Oak Ridge High School Senior Grace Torchiana has brought home a gold medal, among other accolades, from last week’s US Summer Nationals. The local rower that is a member of the Capital Crew faced inclement weather among other challenges in the competition that featured some of the best rowers in the nation at Lake Harsha in Bethel, Ohio
“I never thought that I would be able to call myself a National Champion, but while reflecting on all of the work I have put in over the past 2 years, I think it is safe to say that it was well deserved for both me and my teammates at camp,” said Torchiana, who was one of just 44 Under 19 (U19) women selected to train with the US Rowing Selection Development Camp (SDC) this summer.
“The experience I shared with the 90 other rowers at US Rowing U19 Selection Development Camp was incredible,” she added. “The bonds created out on the water, in the weight room, the erg room, and the dorms are bonds I never want to let go of.”
The SDC is an important layer of US Rowing Olympic Development Program and the bridge phase between development and U19 National Team Selection Camp. It serves to identify and invest in rowing’s top young athletes and support US Rowing’s future National Teams. The camp pairs skill work with performance-based training and racing to enhance the age-appropriate development of rowers and coxswains.
The program involved 3 weeks of training, with significant focus paid to long term athlete development and instilling the skills necessary for future success in the U19 and U23 system. The final week is set aside for testing of of the hard work at the US Rowing Summer Youth National Championship.
Torchiana competed in a total of four events, including time trials, semi-finals and in the Grand Finals where she and her teammates placed sixth or better in all four events.
In the U19 Youth Women’s 8+ Division, Torchiana and her teammates took a Bronze award with a third place time of 6:50.469. In the U19 Youth Women’s 4+ division they earned a sixth place finish with a time of 7:45.456. In the U23 Youth Women’s 2- division they finished fourth with a time of 7:58.456, a faster time than that of the winner in the Youth Women’s 8+ division.
The team’s strong run commenced in the highly contested Women’s Open 8+division where they turned a time of 6:29.61 seconds, earning the first place Gold award.
“I’m so grateful I was given the opportunity to train with some of the best coaches and strongest athletes I’ve ever met,” Torchiana said. “I am beyond blessed.”
This was Torchiana’s second year of ODP selection and participation. In 2022, she was selected and attended Youth Development Camp held at Nathan Benderson Park in Sarasota, FL. Torchiana trained successfully under several coaches, including Weston Cole of UCLA/Newport Athletic Club and distinguished herself in the ODP Cup, winning gold in 4 of 4 races where she was boated and stroked the 8+ and the 4+ in both the U17 age group and Open categories.
Torchiana is a varsity rower for Capital Crew Youth Rowing which trains out of Gold River. Capital Crew is a very successful non-profit competitive youth rowing organization of the Sacramento State Aquatic Center that has been in existence since 1989. It is based out of the Sacramento State Aquatic Center on Lake Natoma in Gold River, California. Capital Crew draws on high school age athletes from area schools to roster the team. Capital Crew begins training for Fall ‘23 season, August 21.
In addition to youth rowing, Torchiana is an Italian Honors student, a member of the ORHS chapter of the National Honor Society, a 5 year member and former Merci Award winner with National Charity League, El Dorado Hills Chapter, and a sports photographer since 2021 with ORHS Trojan Pride Sports Marketing.
With the success of camp behind here, Torchiana is now looking forward to her senior year at Oak Ridge and ultimately pursuing her athletic and academic goals with a NCAA Division I university.
