Poway grad helps US rowing team triumph

Mary Jeghers, a 2007 Poway High graduate about to start her senior year at the University of California, Berkeley helped Team USA win the Women’s Under-23 World Rowing Championships this summer.

Jeghers traveled to Brest, Belarus, to be part of the Women’s 8 team, which won its third gold medal in five years.

The team was up against five other boats and the championship was decided by two races. The first decided lane assignment and the second was for the championship.

In the second race, the American team was in second place at the 500-meter mark, part of four crews that were racing within less than a second from each other, according to a release by the U.S. Rowing Association.

In the end, Team USA finished the race in 6:31.97, a 4.51-second victory over New Zealand. Canada finished in third place at 6:38.16.

“Getting gold was really thrilling and definitely one of my best races,” Jeghers said in an e-mail while traveling through Europe. “I will never forget that my teammates were determined to win and would not settle for less than the gold. We all were relaxed, calm, and knew what we needed to do. I think that helped move us forward in front of the other crews.”

This was the second time that Jeghers has been part of the U23 team. Last year, when the competition was held in Prague, Jeghers helped the team capture a silver medal.

Jeghers was picked for the team after attending a six-week camp at the Olympic Center in San Diego and in New Jersey. Only 25 rowers are selected to take part in the camp.

Jeghers said being part of the team has been given her a tremendous opportunity to compete and also to meet other rowers.

“The U23 team is made up of the top college rowers across the country,” Jeghers said. “During training, you become close friends with girls that are collegiate rivals. I have made some great friends over the past two summers.”

Jeghers, who started racing with the San Diego Rowing Club during her junior and senior year of high school, said she instantly fell in love with the sport after attending a week-long camp.

“From the first time I was out in the boat, I loved the sport,” she said, noting that she practiced every day after school for two and a half hours.

“Rowing is the hardest, most intense, and rewarding sport that I have ever competed in,” said Jeghers, who noted that it demands both physical and technical skills as well as extreme team work to succeed.

She said that during her senior year at Cal, she’d like to help the team win its fourth straight Pac-10 championship and to win a national championship for the Golden Bears.

She added that she will not be eligible for the U23 team next year and is hoping to be selected for the senior national team upon graduation.