The duo won third in the Junior Men’s doubles. They have been partners since 2023 and have primarily competed in flatwater sprint and head races.
“We were racing against people that were a lot older,” said Angel. “We’re a rising junior, rising sophomore, and we were racing against people going into their first year in college who still qualified for youth.”
They have high expectations for the next couple of years.
Credit: Michael D. Pitman
Credit: Michael D. Pitman
“As we get older and we get closer to racing people our age, we look forward to climb up those rankings to first,” Angel said.
While the Great Miami Rowing Center has seen its share of success over the years, Maheshwarm said they’re still a small club “and going to Worlds is a big thing, so it means a lot to me and our club.”
GMR Head Youth Coach Cameron Kumagai said the pair have worked hard this year to earn a spot on the World team.
“They consistently put in the extra work, both on the water, and on land,” he said.
The week before the teens qualified for the World team, the GMR Center competed at the U.S. Rowing Youth National Championships in Sarasota, Florida, sending seven.
Austin Carrier, a rising sophomore at Edgewood, and Becca Kraft, a team co-captain and a 2025 graduate at Badin High School, won gold in the mixed youth inclusive doubles race. Their win was the first gold medal in a national championship for the team.
Kraft and Carrier had never teamed up before this season.
“Our club’s never really entered into this race before,” Kraft said of the inclusion race, “and our club has never had a first-place finish at Youth Nationals, so it was a big statement for our club, as well. Even though we are small, we bring a big presence to youth nationals, and we can compete with the bigger teams.”
Though Kraft won’t be on next year’s team, having graduated and earned a full-ride scholarship to Alabama, Carrier is hopeful for next season.
“I’m just hoping that this shows that we can accomplish some good things,” he said.
Results for the other GMR Center rowers include:
- Maheshwaram and Angel: Men’s U17 soubles, 6th place, C final
- Allison Grove (Queen of Peace) and Amelia Donahue (Lakota): Women’s U17 doubles, 3rd place, C final
- Madi Donahue (Lakota): Women’s U17 singles, 8th place, A final
- Kraft: Women’s Youth singles, first place, E final
GMR head coach Cameron Kumagai said from a team perspective, the results in the 2025 competitions in Florida have, overall, been the best this program has ever seen, both as an individual and as a team.
“We had a lot of boats move up in the rankings from last year,” the coach said.
Credit: Michael D. Pitman
Credit: Michael D. Pitman
A lot of boats were in the D Finals last year, pushed for the C and B finals, and he sees them getting better in the years to come, though Kumagai said he can’t take full credit for the recent success.
“I have to attribute this to all the head coaches that came before me,” he said. “The biggest change we implemented this year was setting a standard. It wasn’t just necessarily numbers, but it was more of an attitude. Rowing is a team sport and if you’re not showing up to practice, you’re essentially letting your teammates down. When you’re in team boats, you can’t practice your lineup if your teammate’s not there.”
Assistant varsity coach Kayla Sancrant said they hadn’t planned to send as many boats and team members to this year’s youth nationals.
“We sent a lot of boats to our flatwater nationals this year, which has been a great accomplishment,” she said of their small but mighty team that draws from around the region. “As small of a team as we are, I think it’s awesome that we can pull from so many different locations around.”
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