While early morning rains made for a muddy mess, participants felt the competition was successful. Roughly 200 rowers competed in the event and an additional 150 people viewed the races from the riverbank.
“This is one of the best views of all the rivers we’ve been on,” said Sue Monteskno of Oakwood. Her daughter, 17-year-old Jami, was competing with the Dayton Boat Club.
“It would be nice to see this become a larger race with Columbus and Indianapolis teams participating,” said Julie Pschesang, whose daughter, 16-year-old Katie, was also racing with the Dayton Boat Club.
Christine Baumgartner, a 14-year-old novice rower with the Dayton Boat Club, said the course was impressive and not choppy, though there wasn’t much of a current Saturday.
Brian Clark, the regatta director, said he was impressed with the turnout despite the weather. He added that GMRC is hoping to buy property near the river for a boathouse. It would allow for better staging opportunities for bigger events in the future, he said.
GMRC team captains Chris Gordon and Bethany Grim, both 18, said they felt their teams did well with the “home course advantage” — the girl’s four-rower varsity team placed first.
“I hope they keep up the tradition,” Gordon said. “It would be cool to see it get bigger in the future.”
Contact this reporter at (513) 705-2843 or jheffner@coxohio.com.
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