Ridley crew a force on and off the water
The Ridley College senior women’s quad crew is competing at the Canadian Secondary Schools Rowing Association Regatta this weekend. From left: Jade Postma, Talia Nixon, Sydney Swick, Charlotte Pieckenhagen.
It’s more than just about rowing for the Ridley College senior women’s quad crew.
Talia Nixon, Sydney Swick, Jade Postma and Charlotte Pieckenhagen are not only elite rowers who have a legitimate chance to medal at the 76th Canadian Secondary Schools Rowing Association Regatta this weekend in Port Dalhousie, but are also standout athletes of their own in other sports.
Nixon, an 18-year-old native of Fredericton, is an elite volleyball player while Postma, a 15-year-old Orillia native, was a medalist at the Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations (OFSAA) swim meet.
Pieckenhagen, a 17-year-old native of Toronto, was a member of Canada’s junior U-18 women’s hockey team that brought home a gold medal in Sweden, while Swick, a 16-year-old St. Catharines native, is a member of the Women’s Prep hockey team.
“We’ve really have been promoting athletes doing more than one sport,” Ridley rowing coach Siobhan McLaughlin said. “This term, I have girls who are playing rugby, track and field and other terms try and do swimming and rowing or hockey and rowing. If they really love another sport, high school is the time to do it. It’s a good balance for them as well.
“There is a lot of research that shows early specialization is not good and we’re lucky rowing is a later specialization sport so you can do two sports definitely.”
All four members of the crew agree being a multi-sport athlete is an advantage.
“I think it’s helpful,” said Nixon, who is heading to the University of New Brunswick to play volleyball this fall. “I’ve been a multi-sport athlete my whole life and getting to work with other multiple-sport athletes helps our crew a lot because we get to bring in different perspectives on how we compete and how we win and how we lose.
“I think it’s been really, really good for us to manage more than one thing and it speaks to our athleticism and how we’re able to work our bodies and work a shell and all the other things that come into it.”
Postma enjoys combining rowing and swimming.
“Swimming is my first sport but I like to do both,” she said. “I think it’s good we all have different skills and contribute in the boat. We all come from a different skill level and row together as athletes and come together as a team.”
Pieckenhagen feels her conditioning for hockey is an asset on the water.
“It helps so much. Hockey players have so much leg drive. Usually when you talk about rowing people think it’s all in the arms, but it’s all in the legs so it really transfers over.
“We all compete in different sports which helps us have the drive.”
Swick doesn’t take for granted her ability to participate in both sports.
“I think I’m very lucky I get to do both. Not everyone gets those experiences so I just try to make the most of it. Some days are hard but you just have to remember those good days,” she said.
The crew is coming off a pair of solid performances at the Mother’s Day Regatta where they edged out a crew from E.L. Crossley followed by a second-place finish to Crossley at the Stotesbury Cup Regatta.
The race is particularly meaningful to Nixon.
“Since I’m a senior, this will be my last regatta with the crew,” Nixon said. “I’m going into it with just thinking about everything we’ve done and all the hard work we have put in. Gold would be amazing, but I think it’s more important we go out and have a good race and show all the work we’ve put in this season and have the best race we can have.”
The crew, minus newcomer Postma, placed second at last year’s CSSRA.
“I’m so excited,” Pieckenhagen added. “The whole crew is ecstatic for this opportunity, getting to go back two years in a row. We’re super pumped to get back on the water.
“We all want the same achievement. We’re all striving to be the best and have the same goals.”
Swick comes from an athletic background — brother Trent plays for the Kitchener Rangers while uncle Matt is a former Olympic rower — and feels chemistry could be the key to success.
“We work together well,” she said. “We’re together 24/7 and you don’t get sick of each other. We’re like a family. Like sisters. We have that bond that will last a lifetime.”
Swick and Pieckenhagen will also team up in the senior women’s double while Nixon and Postma will combine in the senior women’s pair.
This year the regatta welcomes 131 schools, 1,420 athletes and 653 entries from across Canada, the USA and beyond.
Racing begins Friday at 9 a.m. and Saturday at 8 a.m. All finals will be held Sunday beginning a 8 a.m. and concluding with the final race at 3:15 p.m.
STOTESBURY RESULTS
Following are all the local crews who competed in finals at the Stotesbury Cup Regatta.
Junior girls double: 1. Denis Morris (Kailey McKimm and Rheagan Hamm); 3. Saint Michael ( Ashlyn Fehr and Ava Hodgson); 4. Even (Isabella Essig and Kennedy Bartel).
Junior boys double: 2. Eden (Mathias Essig and Colin Hughes); 3. Churchill ( Arden White and Levi Patterson-Raby)
Lightweight boys double: 2. Blessed Trinity (Christian Lobo, Carson Fernick and Tye Surface).
Freshman boys quad: 5. Ridley (Aiden MacPhail, Ashton Kidd, Eason Gong and Luke Winterbottom).
Junior girls quad: 1. E.L. Crossley (Sarah Stacey, Emma Goedhart, Emmerson Darling, Juliette Freure and Sarah Graham; 2. Ridley College (Sydney Swick, Charlotte Pieckenhagen, Teagan (TJ) Goertz, Jade Postma, Rachel Mason and Jiaya (Jade) Li).
Lightweight boys four: 1. E.L. Crossley (Lucas Riddle, Liam Shapland, James Cuff, Andy Nawrocki, Dario Cirello, Mason Kirton and Mike Giguere).
Senior girls double: 1. Churchill (Makeda Harrison and Kairsen Frick).
Senior boys double: 1. West Niagara Rowing Club (Val Hudson and Matthew Winslade); 3. Saint Francis (Leo Biancaniello and Jackson Schwand).
Senior boys quad: 4. Ridley College (Caillen Pieckenhagen, Elliott Leal, Benjamin Oabel, Mahmoud Radwan, Liam McFarland and Ethan Postma).
Senior boys single: 1. E.L. Crossley (Alessio Perco).
Senior girls single: 3. Eden (Ingrid Eshuis); 6. Myer (Mackenzie Murray).
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