Craftsbury is excited to have 16 college athletes participating in this summer’s GRP Under-23 (U23) sculling program.

This was a hard year for these and all college athletes who had their spring seasons canceled due to COVID-19. Some of our U23s already have had their 2020 fall seasons changed or canceled. Sadly, others have been notified that their programs have been cut by their universities. We feel deeply for them, and we hope this summer at Craftsbury will be a bright spot in an otherwise difficult year. We are really excited to have these 16 bubbly go-getters join the GRP this summer!

They are coached by the talented duo of Nicole Ritchie and Steve Whelpley.

Nathan Phelps of Ridgefield, Connecticut, is a rising junior at Princeton University. This is his second summer as part of the GRP U23 team. Last summer, Nate was in the men's quad that represented the United States at the U23 World Championships in Sarasota, FL. This summer, he was chosen for the Men's U23 Sweep Selection Camp.

Jackson Hardin joins us from Cambridge, Massachusetts, and is a rising junior at Cornell. As a sophomore, Jackson helped the four boat place top-10 at the Head of the Charles. Jackson, who rowed in the varsity 8+ his sophomore year, is a former cross country skier!

Alexander Robertson, a Hamilton, Ontario, native, is a rising sophomore at Dartmouth. Alex rowed on the varsity men’s team his freshman year. He rowed the Princeton Chase his freshman year and won his boat class.

James Wright is from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He just finished his sophomore year at Stanford. Last year, James joined us late in the summer and represented the GRP and the United States as the Men’s Single in Sarasota, Florida, at the U23 World Championships. He was also chosen for U23 Sweep Selection Camp this summer.

Thomas Foltz, a Chesterfield, Virginia, native just finished his sophomore year at Virginia Tech. He rowed on the varsity four his freshman year, placing fourth at the ACRA National Championship.

Michael Small is a Belle Meade, New Jersey, native and a Rutgers University student who just finished up his junior year. Michael was the team captain at Rutgers last year, where he was in the first varsity eight boat.

Porter Weisberg is from Lake Forest, Illinois, and is a rising sophomore at Stanford. Porter started rowing his senior year in high school, where he was named most-improved oarsman. Recruited by Stanford, he stroked the second varsity eight his freshman year.

Will Legenzowski is a Vista, New York, native and a student at Brown. He just finished his sophomore year with the Bears. In the fall, he was in the varsity eight that placed sixth and third among college crews in the Championship Eight at the Head of the Charles.

Isa Darvin, from Madison, Wisconsin, rows for the University of Wisconsin and has just finished her junior year. She was selected this summer and last for the U23 Women's National Team Selection Camp. While at GRP this summer, she will do zoom erg practices with the U23 selection camp.

Lindsey Rust, a Roslyn, New York, native and member of the Stanford Lightweight Team, just completed her freshman year. Prior to Stanford, she competed at the Under-19 World Championships in Tokyo, finishing fourth. In 2019, Lindsey set a few world records on the erg for lightweight women ages 17-18.

Grace Joyce, from Northfield, Illinois, is returning for her third summer with the GRP U23s. Last summer, she raced in the lightweight double that competed at U23 Worlds in Sarasota, FL. And the previous summer, she raced in the lightweight quad that raced at U23 Worlds in Poznan, Poland. Both summers placing sixth! This fall, Grace will join the GRP squad full time. We are very excited to have her with us.

Elaine Tierney, from West Chester, Pennsylvania, is a rising senior at Temple. In 2018 she helped the varsity eight tie the best-ever team finish for Temple at the American Athletic Conference Championship. Elaine was also invited to the U23 Lightweight Selection Camp in 2019.

Emily Molins is from Wilmette, Illinois, and is a rising junior at Stanford. As a freshman for the Stanford lightweight eight, Emily helped lead her boat to an IRA National Championship in 2019.

Christina Hostetter is from Puerto Montt, Chile. She just finished her freshman year at Temple. Christina raced in the 2018 Junior World Championships in Racice, Czech Republic, and finished third for Chile in the Women’s Pair. In 2018, she raced at the Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Emily Winslow, an Etna, New Hampshire, native, has just finished her senior year at the University of Rhode Island. She received her bachelor’s degree in May, 2019 and will complete her MBA this fall at URI, while continuing to row. She had NCAA Championships appearances in 2018 and 2019. And she raced at the Women’s Henley in England in 2018.

Kate Ball is from Hanover, New Hampshire, and attends Wellesley, where she just completed her sophomore year. As a freshman, she was in the varsity eight that placed third in the DIII NCAA Championships. Last year, she was part of the Women’s Collegiate Eight ‘A’ that finished second at the Head of the Charles.

U23 Coach Nicole Ritchie. Nicole isn’t new to Craftsbury. She has coached at Craftsbury summer camps in the past, but this is the first time she is with us for the whole summer, coaching the GRP.

Nicole helped coach the senior GRP group this spring in Inverness, Florida, and we are really excited to have her back with the group.

Nicole is a Putney, Vermont, native and a highly decorated rower. In 2015, she won silver medals in both the Women’s double and Women’s quad events at the Pan American Games. She finished second in the Women’s double at the 2016 U.S. Olympic Trials.

Nicole graduated from Bates College in 2009, with a degree in environmental chemistry. While at Bates, she helped deliver two NCAA DIII National Championships and one second- place finish. A three-time first-team All American, Nicole was captain of the women's rowing team-and was captain of the nordic ski team, too.

After graduating from Bates, she rowed for seven years in Philadelphia, PA, for Vesper Boat Club. During her years as an elite rower, she also coached in the Philadelphia area. In 2016, after retiring from elite rowing, Nicole joined Temple University as a graduate assistant coach. While coaching the women's rowing team, she completed her master’s degree.

We are happy to have Nicole here with us this summer!

2020 U23 Rowers