By Tom Rohrer
Consistency can eventually lead to tradition.
Consistent excellence in May and June has become a tradition for Olympia Area Rowing, and that success has grown to new heights in 2013.
For the fourth consecutive year, Olympia Area Rowing athletes will represent the Thurston County area on the sport’s biggest stage in the USA.
The varsity pair comprised of Corban Nemeth and Walker Capra-Smith will be making its second consecutive trip to the U.S. Rowing Youth National Championships, held in Oak Ridge, Tennessee beginning Friday, June 7.
A second place finish at the Northwest District Championship Regatta at Vancouver Lake in late May earned the accomplished duo a return trip to Tennessee, a trip they will not be making alone.
Joining Capra-Smith and Nemeth at nationals will be the varsity lightweight double of Stuart Doty and Matthew Moen, who earned a fourth place finish in the district title.
It is the first time that OAR has sent multiple teams to the national event, a huge accomplishment for the club.
“I’m very proud of all of them and it’s a great representation for our club,” said OAR coach Richard Hull, a rower at Oxford who will be joining the pairs at the national event. “I know they all are looking to win and place well, but this trip is a reward for all the hard work they’ve put in.”
Capra-Smith, a senior at Olympia, and Nemeth, also a senior but at Black Hills High School, who finished first in districts last summer, took fourth in the national finals a year ago. That experience in such a high pressure event against the nation’s best was invaluable for the pair, and could propel them to a greater finish this year.
“We definitely already know the ropes so that takes the stress factor out of it a bit,” said Nemeth, who will row for the University of Washington next year. “We can just focus better and have an idea of what to expect.”
Moen, a sophomore at Olympia, and Doty a senior at Olympia, do not have the luxury of a prior trip to the tournament. However, they appear confident in their abilities and know that hard work and focus can lead to results.
“We know the other boats will be strong, and it’s exciting going up against that competition,” said Doty. “I think that can provide us with a little more motivation.”
“We were very confident heading into (regionals),” said Moen. “We expected to do well and now we need to work even harder and focus more.”
Making Moen and Doty’s trip to nationals even more impressive is that Doty didn’t compete last year (he played soccer) and Moen is in his first year rowing at the varsity level. Add that to the fact that the two became a pair three quarters of the way through the spring and summer season and you have the makings of a real Cinderella story.
“We were in a quad and our coaches said, ‘let’s make some doubles’, and it went from there,” Doty noted. “I think we’re on the same page and pretty in sync together.”
“I’ve seen natural pairs, but I think it’s unusual to see a double grow together so quickly,” said Hull. “It’s impressive what they’ve accomplished.”
In terms of accomplishments, there are few pairs out there in the high school ranks as decorated as Capra-Smith and Nemeth. The two have put in countless hours of grueling training sessions, something Nemeth believes could give the pair an edge over their competition.
“I think it helps a lot in terms of race strategy and communication,” Nemeth said. “We know more about each other than other teams may know about one another and exactly what our strengths and weaknesses are.”
Both pairs will have to fall back on their training, as such an event can raise the level of adrenaline and excitement in rowers.
“They’re going to have a lot of adrenaline from being at the event in the moment,” said Hull. “The number one piece of advice for that is relax, just relax. Breathe easily, go through the race ahead of time in your mind, and think about the mental preparation aspects. We will be talking through a lot of the scenarios that unfold and how to react to them.”
“We can fall back on the miles we’ve put in,” Nemeth added. “We don’t have all the pressure because we’ve done it so many times before.”
This year’s trip, regardless of the outcome for both pairs, will be even more special for the two teams due to the fact they get to experience it together.
“I hope to make this (event) my favorite, because with the bigger group it should be more enjoyable,” Nemeth said. “It started out with an (OAR) team taking 6th place a couple years ago, then 5th in girls double two years, then us last year, and now with two boats this year. It’s a great progression to be a part of.”
Part of that progression includes OAR’s best ever performance at the district championship, where they sent 39 athletes and six coaches over the three day event.
While qualifying for the event is an accomplishment in itself, the two teams remained focus on performing their best on the biggest stage of their lives.
“We want to qualify for the grand finale and make a run at the podium,” said Nemeth. “That’s what we expect to do.”
“It’s obviously exciting, but you have to remember you’re still trying to win,” said Moen.
“We don’t have a tough time remembering that at this point,” Doty quickly added. “We will do our best, and that hopefully will lead to a great result.”
For more information on Olympia Area Rowing, including information about their fundraising efforts, visit their website.
