Hard work pays off with trip to nationals for Brauer brothers

By: Ted Sarneso
Saturday, June 14, 2025 | 11:46 PM

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In the sport of rowing, consistency plays a key role.

It helps when crews stick together so that everyone is familiar with each other’s cadences and strategy, so that the team can put forth its best effort and emerge victorious in a race.

Grant and Christian Brauer, who row for Three Rivers Rowing, took a slightly more difficult routes to qualify for the USRowing Youth National Championships that were scheduled for June 12-15 in Sarasota, Fla.

In rowing, there are numerous boats with crews ranging from a single person up to eight members. There are also special signs that follow the number to help differentiate what type of equipment and crew are on board.

For example, a boat of eight rowers with single oars would be labeled as (8). If the boat is led by a coxswain (pronounced cox’n), who is someone that is responsible for steering, safety and race strategy, then the shorthand would be (8+).

A boat with four rowers and no coxswain would look like this: (4-). And if rowers are using two oars, then an “x” would follow the number (4x, for example).

Grant, who graduated from Eden Christian Academy, and his rowing partner Charlie Aber were going to do something they had never done before.

“We went into the Midwest Championships having no idea how we would place because neither of us had ever raced a pair (2-) before,” Grant said.

The Midwestern Championships are a qualifying race for nationals held May 17-18 in Bethel, Ohio, which is 45 minutes southeast of Cincinnatti.

The only chance Grant and Aber had to race together came two weeks earlier in the Indianapolis Sprints, where they put together a good racing plan.

“We got off the start and were up on the competition and remained up the whole way, which gave us confidence going into the Midwest Championships,” Grant said. “We felt our race plan was good, so we decided to use it again.”

Grant and Aber took home first place in the Midwest Championships and even defeated a team that placed sixth at nationals last year. Their stellar performance puts them in good position for one of the top tiers.

At nationals, rowers and rowing teams are classified into five tiers, ranging from A to E based off their qualifying times. The top teams compete in the A tier.

This is Grant’s third time at nationals. Two years ago, he rode in two events: the U17 men’s single, where he placed 13th in the country, and the men’s coxed four (4+), where his team placed 25th.

Last year, he rode in a coxed four (4+) and his team finished 15th, which put them third in the C tier, the only tier Grant has competed in, for a specific reason.

“In my past two experiences, I have not taken my time trials seriously,” Grant said. “Thursday is the day to run trials, and I intend to treat these trials like they could be my last rowing for Three Rivers. Our goal is to make the A tier.”

The duo set themselves up nicely, posting the fifth-best time in men’s youth pair heading into those time trials.

Christian Brauer, who will be a sophomore at Eden Christian in the fall, also went into nationals in a new situation.

At the Midwest Champiosnhips, Christian and his teammates Preston Thornton-Elliott, Charlie Inman and Jasper Morris competed in a quad (4-), never having practiced in a quad before, let alone with all four in the same boat.

“It was a new experience for all of us, having to get in the boat and immediately adjust to be able to do well,” Christian said. “I was worried how we would do, but it all worked out and we placed fourth, which qualified us for nationals.”

This will be Christian’s second time competing at Nationals. Last year he competed in a coxed squad (4+) with pretty much the same crew sans Thronton-Elliott.

“We were last in B finals last year, which put us 16th in that category,” Christian said.

This year’s foursome will be competing in the men’s U17 quadruple sculls (4x), which will be without a coxswain.

For Christian, the only thing that matters is that he and his teammates practice what he learned from last year’s competition.

“If we stay in that positive mindset, good things will happen,” he said.

Both Brauer brothers spoke of the importance of being mentally strong when it comes to rowing competitions and practice. Even though it does demand a physical toll, the only way to bring success is to be able to block out a lot.

“A major portion of it is totally mental,” Christian said. “It’s such a competitive team sport that even going up against guys in practice can be a challenge. If someone gets the better of you, it starts the thinking process where you’re out there thinking, ‘Who’s going to beat me? Who should I be worried about?’ And that carries over into competition.”

“At a high-level competition, everyone is physically fit and put in the work,” Grant said. “It’s about who’s more willing to push harder past the lactic acid buildup, who’s willing to put themselves in what we call the ‘pain cave.’ Whoever can last the longest in that mental zone is typically the one who wins.”

Grant began rowing in seventh grade at Pine-Richland before rowing at Three Rivers in eighth grade. He started attending Eden Christian in ninth grade. Christian began his rowing journey also in seventh grade for Three Rivers.

Since then, the pair have honed their skills in what can only be described to the uninitiated as a grueling practice regime.

If the weather isn’t cooperating, they’ll spend usually 90 minutes on the rowing machine either in steady state sessions, where they’ll put their hearts in a mid-range, which ends up being long-distance cardio.

Then other days, they’ll do what’s called Anaerobic Threshold sessions, where they’re pushing their body to its limits. That’s where they get that buildup of lactic acid.

As far as competitions go, in the fall, they compete in what are called head races, which are a five kilometers time trial race where the boats have staggered starts and whoever finishes the fastest is the winner.

In the spring, they race a 2K where all the boats are lined up in six lanes and begin at the same time. The first to cross the finish line wins.

There aren’t many high schools locally that offer rowing. Large schools like Pine-Richland, North Allegheny, Fox Chapel and Central Catholic have teams, with Central Catholic being the biggest and most competitive team.

Three Rivers Rowing is a travel team that has gone to races in Ohio, New York and Indiana on occasion. Some of the local races are the Rustbelt Gran Prix in the spring and the Head of the Ohio in the fall.

“That’s a big local race, and all the local schools send their teams to that,” Grant said. “There’s a lot of out-of-state teams that come in for it as well.”

Even though they have never shared a boat before in a competitive setting, the brothers are always eager to talk rowing, giving each other feedback, words of encouragement and bouncing things off each other. Each had positive things to say about the other.

“Without Grant, I don’t think I would know what I’m doing,” Christian said. “Talking with him about the sport gives me a new perspective and gives me a better way to look at it. He’s been through it all, so he knows what to tell me, knows what’s going on and what to do.”

“I see a lot of grit in him,” Grant said. “He is a very determined individual, and he just wants to win. When I was in ninth grade, I didn’t have that mindset. I wasn’t thinking that way.

“He sets a really good standard and culture, and that’s a unique quality to have and is something that will serve him well as he gets older.”

Grant is off to Syracuse University in the fall, having been recruited to their rowing team, and is excited for the opportunity.

“I’m honored to be recruited for a team like Syracuse, and I’m very excited to be rowing at a very high-level program,” Grant said. “They’re ranked sixth in the country, so there’s a very high standard going in, and my goal is to train as hard as I can and do the best I can to make the best boat I can.”

Christian still has three more years of high school left and is determined to become one of the best rowers in the area and hopefully get a full ride like his brother.

“I hope to improve and learn from this whole year and keep in that mindset of continuing to plug away at it and do the best I can,” Christian said.

Tags: Eden Christian