Masters’ rowers bring back a gold medal from Vancouver.

The Bainbridge Island Rowing Club won its first ever regional title last weekend at the 2011 USRowing Northwest Masters Regional Championships at Vancouver Lake in Vancouver, Wash.

Over 100 crews from Washington, Oregon, Colorado and California competed in 35 events over the three-day meet.

The masters’ men’s  four of no. 1 rower Bill McGonagle, no. 2 rower Kurt Frost, stroke Mark Olason and coxswain Rachele Turnbull won in a time of 3:41.98.

They finished in front of Station L of Portland by over a second.

Frost, McGonagle and Olsason rowed on the crew team at the University of Washington, while Fleet rowed for Rice University and Turnbull was a coxswain at Oregon State.

“This win is a great encouragement for all of us,” said Grant Dull, the former president of BIRC in a statement.

35 men and women competed for BIRC at the regional championships.

The mixed quad took second in the E+ final to Ashland by over a second, while the women’s four took second in the E final and the D final.

The women’s eight took third in the D final and third in the E+ final.

Divers make Zone Championships

The Bainbridge Island Diving Club traveled to the Tualatin Hills Aquatic Center in Beaverton, Ore. to compete in the U.S. Diving Junior Olympic Region 10 Championships June 10-12.

The top 15 divers in each age group qualify to compete at the Zone Championships July 7-10 in Tuscon, Ariz.  Divers from California, Oregon, Washington, Utah, Arizona, and Nevada competed.

For Bainbridge Island, Shannon Engelbrecht qualified for Zones in two events in the girls 14-15 age group.

On the 1 meter board she scored 278.75 for a 12th place finish and then placed eighth with a score of 287.35 on the 3 meter springboard.

Cammy Rouser scored 175.90 points on the 1 meter springboard – placing 15th, – and did even better on the 3 meter springboard, scoring 180.10 points to finish 14th and qualifying her for both events at the Zone Championships.

In her first Junior Olympic competition in the girls’ 12-13-year-old age group, Angela Kaurin placed 18th on the 1 meter springboard with a score of 122.15 points and took 16th in the 3 meter with a score of 130.70 points.

In the girls 16-18 age group, Kittie Cooper finished 26th on the 1 meter springboard and 25th on the 3 meter springboard.