USRowing National High Performance Center Athlete Bios

Kevin Cardno Huntsville, AL	University of Alabama, Huntsville ’17. Kevin came to OKC right after his college graduation. At UAH, he was able to balance earning his Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering while having great success on the water. Excelling most in the Men's 1x, Kevin has many first-place finishes under his belt, including at ACRA National Championship Regatta and Head of the Hooch in 2017. He was also able to spend the most recent summer training at the New York Athletic Club, where he continued to add to his collection of medals at the USRowing Club National Championships and competed in the Royal Canadian Henley. Kevin is looking forward to further developing his skills both on and off the water at USRowing National High Performance Center, with hopes of making National and Olympic teams for the United States.
Katie Gibbons Olympia, WA	University of Denver ’16. Katie was introduced to sweep rowing as a 20-year-old junior transfer student. She was quickly hooked, and elected Vice President of the team; a position she held through her senior year. During her 2 years of collegiate rowing, her 4+ took 5th overall at the ACRA National Championship Regatta, she won the “Hammer Award” for the DU women’s team, and took home various medals from a number of indoor erg sprints and regattas. She was able to maintain balance with rowing and academics, which got her name on the ‘16 ACRA All-Academic Team, and she graduated with high honors and distinction in her major. After graduating, her focus shifted toward building a career, though she missed rowing, and began learning to scull during her free time in Texas at TRC. She moved to OKC In the Spring of ‘17, and continued rowing with the Masters. It was then that she realized she wanted to pursue rowing at a higher level, and joined the ‘17 OKCHPC Summer Development Program, where she and her teammates finished 1st in their 4x at the USRowing Club National Championships. After the program ended, she began training full-time, and intends to follow this amazing sport as far as she can take it, with current sights set on competing for the US National Team.
Elizabeth Hinley McHenry Co., IL	University of North Texas, BA ’14, MS ’18. Liz graduated with a B.A. in Music and a M.S. in Kinesiology from the University of North Texas. After graduating with her masters, Liz attended the United States Olympic Committee’s Next Olympic Hopeful program in July 2018 where she was identified as a potential rower by USRowing. As a talent transfer athlete, Liz came into the sport of rowing with a triathlon career. During her collegiate triathlon club experience, she represented Team USA as an age group athlete in the 2015 Chicago Sprint World Championship and the 2016 Oklahoma City Long Course World Championship. In the 2017-2018 South Midwest Regional Conference Championship and Omnium, she earned first place in both events. Her most recent competitions were the 2018 NCAA Women’s Triathlon Regional Championship in Sarasota, Florida and the National Championship in Tempe, Arizona. Much of her success in learning the various aspects of rowing she dedicates to her background in triathlon and her talents as a musician. Being a percussionist afforded her a great sense of rhythm and body awareness that transfers into the necessary skills to become a competitive rower. She is very excited to represent the OKC High Performance Team and looks forward to working diligently in hopes of competing nationally and internationally.
Frank Horpel Castro Valley, CA	Oregon State University ’18. Frank majored in Sociology. Frank is a new member of the OKC HP as of January 8th, 2019. He was introduced to the sport of rowing at age 21 and never looked back. After a 13-year career as a competitive swimmer, including 7-time high school All American honors and a 2-year collegiate run, Frank decided to take up what was in his roots, rowing. Both of Frank’s parents were varsity rowers at University of California, Berkeley, his mother being a member of the first women’s team to win a National Championship for the university. While Frank is still relatively new to the sport of rowing (two years on varsity sweep team at Oregon State and one full season as a sculler), he has already had considerable success. Recently, he earned second place in the double scull at US Nationals, as well as a second place finish in the double scull at the Pan Am Games Trials. Frank is from Castro Valley, California.
