Quaker Valley freshman MacDonald hits his stride at indoor rowing championship

By: Karen Kadilak
Friday, January 31, 2020 | 5:14 PM

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Quaker Valley freshman Alex MacDonald is shining as a first-year rower.

MacDonald, 14, earned a bronze medal in the under-16 boys final in the Pittsburgh Indoor Rowing Championship meet Jan. 25 at Carnegie Mellon. One of 28 finishers, he did 2,000 meters on an erg in 7 minutes, 21.6 seconds.

“Alex did a great job,” said Matt Grau, MacDonald’s coach with the Three Rivers Junior Rowing team on Washington’s Landing. “He was racing in an age-based category, rather than a skill-based category.

“Despite being a novice, he was racing against some varsity athletes. I think he was surprised by how well he did.”

The 6-foot-1 MacDonald said he likes the people because they are super nice.

“I also like the sport because it uses a lot of new skills and is very different from the other sports I have played,” he said. “My medal does inspire me because it is a reminder of my improvement and achievements.

“(It) shows me I have potential. My goals for the rest of the season are (to) pull under a 1:50 split on my 2K and possibly break seven minutes on my 2K.”

Grau said MacDonald is still very young.

“He will need to continue training hard, while focusing on the technical aspects that are important to lock down in the first year,” he said.

MacDonald will try for gold Feb. 22 at the North Allegheny Indoor Championships.

Grau said his team had a lot of success across the board.

“We have some big goals for the spring,” he said. “Strong performances at indoor races help us know we were on track.”

Tags: Quaker Valley