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Three High Point Rowers Earn Top 10 Results at World Indoor Rowing Championships

Alexandria, Virginia – Three High Point youth rowers earned top ten results at the World Indoor Rowing Championships today.

2527 competitors from 23 nations raced over the weekend in the two-day international rowing event.

Junior Ognovich, Ainsley Fox, and Molly Hilemn all earned top 10 results in deep international fields in each of their junior age classes. The results were also personal best results for the three rowers over the 2000m distance adding to their satisfaction.

William Hundley also represented High Point Rowing Club in Alexandria, finishing in 15th place out of 79 rowers in the Junior 17 and under lightweight event. He covered the 2,000 meter distance in a personal best time of 6 minutes 55.4 seconds.

HIgh Point rowers Ainsley Fox, William Hundley, Molly Hilemn, and Junior Ognovich all broke personal records at the 2018 World Indoor Rowing Championships.

Junior Ognovich, a junior at Bishop McGuinness High School in Kernersville, finished 4th in the Women’s Junior category for 18 year olds.  Racing against 60 other rowers, Junior earned her 4th place result with the time of 7 minutes 22.4 seconds. Coincidentally, her older sister Katie Ognovich recorded the exact time in February of her junior year to win the 2013 Durham Indoor Rowing Championships. Katie is now a senior on the women’s rowing team at the University of Oklahoma.

Ainsley Fox earned High Point’s next top 10 finish. Racing against 47 competitors in the women’s junior lightweight class for 17 year olds, Ainsley completed the 2,000 meter distance in 7 minutes 52.2 seconds to finish in 5th place.

Molly Hilemn raced in the women’s 16 year old junior competition in Alexandria. Her 8th place finish against 77 other competitors was another tribute to her hard work throughout the winter months.

High Point head coach Gene Kininmonth says the results are awesome for the club and a testament to the hard work each of the rowers has put in. “Each of them has truly taken ownership of their path in this sport,” says Kininmonth. “They can be proud of their results this weekend.”

Congratulations High Point youth rowers!

High Point Rowing Club will host a new round of Learn to Row classes in early March and the team is hoping more middle school and high school students from years 9-12 will be inspired to join.

March 12-16 (4:30pm – 6pm each day) – Sneak Peek Week
Learn to Row ($20 for the week for new students)
Oak Hollow Lake – 3700 Waterview Road in High Point.

Students and parents interested in learning more about the program should email contact@highpointrowing.com

Junior Ognovich finished in 4th place in the women’s 18 and under event at the 2018 World Indoor Rowing Championships.
William Hundley earned a top 15 ranking with a personal best time at the 2018 World Indoor Rowing Championships.
Ainsley Fox finished 4th at the World Indoor Rowing Championships for the 17 and under lightweight category.
Molly Hilemn places 8th out of 77 rowers at the 2018 World Indoor Rowing Championships.

 

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Youth Crew Celebrates Season and Seniors at Spring Banquet

Highly polished silver awards are now a Spring Crew Banquet tradition thanks to the generous philanthropic support of the Club’s Patron Jackie King.

High Point Rowing Club’s youth rowers celebrated the end of spring with coaches and parents at the annual Crew Banquet at Oak Hollow Lake on Monday evening.

Connie Curri, who is Charlotte’s mum and parent liaison to the team, thanked parents of the rowers for their generous support of the team, in particular those who hosted the food tables at all the crew regattas, the ‘Duck Committee’ of fathers, who ran the on water activities of the club’s regattas, and the group of mothers, who managed the timing systems and greatly assisted crews in launching and returning the boats to shore at home regattas. Connie then passed the baton of parent liaison to Sierra’s mum Beth Heer for the 2017-18 season.

“This is always my favorite annual rowing event of the year,” said coach Gene Kininmonth following a delicious pot luck feast. “We are here this evening to celebrate victories won, battles hard fought, and to send off three incredible high school seniors.”

Coach Gene thanked Jaclyn Hronich, Paul Herger, Mandy Greene, and Connie Curri for their service as coaches to the Crew and then welcomed the team’s alumni, Katie Ognovich ’14, Addy Millsap ’15, Andrew Wright ’15, Adam Alt ’16, and Kyle Koval ’16, who had returned to the crew for the evening.

