(Atomic Rowing) -- Oak Ridge (June 9, 2009)- Atomic Rowing travel to Ohio this week to compete in the USRowing Youth National Championship Regatta. The championship event sponsored by USRowing and hosted by the Cincinnati Junior Rowing Club is a three day event starting Friday, June 12th through Sunday, June 14th on Harsha Lake inside East Fork State Park in Batavia OH.

Atomic Rowing will be represented in three different events: the women’s youth pair (2-), the men’s youth quad (4x), and the women’s youth eight (8+). This is the largest number of entries that the Oak Ridge based youth program has qualified for the national competition. Atomic Head Coach, Allen Eubanks, qualified the men’s quad by winning gold and the women’s pair by winning silver in Southeastern District Youth

Championships in early May. The women’s eight at placed 4th in their event at the Southeast Regional. They finished within the time standard to petition an at-large invitation to the event. Eubanks mentioned on Friday, “The Oak Ridge youth rowing programs have qualified for 11 of the 14 years this championship has been held. Given the very limited size of our team (14 female and 15 male athletes) compared with that of our competitors’ teams, Atomic’s accomplishments are especially impressive. My hope is that area youth athletes will see what a great program we have in Oak Ridge and will want to be part of it.”

The Youth National Championship Regatta has been held since 1995 and is considered the premier youth rowing event in the U.S. It includes high school and club teams from across the nation. This year 320 boats from 146 teams, 25 states, and 114 cities have entered the regatta, with each boat having qualified by finishing first, second, or third in one of eighteen different events held at regional qualifiers. Six regional qualifying events are held around the country. Other invites are given to the fastest two boats in city and conference championships. The regatta’s selection committee attempts to have representation of crews that show speed in their region.

Atomic Rowing can expect stiff competition from several teams in all three events at Nationals. According to Atomic men’s coach Greg Magnuson, “The field of competition for the men’s quad race includes 14 entries, among those being Malvern Prep from the Philadelphia area that placed first in the 2008 event, and Miami Beach that finished 0.38 seconds behind Atomic in the regional qualifier.” Atomic’s quad crew has 3 seniors and a junior. The quad it is the most experienced entry of the three; with Lucas Campbell a recently graduated from Oak Ridge High School and will be attending Georgia Tech in the fall, in the three seat is Seth Parker a graduate of Oak Ridge High School and plans attending Georgia Tech in the fall attending the USRowing National Junior Men’s Team selection camp that will compete in the world rowing championships in France this summer, behind him sits Micah Douglas an 11th grader at Oak Ridge High School, Phil Reath a 2009 graduate of Webb School with plans of attending Clemson in the fall sits in the bow seat with the responsibility of direction and strategy. Stephen Palmer (11th grade, Oak Ridge HS) is the alternate if needed. Two members of this crew (Parker and Campbell), placed first last year at the Scholastic Nationals in the junior men’s double.

Lauren Gregory, coach for the Atomic women’s pair, says that “the competition is really tough to predict because this is the first year that the women’s pair event is being included in the Youth National Championship Regatta. However, the pair of Lauren Gentry (11th grade, Oak Ridge HS) and Madison Neveu (10th grade, Karns HS) should provide a strong showing in the field of 21 entries, each race for this event will be very tight.”

After two weeks of waiting for notification on their petition for an at-large invitation. Lily Adler, a recent graduate of Oak Ridge High School who will be attending the University of Tennessee in the fall, the captain of the Women’s program, leads Atomic’s young women’s eight of Sidney Sherrill (11th grade, Oak Ridge HS), Adler, Bryna Oleshansky (11th grade, Bearden HS), Abbie Watson (10th grade, Oak Ridge HS), Rae Oleshansky (7th grade, Nature's Way Montessori School), Loni Albrecht (9th grade, Oak Ridge HS), Bethany Dunn (11th grade, Oak Ridge HS), Robin Parker (10th grade, Oak Ridge HS), Ali Woods (cox) (11th grade, Oliver Springs HS), and alternate Lauren Myers (9th grade, Oak Ridge HS), season has continued. They join the field of 24 crews competing in the women’s eight event at Nationals. This event has the most entries of the 18 events included in the regatta. The favorites in the race this year are Marin Rowing from California and Community Rowing of Boston. Atomic’s Bryna Oleshansky, who sits in seat six, will depart the following week to compete against 50 of the top female junior athletes from across the country for a spot on the USRowing National Junior Women’s Team that will compete in France.

Coach Allen Eubanks commented, “The ladies in the eight have been working really hard. They are a young crew, which brings with it a bit of inconsistency. If they are able to control their race-day nerves and focus, we should be racing in the finals on Sunday.”

Atomic Rowing would like to increase the depth of its competitive roster and is holding two novice learn-to-row classes this summer (June 15–25 and August 3–13). No experience and no equipment are needed to attend the classes. Although the classes are not required to register for the novice program next fall, class participants will receive a $50 discount toward the novice fall-season fees. Atomic Rowing welcomes athletes from all of east Tennessee and is within a 20- minute drive from Anderson County HS, Bearden HS, Central HS, Clinton HS, Christian Academy of Knoxville, Farragut HS, Halls HS, Harden Valley Academy, Jefferson MS, Karns HS, Knoxville Catholic HS, Oak Ridge HS, Oliver Springs HS, Powell HS, Robertsville MS, St. Mary's Catholic School, and Webb School of Knoxville. For more information on how your youth athlete can sign up, please visit www.orra.org.