Providing a venue where athletes of all ages, talents and backgrounds have the opportunity to develop their rowing ability to their highest potential.

Mercer at the Henley Royal Regatta

The Mercer Boys competed for the first time ever in the prestigious Henley Royal Regatta (HRR) in Henley-on-Thames, England. All races at HRR are 2 boats racing side by side along a 2,112 meter stretch of the Thames River with wooden booms on each side of the course. The event was first raced in 1839.

Mercer (racing as Princeton National Rowing Association, USA) competed in two events - the Britannia Challenge Cup which is an open 4+ event, and the Princess Elizabeth Challenge Cup which is a youth 8+ event and the only Men's Youth sweep event at Henley.

The Britannia Challenge Cup consisted of Nico Franceschi, LJ Justus, Cody Jiang, RJ Regan and coxswain Rhea Kaycee. They raced in the qualifier but did not advance to the heats.

The Princess Elizabeth Challenge Cup rowers were Charles Huckel, Fran McGrath, Owen Brown, Luke Lehmann, Braden Hendrickson, Grant Shore, Henry Alston, Theo Balavoine and coxswain Gabrielle Zammit. In the first round of races, Mercer beat Shrewsbury School by 2 and 1/2 lengths to advance to the second round. In round two, Mercer beat Abingdon School by 2 and 1/4 lengths. Round three was a well fought race which ended in a loss to St. Paul's School who went on to win the event.

Princess Elizabeth Challenge Cup

(Youth Men's 8+)

Brittania Challenge Cup

(Open Men's 4+)

PNRA/Mercer Staff

Hilary Gehman, Jamie Hamp, Sam Altier

Volunteer Appreciation

On June 15 we celebrated our amazing volunteers at the annual Volunteer Appreciation dinner. During the event, we recognized the winners of the Martha Esch Award and our Launch Driver Award. The inscription on the Martha Esch plaque reads:

Presented to the volunteer who has gone above and beyond the call to duty and through her/his actions has had a major impact on the success of the PNRA/Mercer Programs and Events.

This year's recipients are two of the Mercer parent coordinators, Jane Griesinger (Varsity Girls parent) and Helena May (Varsity Boys parent) who have both put in countless hours at the events in person and behind the scenes to ensure that the athletes were well fed and taken care of.

Martha Esch Award winners Jane Griesinger and Helena May (middle) with Kris Grudt and Hilary Gehman

The Launch Driver Award this year goes to George Holubec whose volunteer hours driving launches at our Mercer Lake events topped out at 45 hours this spring!

Launch Driver of the Year award winner George Holubec (middle) with Kris Grudt and Hilary Gehman

TeamUSA off to Paris

The 2023 USA Women's 8+ after qualifying for the 2024 Paris Olympics - photo courtesy of Row2k Media

After spending June training at Mercer and Carnegie, the 2024 USA Olympic Rowing Team left the USA on July 5th to do their final preparations in Italy. On July 22, the team will move to Paris with the Olympic competition beginning on July 26.

Finals are scheduled for July 31 (M4x, W4x), August 1 (W2x, M2x, W4-, M4-), August 2 (W2-, M2-, LM2x, LW2x) and August 3 (M1x, W1x, M8+, W8+).

MegaTrials Held on Mercer Lake

On July 5-7, aspiring National Team rowers arrived at the Caspersen Rowing Center to race for the right to represent the USA at the combined non-Olympic, U23 and U19 World Rowing Championship which will be held in St. Catharines, Canada in August.

16 crews were selected for the Championships including Mercer Alumnus George Drago who qualified in the U23 LM2-.

Trenton's First Indoor Regatta

Princeton National Rowing Association and Boyd Youth Development hosted the first Capital City Indoor Regatta in the City of Trenton. Students in grades 5 through 8 representing 5 Trenton intermediate schools competed in the event which was held at Christina Seix Academy on June 22.

The event culminated in a relay race pitting teams from each of the schools racing against each other along with a team representing the STEM to Stern program. Christina Seix Academy won the relay and will be the first to have their names inscribed on the championship trophy.

Thank you to row2k.com for the editorial and photo coverage. Special thanks to members of the USA Women's Olympic Team who came to cheer for and support the athletes, and to the Christina Seix Academy for hosting the event. Thank you also to Concept 2 and Mercer Street Friends for their support of the programs.

Mercer Junior Boys Award Winners

Most Improved Award:

Luke Lehmann with Coach Jamie

Standard Bearer Award:

Owen Brown with Coach Jamie

Sean McCourt Award:

Gabrielle Zammit with Coach Jamie

For a description of the Mercer Junior Awards, click here.

Save the Date

• August 27, 5:45pm Mercer Junior Rowing Program Open House - Caspersen Rowing Center

• September 28, 5:00pm The 14th Annual Mercer Oktoberfest (adults only)

Trivia Question: Name the coaches at the Caspersen Rowing Center who have competed for the USA in the Olympic Games. For bonus points which Olympic Games did they compete in.

Submit your answer at: info@rowpnra.org

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Mercer Team gear is still available - hats, scarves, umbrellas, shirts . . .

Show your Mercer Spirit!

Contact Hilary Gehman