The first day of racing at the 2026 USRowing Youth National Championships is in the books, and the NAC crews opened the regatta with some strong performances against some of the deepest fields in recent memory.
The day started with our Men’s 2V, who delivered an excellent time trial to place 5th overall and put themselves in a great position heading into tomorrow’s semifinal.
Next up was the Men’s 3V, which finished 8th overall. While that result secured a spot in the semifinals, an impressive stat stands out: the crew was the fastest of the six third varsity boats entered in the event, continuing to show the depth of the NAC program.
The Men’s Varsity 8+ wrapped up the morning in one of the deepest and most competitive fields at the regatta. The crew finished 10th overall, but the margins were razor thin. Places 5th through 14th were separated by less than two seconds, setting the stage for what should be an incredibly exciting semifinal round tomorrow.
The Girls 2V also put together a strong performance, finishing 11th in a highly competitive field. The crew showed significant growth since Southwest Regionals, passing both Marin and Oakland, two programs that had finished ahead of them just a month ago.
The Girls Varsity 8+ finished 15th overall, but the result hardly tells the full story. Similar to the Men’s Varsity event, the field was unbelievably compressed, with less than four seconds separating 7th place from 19th. In my ten years of attending Youth Nationals, I have never seen spreads this tight across so many events. Every position is being contested by fractions of a second, and tomorrow’s racing promises to be some of the most competitive we have seen in years.
With all of our crews continuing to battle in Sarasota, we are looking forward to another exciting day of racing tomorrow.
Schedule for Friday Semis:
Mens 2v: 11:33
Mens 1v: 12:08
Womens 2v: 11:54
Womens 1v: 12:22
Find the Live Stream at : https://www.overnght.com/event/37cb74b0-e6de-4a41-ae91-82731738110e
Results: https://usrowing.regatta.time-team.com/usrowing-youth-national/2026/live