It’s been an exceptional year for Delaware high school and middle school rowers! Heading to Nationals in June are Brendan Wren, a Senior at Wilmington Friends School, and partner Dumonde ‘Slam’ Dunkley, a Senior at Middletown High School. Wren and Dunkley are members of Wilmington Youth Rowing Association (WYRA), and they qualified in the pair at the Mid-Atlantic Youth Regionals at Mercer Park, NJ. Racing for the first time as a pair, Brendan and Slam borrowed an old (and heavy!) wooden boat from the University of Delaware for Regionals and still had one of the best qualifying times.
The WYRA Men’s lightweight 4 team also qualified for Nationals. Those team members are Devante Nichols, Dylan Flogaus, Josh Binder, and Andrew Brown. Coxswain: Nolan Donahue.
Younger WYRA rowers also have had a memorable year of competition, placing in every race this season and winning gold. The WYRA Mens Novice 8 team took home six gold and one silver medals this season, which culminated in last weekend’s championship, where they again won gold for their division. Also at the Mid-Atlantic Championships, the Womens Novice 4 earned gold, and Womens Novice 8 won silver. A season highlight was the Saratoga Regatta, where the Mens Novice 8 and Mens Novice 4 competed against several New England teams and earned gold place and silver.
Congratulations to these outstanding athletes!
Photos courtesy of WYRA parents Kevin Wren and Chris Saridakis
