Savannah Country Day rower headed to national junior rowing competition

When Savannah Country Day's Jake Weidner takes the water Friday in Oak Ridge, Tenn., he'll be one of 18 skullers in the 2012 United States Junior National Competition.

Weidner, a rising junior, qualified for the national event by winning the bronze medal at the Southeast Regional Rowing Regatta in Sarasota, Fla., on May 13.

"I was ecstatic that I qualified," he said. "At the end of the day, I can only go up. Only 18 guys qualified. I'm within the Top 18 single skullers in the country right now.

"Winning - that's fantastic. But anywhere I can get, this race can only help me."

The accomplishment also opened some other doors.

Weidner said a few different colleges and universities are recruiting him, including a couple of Ivy League schools. A good performance this weekend could only benefit him in the future.

"It's been an exciting process," he said.

Though he received an invitation to the development camp for the U.S. National Team, he said he is unable to attend due to other commitments.

"That invitation alone positions me well for the U.S. National Team," he said.

A good performance this weekend, he said, could propel him into the Ivy League.

"I'm talking with places like Harvard and Columbia," he said. "If I was able to win the national championships, then they would put a lot of weight on that. That would definitely help me in the admissions and recruitment process."

SCD rowing coach Martha Thwait Weeks said that Weidner's accolades will help expand local interest in the sport and were well deserved.

"He's determined, and he has an unbelievable work ethic," Weeks said. "He loves spending time with his buddies. It's not like he thinks he's special. He'll go out and row with anybody I put him in a boat with, no questions asked."

According to Allison Frederick, communications manager at the United States Rowing Association, the number of members in the Junior U.S. Rowing ranks have increased 14-fold, from 986 in 2007-2008 to 14,474 in 2010-2011.

Weidner said most of the top rowers come from Florida.

"It's rare for anybody from Georgia or South Carolina to be able to go because of all the different powerhouses that come out of Florida. They get so much more time on the water because the weather down there is so much better.

"To be able to go and represent Georgia, Savannah, specifically, I'm overwhelmed. It's a huge honor."

Weidner said he hasn't really thought about his post-collegiate rowing career, but he is interested in participating in a certain set of games that take place in London this year.

"If I could make the national team or go to the Olympics, that would be fantastic," he said.