Teens representing Great Bay Rowing capped off a record-breaking trip to the 2026 USRowing Youth National Championships with a bronze medal and multiple top-10 finishes, according to a community announcement.
The championships were held June 11–14 at Nathan Benderson Park in Sarasota, Florida.
Boys Youth 2x takes bronze
Racing in the A Final June 14, Great Bay Rowing’s Boys Youth 2x — Eric Berg of Dover and Brogan Fernald of Eliot, Maine — finished third in an extremely tight field, earning the title of third-fastest doubles boat in the country, according to the announcement. This was their second time racing the double and their first time in the A Final.
Berg will row at Temple University in the fall, and Fernald has been invited to the U19 Selection Camp in California later this summer, where he hopes to earn a seat in a 2x or 4x for the U19 Worlds competition in Plovdiv, Bulgaria.
Girls Youth 2x wins B Final, cracks top 10
Great Bay Rowing’s Girls Youth 2x — Hannah Bogle of Durham and Annabelle Getchell of South Berwick, Maine — won their B Final, finishing as the ninth-fastest boat in the nation. The result builds on the duo’s strong showing last year, when they placed second in the U17 division at Youth Nationals.
Team sets participation record
This year, Great Bay Rowing brought its largest-ever contingent to Nationals: 16 athletes — 10 girls and 6 boys — competing across four days of racing, a new club record for participation at the national championship level, according to the announcement.
Additional results include the Women’s Youth 4x, which placed 21st (Aurora Sawtell, Newmarket; Sydney Anderson, Seabrook; Bailey Everett, Barrington; and Jameson Hawkins, Amesbury, Massachusetts). The Women’s Youth 2V 4x also placed 21st overall (Sunny Geary, Wells, Maine; Maisie Johnson, Durham; Emmanuelle Blanchard, Portsmouth; and Caroline Sterndale, Durham). The Men’s U17 4x placed 31st (Braden Gilbert, Dover; Theodore Pastore, Portsmouth; Jackson F. of Durham; and Jack Bonello, Dover).
Coach reacts to team’s performance
“This was an incredible four days for our club,” said Hallie Cheyne, director of rowing of Great Bay Rowing. “To bring a record number of athletes to Nationals and have them rise to the occasion — racing against some of the fastest crews in the country — speaks to how much these kids have grown, both as athletes and as teammates.”
Cheyne added, “I’m proud of every single one of them. This group of athletes have led the charge in bringing GBR to a new level of dedication, training, competition, and love for the sport. I can’t wait to see what’s next for this group.”
This story was created by Kimberly Green, KGreen@usatodayco.com, with the assistance of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Journalists were involved in every step of the information gathering, review, editing and publishing process. Learn more at cm.usatoday.com/ethical-conduct.
This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Great Bay Rowing brings home bronze, multiple top‑10 finishes at nationals