Matt Koehler Amery, WI	University of St. Thomas ’15. Matt graduated from University of St. Thomas with a Mechanical Engineering Degree. He has 4 years of collegiate rowing experience, making finals in the Men’s 2- at the Dad Vail Regatta, and currently holding the record 2k erg time at Saint Thomas. Matt has been sculling since graduation, coached by James Dundon at 612 Endurance in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He finished 9th in the Men’s Club Single at the Head of Charles Regatta in 2015, 1st in the Men's 2x at NWIRA Championship Regatta and 1st in the Men’s 1x at Chicago Sprints in 2017. Matt’s next goal is to compete at the National Selection Regattas in sculling events. He is also looking forward to connecting with the Oklahoma City rowing community.
Rosemary Kyne Nashville, TN	Bates College ‘18. Rosemary began rowing her senior year of high school at the Nashville Rowing Juniors Program. During her first year at Bates, she rowed in the 2V 8+ that took gold at the NCAA Championships and won the D3 Team National Title. The next three years Rosemary earned a spot in the 1V 8+ and helped her team win two more National Championship titles (‘17 and ‘18). She also raced with the Oxford University team while studying abroad. Her senior year as co-captain at Bates was capped off with a Head of the Charles win in the Collegiate 8+ and winning gold in the 1V 8+ at NCAAs for the first time in Bates history. Additionally, Rosemary earned College Rowing Coaches Association Second Team D3 All-American status in both her junior and senior years at Bates. Rosemary earned a College Rowing Coaches Association Scholar Athlete Award and a Senior Scholar Award from Bates. She is excited to see how far rowing can take her and hopes to one day earn a spot competing for the U.S. on a National Team.
LaDarren Landrum Spartanburg, SC	United States Olympic Committee’s Next Olympic Hopeful, '18. The Next Olympic Hopeful is a talent transfer program that the National Governing Bodies of the Olympic Training Committee created to scout athletes from different sport backgrounds and give them a chance to take on a new one. LaDarren competed for 8 spots in 8 different sports against 90 athletes selected from all over the country. It was filmed and aired on NBC Sports Network in November 2018. He won NBC's Scouting Camp: The Next Olympic Hopeful for the sport of rowing, a sport he had no clue existed prior to the application process for the program. However, his experience in the Marine Corps and in the fitness industry seemed to put him just where he needed to be to gain the attention of USRowing and the OKC National High Performance Center enough to join the high performance team. LaDarren is ready to take this new found sport head on and compete at the Olympic level in the near future.
Stanley Mason Houston, TX	Columbia University ‘23. Stanley started rowing as a novice on Greenwich Crew in Greenwich, Connecticut. His greatest rowing accomplishments are finishing 7th at the 2017 Head of the Charles and a 5th place finish at the 2018 USRowing Youth National Championships in the Boys V8+. He spent the most recent summer learning to scull in OKC and hopes to become a more proficient rower in the single throughout the year before heading off to Columbia University in the fall of 2019. Stanley aspires to be in the 1V 8+ his freshman year at Columbia and eventually lead the team to a National Championship win.
Hilton Park Edmond, OK	University of Oklahoma ’21. Hilton is an up-and-coming Oklahoman who graduated high school at Edmond Memorial in 2017. Hilton was a member of the OKC Riversport Junior program for four years. He says his greatest accomplishment so far is finishing 2nd at the USRowing Youth National Championships in the Men’s 4+ in 2017. HIs goal is not only going to the World Championships and the Olympics, but to also break limits and barriers along the way because he wants to leave his mark in the sport of rowing.
John Puzz Houston, TX	University of Oklahoma ’21. John started rowing his freshmen year of high school and gradually came to love the sport with every competition. He would continue to compete throughout high school and eventually place 6th in the Men’s 1x in the USRowing Youth National Championships his senior year. He then trained in OKC for a few months before rowing for Florida Tech for a year. He eventually came back and train at the OKC High Performance Center while pursuing a degree in Environmental Engineering from OU. John wants to find out how far he can go in the sport and compete in the Olympics, and looks forward to the road ahead.