national titles up for grabs Sunday.

Sarasota Crew’s men’s 8-plus boat advanced to today’s A final by virtue of a runner-up finish in Friday’s semifinal. Cian Grave, Travis Earp, Clark Dean, C. Shaw Bowman, Christian Irving, Jeremy Lipford, Harrison Schofield, Andrew O’Grady and coxswain Jacob Shusko finished Friday’s race in 6:00.98.

This story was originally published June 10, 2017 at 8:57 PM with the headline "Sarasota Scullers advance six to USRowing B finals."