Aidan Skelding of River Forest and Ryan Gallagher seemed destined to make a great duo for the St. Ignatius College Prep rowing club.
All they needed was the ability to compete.
“In the fall, we borrowed a boat from the University of Chicago to see how we did and the team was able to buy a used pair boat in the spring,” Skelding said.
Skelding and Gallagher improved so much that they qualified in the two-man competition for the U.S. Rowing Youth National Championships June 12-14 in Sarasota-Bradenton, Fla., by winning the Midwest Scholastic Rowing Association Championship May 9-10 in Nashport, Ohio.
SICP rowers Thomas Rowland and Ethan Young, both of Oak Park, and Skelding also qualified for the Scholastic Rowing Association of America Championships May 22-23 at Cooper River in Camden, N.J. with their performances at the MSRA Championship.
The lightweight 4s with Rowland and Young finished sixth in its semifinal heat (5:18.296 for 1,500 meters) and 11th overall. The varsity 4s with Skelding was fourth in its last heat (5:12.29), one spot from advancing to the semifinals, to place among the top 18.
Skelding recently graduated from SICP and will row for Purdue University. Rowland and Young will be juniors this fall. Other current SICP team members include senior Jessica Latham of River Forest and sophomores Marie O’Brien-Smart and Henry Quinn-Pasin, both of Oak Park.
Latham and Skelding previously competed at the SRAA championships in 2014 and 2013, respectively. Latham recently was named to the 2014-15 MSRA Academic Athlete honor roll.
“It’s hard to explain, but it’s addicting. There’s so much technically that goes into (rowing) and how every single person can make such a change on the boat,” Rowland said. “There’s tons of chemistry you don’t really experience in other sports. Everyone works together in terms of speed.”Â
SICP, New Trier and Loyola Academy are the only Illinois high schools with competitive rowing clubs. Top-three finishers at the MSRA advance to the SRAA Championship, which is for high school teams only.
MSRA event champions also can compete at the U.S. Youth Rowing Championships, which consists primarily of club teams that draw athletes from several high schools.
After winning the 1,500-meter MSRA (5:29.52) by 12.52 seconds, Skelding and Gallagher finished fourth in the C final and 16th overall at the U.S. Youth Nationals (7:23.428) against the toughest youth competition and with the longer 2,000-meter format.
“It’s the best of the best. Race day is special. They don’t baby you at all,” Skelding said. “I think we performed well for our first time. We only rowed that boat for six months and, talking to some of the other crews, they had (been together) for three, four years.”
SICP rowers drive on their own to two-hour weekday practices starting at 4:50 a.m. based along the south end of the Chicago River and Bubbly Creek.
Rowland was driven to practice by Young. Although the two live less than one mile apart, they grew up attending different public schools.
“We didn’t know each other before high school,” Young said. “We didn’t have classes together until this year so we met as rowers. That’s how we became friends. It worked out really well.”