Bear Creek athlete rows at junior nationals on graduation day

Senior Justin Buckley (pictured fourth from right) missed The Bear Creek School’s Class of 2018 graduation ceremony on June 9 to row for Sammamish Rowing Association’s Varsity 8+ in the U.S. Junior National Championship at Lake Natoma in Rancho Cordova, California. They took 13th in 6:18.7. His shell won the Pacific Northwest Championship on May 20, setting a course record at 5:58.12 in the 2,000-meter event. Next year, Buckley will compete on the lightweight rowing team at Yale University, where he plans to study math, computer science and music. Here’s a list of all the athletes pictured at the PNW championship: Jack Ulmer (Sammamish), Jason Pyke (Bellevue), Landon Fick (Bellevue), Max Mason (Redmond), Logan McKerlich (Sammamish), Buckley (Redmond), Jonny Smith (Sammamish), and Adam Hamshou (Bellevue), as well as SRA men’s coach Eliza Dickson. In front holding their trophy is coxswain Sam Lalor (Sammamish). The other seniors in the boat were Pyke and McKerlich, both of whom will be rowing for the University of Washington; Smith, who will be rowing at Western Washington University; and Ulmer, who will row at the University of Wisconsin. Courtesy photo