Chula Vista, CA, 4/28/2023
BRF athletes just completed racing at the national selection regatta in Chula Vista, California. A key step in the selection process for the 2023 US National Team, the regatta offered spots in the women’s single (Michelle Sechser) and women’s double (Emily Kallfelz, Molly Reckford, Mary Nabel, Cicely Madden and Maggie Fellows) at World Cup 2, and a direct path to qualification for the US National Team for our athletes, as well as potential invitations to selection camps later in the year. Also contested with the same stakes on the line were the women’s pair, and men’s single, pair and double.
Racing against an openweight singles field that included 2021 Tokyo Olympian Kara Kohler didn’t phase Michelle Sechser in the least, as she posted the fastest time in the time trial, won her semi, and finished 2nd in the final behind Kohler. While Sechser is never shy to lock horns with the openweights, her true focus is on the lightweight doubles selection camp which will start in Chula Vista next week, with an eye towards World Cup 2, and the all important Olympic qualification at the 2023 World Championships.
Kallfelz and Vitas race at the National Selection Regatta
Meanwhile, in the women’s double, BRF athletes comprised exactly half the ten athlete field, with Emily Kallfelz (rowing with Texas Rowing Center’s Sophia Vitas) coming in second, a scant 0.45 seconds behind the Arion entry. Lightweight teammates Molly Reckford and Mary Nabel finished third, and Cicely Madden and Maggie Fellows finished fourth. Next for Kallfelz is selection camp for the open women’s sculling squad in Chula Vista, while Reckford and Nabel with join Sechser for the lightweight double selection camp. Fellows and Madden will continue to sharpen their skills on the Charles, with Fellows having already earned a place in selection camp 2 to be held later this summer in Princeton, NJ.