Then it was time to pay tribute to the rowers themselves.

“We have many victories to celebrate tonight,” said Gene. “We opened our Spring season at the Clemson Sprints, where we won countless medals before returning to High Point for the State Championships where our club won 7 state championships.”

“To add to this success, our rowers won bronze in the women’s U17 quadsculls event and gold in the women’s pair event at USRowing’s Southeast regional Championships in Georgia. This remarkable win by Maddie Mullins and Junior Ognovich was a first for High Point Rowing Club.”

Gene then presented The York Cup to the crew that recorded the fastest time from Skeet Club bridge to Johnson Street bridge during the previous twelve months. The York Cup crew of 2017 was coxswain Charlotte Curri, stroke Ainsley Fox, Molly Hilemn, William Hundley, Nick Rieker, Matthew Hronich, Jake Bryant, Sierra Heer, Kinkead Crotts. The crew set a time of 16 minutes 38 seconds.

The 2017 York Cup Crew with their silver awards at the Crew Banquet at Oak Hollow Lake.

Coach Gene then presented the club’s Rower of the Year awards to Charles York and Maddie Mullins, who themselves then presented individual awards to rowers for ‘Middle School MVP’, ‘Most Improved’, and ‘Rookie of the Year’.

The most important part of the ceremonies then arrived as seniors Charles York, Maddie Mullins, and Lizzy Knorr were honored and thanked for their service to the crew. The evening then took an emotional turn with each senior passing on their jersey to a younger rower before reflecting on their personal rowing experiences with High Point Rowing Club.

Of course, no Crew Banquet would be completed until the traditional crew photo on the dock was taken.

2017 HPRC Seniors Charles York, Maddie Mullins, and Lizzy Knorr with their silver awards at the Crew Banquet at Oak Hollow Lake.
HPRC rowers William Hundley and Molly Hilemn won awards for ‘Most Improved’ at the 2017 Crew Banquet.
Matthew Hronich and Charlotte Curri won awards for Middle school MVPs at the 2017 HPRC Crew Banquet.
Benjamin Huitt was presented with the ‘Rookie of the Year’ award at High Point Rowing Club’s 2017 Crew Banquet.
Rowers assemble on the dock at Oak Hollow Lake for the traditional team photo at the spring Crew Banquet.
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High Point Honors Rowers at Spring Crew Banquet

The awards table at the 2014 Spring Crew Banquet for High Point Rowing Club.
The awards table at the 2014 Spring Crew Banquet for High Point Rowing Club.

Oak Hollow Lake – High Point Rowing Club celebrated the youth rowing program at the annual Spring Crew Banquet last night by honoring the rowers and in particular the high school seniors who will graduate in just weeks from now.

Following a delicious pot luck feast, the evening’s celebrations were kicked off by Grimsley HS students, Quinn Eury and Aliute Udoka, who sang an inspiring duet version of the National Anthem, which brought many students and parents to near tears by their beautiful performance.

Mary Horan, who is parent liaison to the team and a director of the non-profit board, then proceeded with introductory remarks by thanking parents of the rowers for their generous support of the team, in particular Susie Alt and Cathy Howard for hosting the food tables at all crew regattas.

The evening then took on a humorous twist with Bishop McGuinness sophomore Emma Lloyd entertaining the audience with rower awards based on fitting superlatives. These awards have now become a popular annual tradition with the crew.

Next up chief coach Gene Kininmonth presented The York Cup to the crew that recorded the fastest time from Skeet Club bridge to Johnson Street bridge during the previous twelve months. Following this Coach Kininmonth thanked the team’s captains, Sarah Catto, Katie Ognovich, and Andrew Wright for their service to the team and then announced the new Captains for 2014, Addie Millsap, Kim Pollard, Adam Alt, and Colin Howard. Coach then presented awards to rowers for ‘Most Improved’, ‘Rookie of the Year’, and ‘Rower of the Year’.

