SARASOTA, FL, June 10, 2024: San Miguel Academy oarsmen made it to the highest level of junior rowing by qualifying for the third year in a row for the USROWING Youth National Championships in Sarasota, Florida. With sponsorships from some of the most prestigious funders in the world of sports, including the New York Giants Foundation, A Most Beautiful Thing Inclusion Fund, and the Head of the Charles/ Philadelphia Gold Cup Foundation, a total of 10 rowers in two boats represented San Miguel Academy in the Mens U15 4x category: two 6th graders, four 7th graders, and four 8th graders. Other teams in the U15 category, which is the youngest level of competition and relatively new for USRowing, were from some of the most prestigious programs in the country, most of whom row year-round in warm weather climates.
San Miguel Academy Rowing is 100% scholarship-driven, serving low-opportunity youth in Newburgh, NY, a city struggling with systemic poverty and unrelenting violence. Newburgh is consistently ranked among our nation’s most dangerous cities. Access to the elite sport of rowing for underserved youth creates opportunities that support the mission of San Miguel Academy: to break the cycle of poverty through education.
San Miguel Rowing Boat A finished in 5th place and Boat A finished in 7th place in the B finals on Saturday. Coxswain Emiliano Cervantes, in his second appearance at Youth Nationals, remarked, “It can be intimidating to see the size and strength of other teams, but I’m proud of my rowers because they maintained their position in the middle of the pack and posted a really respectable time.” As a rising 8th grader, Emiliano has his sights set on the A finals in 2025.
