Parkersburg’s Nanna Kehr earns gold medal at SRAAs

Parkersburg’s Nanna Kehr, left, celebrates after claiming the Girls Senior Single gold medal at the SRAA Scholastic Rowing National Championship Saturday in Pennsauken, N.J. (Photo Provided)

PENNSAUKEN, N.J. — Madi Lovejoy and Wilkey Smith probably couldn’t hear Nanna Kehr as they crossed the finish line, but the Parkersburg High School rower was cheering as loud as she could.

Kehr, a foreign-exchange student from Denmark, was watching the Marietta High School rowers win the gold medal in the Girls Senior Double at the SRAA Scholastic Rowing National Championship on a choppy Cooper River on Saturday.

“I’ve been watching that double all season and keeping track of their times,” Kehr said. “I knew they were fast and could win it all.”

In fairness, Kehr has been blazing fast all year as well. The 16-year-old won the gold medal in the Girls Senior Single with a time of 6:07.200, more than two seconds faster than Miami Gulliver Prep’s Eden Alfi (6:09.680).

Kehr admitted she wasn’t sure how well she’d do going against some of the best in the U.S.

Marietta’s Wilkey Smith, left, and Madi Lovejoy celebrate after winning the Girls Senior Double gold medal at the SRAA Scholastic Rowing National Championship Saturday in Pennsauken, N.J. (Photo Provided)

“It’s a big country, so I wasn’t sure if I could do this,” she said. “At the start of the year, I wanted to go to nationals. I didn’t think it was impossible, but it seems kind of crazy to win.”

In her first race in the fall, Kehr lost to Lovejoy on the Muskingum River.

“I have enjoyed all the regattas in the U.S. I’ve been to international regattas and they are not as big,” Kehr said. “I’ve never raced with that many people watching.”

Kehr will return to Denmark on June 11.

“It has been an amazing experience,” she said. “I came from a more competitive team in Denmark. Our goal is to send people to the national team. It was a whole different experience. The team was more about having fun, and I enjoyed it. This was such a great ending to the year.”

Parkersburg’s Catherine Hayes and Clara Vanfossen finished fourth in the nation after rowing a 6:20.160 in the Girls Lightweight Senior Double. The duo missed earning a bronze medal by less than four seconds.

Lovejoy and Smith edged out Ridgewood (N.J.) Crew to earn the gold medal in 5:55.150. Ridgewood finished in 5:56.600. Earning the bronze medal was Albemarle High out of Charlottesville, Va.

While the Tigers thought they had won the race, they were not positive until they saw their coach, Tanner O’Connor holding the championship trophy on the medals dock.

“We really didn’t know. We were concentrating on what we were doing and gave everything we had to have a great last race,” Lovejoy said. “We finished the race and it immediately started raining. We sort of looked at each other and I think we were thinking, ‘did we just actually do that?’ Wilkey had a better view than I did.”

Smith added, “I was 95 percent certain we had won. Our last 15 strokes were really bad and our hands cramped up. We were going as hard as we could, but it was rough.”

Marietta’s coach was waiting at the medals dock for his champions.

“We are very proud of Madi and Wilkey,” O’Connor said. “The two of them have been such critical parts of our team for the last four years. Watching them win the National Championship this year was such a special way to see them cap off their scholastic rowing careers.”

The duo earned Marietta’s first national championship, but neither rower knew had made history until the ride home.

“We just started screaming and it was another reason to celebrate,” Lovejoy said. “But this was more than Wilkey and I winning. This was for our entire community. We’ve done it all together. We have heard from so many people, including alumni. It’s just so powerful to see that we aren’t doing it alone. As we have received these messages you realize you are not alone. It really makes you feel loved. It’s so beautiful that so many people care.”

The national championship was the perfect way for Lovejoy and Smith to close out their prep careers, which included four trips to the SRAA championships. In their first two years of rowing, they qualified in the Women’s Junior 4+ and again for the Varsity 4 last season.

Both rowers were confident a gold medal was possible.

“Of course, the goal is to perform well,” Lovejoy said. “Our coaches were very confident in our abilities, and preparing us for any outcome. I’ve tried to approach this season with a winner’s mindset. Every day at practice we did the best we could. We know we worked hard and to our fullest potential.”

Smith added, “Honestly it surprised us. We did so well in the heat, though, we knew it was possible. Before the final race, Tanner was talking to us and he told us he wanted us to go out strong and then hold it there. I don’t know if we fully believed him, but we did it.”

O’Connor said the duo’s impact on the Tiger Navy will reverberate for years.

“They’ve each left such a positive mark not only on our program, but in our lives,” O’Connor said. “Madi and Wilkey are a true testament to the power of commitment and their victory is a reflection of all the hard work put in by Tiger Navy athletes.”

On Sunday, Lovejoy and Smith wore their gold medals during Marietta graduation ceremonies.

“It’s been a wild 24 hours,” Lovejoy said.

Both student athletes will continue their rowing careers in college next year — Lovejoy at UCF and Smith at Louisville.

“We are so excited to watch them compete at the University of Central Florida and the University of Louisville,” O’Connor said. “They’ll both be missed, but we know they’ll be Tigers for life!”

Marietta also had two boys shells earn a spot in the nationals, but neither advanced.

The Boys Junior 4 finished fourth in its heat with a time of 5:26.028. The Marietta crew consisted of Vince Ingram, Liam Scott, Schroder McKay, Drennan Threatt, and coxswain Adyson Lang.

The Boys Senior 4 finished fourth in its heat with a time of 5:19.350. The Marietta crew consisted of Charlie Merrill, Nolan Parman, Eli Vessels, Pierson Stengel, and coxswain Audrey Porter.