The most important part of the ceremonies then arrived as seniors Catherine Thompson, Sarah Catto, and Katie Ognovich were honored and thanked for their service to the crew. Emotions ran high as the three seniors each made stirring speeches, each reflecting on their own personal experiences of High Point Rowing Club.

Winning the privilege to drink a Toast from The York Cup in 2014 were Margaux Blanchard, Andrew Wright, Colin Howard, Adam Alt, Ryan Kurtiak, Jackie Ognovich, Aliute Udoka, Victoria Goldin, and Maddie Mullins.
Winning the privilege to drink a Toast from The York Cup in 2014 were Margaux Blanchard, Andrew Wright, Colin Howard, Adam Alt, Ryan Kurtiak, Jackie Ognovich, Aliute Udoka, Victoria Goldin, and Maddie Mullins.
High Point Rowing Club's "Most Improved" Rowers for 2014: Andrew Wright & Jackie Ognovich.
High Point Rowing Club’s “Most Improved” Rowers for 2014: Andrew Wright & Jackie Ognovich.
2014 Rookies of the Year: Colin Howard and Aliute Udoka.
2014 Rookies of the Year: Colin Howard and Aliute Udoka.
High Point Rowing Club's 2014 Male Rower of the Year is Adam Alt.
High Point Rowing Club’s 2014 Male Rower of the Year is Adam Alt.
2014 Female Rower of the Year (pictured with chief coach Gene Kininmonth): Katie Ognovich.
2014 Female Rower of the Year (pictured with chief coach Gene Kininmonth): Katie Ognovich.
Seniors say farewell: Katie Ognovich (University of Oklahoma), Catherine Thompson (University of Wisconsin), and Sarah Catto (Liberty University).
Seniors say farewell: Katie Ognovich (University of Oklahoma), Catherine Thompson (University of Wisconsin), and Sarah Catto (Liberty University).
Team photo on the dock - an annual High Point Rowing Club tradition.
Team photo on the dock – an annual High Point Rowing Club tradition.
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High Point Rower Commits to Oklahoma

High Point Rowing Club’s Katie Ognovich has made a verbal commitment to row for the University of Oklahoma, head coach Gene Kininmonth has announced. Ognovich has been offered a full-ride scholarship to row for the Oklahoma Sooners.

“I am so excited to study and row at the University of Oklahoma,” says Ognovich. “I looked at some great colleges but the opportunities Oklahoma offers to their athletes and especially their rowers is what makes this decision right for me. I can’t wait to spend my next four years at such an amazing University and with such a competitive Division I rowing program.”

Under NCAA rules, university athletic departments cannot legally sign female high school rowers to a National Letter of Intent until November 13th but athletes can make a verbal commitment to the college of their choice at any time prior to this date.

A senior at Greensboro Day School, Ognovich entered the fall season as one of the most prized rowing prospects in the nation. In the summer, Ognovich won gold against Canada and Mexico on board the United States’ junior women’s eight crew at the 2013 CanAmMex Regatta. The victory was the first international class win for Ognovich, who is only the second rower in history from the Triad to make a United States rowing team. She follows Caroline Lind, the two-time gold medalist in the USA women’s eight at the Beijing 2008 and London 2012 Olympic Games.

Ognovich was selected to Team USA following a standout performance at a three week USA High Performance Camp in Connecticut, where she led the squad in fitness testing with an erg score of 7 minutes 11 seconds. The time is currently the best of any high school senior in the country.

“We are so pleased for Katie and her family. She has an incredible collegiate rowing career in her future,” says High Point coach Gene Kininmonth.

High Point Rowing Club is only a year old and Kininmonth says Katie’s success is proof of just how powerful the scholarship opportunities are for female students with rowing experience. “Women’s rowing is the sport selected by hundreds of university athletic departments as the counter sport to men’s football. Colleges want female rowers and there are more places on college teams for female rowers than there are high school rowers to fill them right now,” Kininmonth says. “This is the greatest educational opportunity outside of the classroom for girls in High Point.”

Katie Ognovich has been offered a full ride scholarship to row at the University of Oklahoma.
Katie Ognovich has been offered a full ride scholarship to row at the University of Oklahoma.