The 2025 USRowing Youth National Championships will return to Sarasota, Florida, for the fifth consecutive year. This weekend will mark the 30th anniversary of the contest, and Nathan Benderson Park will host more than 10,000 athletes, coaches, and spectators. This year, the Men’s Youth Varsity Coxed Four holds 28 entrants who will race for victory.
RowAmerica Rye
RowAmerica Rye is well regarded as a top program for eights in the US, a reputation they follow through into smaller boat classes too. In 2024, they placed fourth in the coxed four event at Youth Nationals. In terms of this season, Rye’s coxed four won the New York State Championships to qualify to race at Youth Nationals. While the coxed four requires some adaptation, Rye will no doubt rise to the occasion and look to dominate this event in addition to the eights.
Pittsford Crew
Hailing from Monroe County, New York, Pittsford has come onto the radar of many following age category eights and coxed fours. At Sarasota this weekend, the Pittsford men will race an under-17 eight and youth coxed four. In 2024, the program’s coxed four placed third in the B final, coming 11th overall. This past May, Pittsford placed just 0.1 seconds behind Rye at the New York State Championships, taking second. With a bid to race at Nationals, Pittsford will train hard to overturn the result from New York.
Pocock Youth Rowing
A program from Seattle, Washington, Pocock Youth Rowing has developed a reputation in the Northwest. The program’s coxed four placed fifth in 2024. This season, the PYR four won at the Windermere Cup in early May. The crew followed up this performance with a dominant win in the four at Northwest regionals just two weeks later. A fifth-place performance the previous year will surely motivate Pocock Youth Rowing to chase the podium this weekend.
Belmont Hill School
Belmont Hill School is a program on the Charles River that primarily rows coxed fours. This fact was evidenced by a clean sweep in the first, second, and third varsity fours at the New England Interscholastic Rowing Association Championships late this May. In addition, the varsity four set the course record, beating second place by seven seconds. Historic results include silver in 2023 and seventh in 2024. Belmont will look to bounce back from last year’s result and return to podium positions.
Orlando Area Rowing Society, Inc.
Rowing out of Orlando, Florida, OARS is a reputable program from the Southeast region. In 2024, the OARS coxed four placed sixth. This season, the four won Southeast Regionals by three seconds. This year’s crew is stroked by Tyler Murphy, a member of the US under-19 eight that placed second at Worlds this past summer. With plenty of experience under their belt, the crew from Orlando will look to improve on last year’s performance and break into the top five.
Predictions
I predict Pocock Youth Rowing can win the four this year. With no benchmarks to other crews, I believe this crew from Seattle can quietly assert their speed over the three days of racing. Next, I predict Rye to take silver due to their dominance in sweep events. Pittsford will follow tight, similar to the result at the New York State Championships. Next, I predict Belmont Hill over OARS as Belmont rows the coxed four year-round.
