Rowing brings college offers

Lakota East’s Grim getting calls from Division-I schools; West’s Dittrich getting looks from Division-III.

Lakota East High School senior Bethany Grim (left), 17, has been rowing with the Great Miami Rowing Center in Hamilton for less than a year, yet she is being recruited by Division I colleges. She can row 2,000 meters in 7 minutes, 38 seconds.

Staff photo by Samantha Grier Lakota East High School senior Bethany Grim (left), 17, has been rowing with the Great Miami Rowing Center in Hamilton for less than a year, yet she is being recruited by Division I colleges. She can row 2,000 meters in 7 minutes, 38 seconds.

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By Everdeen Mason, Staff Writer 1:22 AM Thursday, September 17, 2009

HAMILTON — When Bethany Grim was in seventh grade, she was diagnosed with an enlarged heart with irregular beats. Instead of playing sports, she went into surgery.

Years later, the senior from Lakota East is being recruited by Division I colleges such as Syracuse for being able to row 2,000 meters in only 7 minutes, 38 seconds.

“My coach laid it on me there was a possibility that if I wanted to, I could row in college,” Grim said. “At that point I hadn’t been in a boat yet. I wasn’t really interested, but by the end of spring season I thought I’d give it a shot.”

Grim has been on the junior rowers varsity team with the Great Miami Rowing Center in Hamilton since November of last year. Teammate Ashley Dittrich is also being recruited for rowing by several Division III schools.

“I love the competition, I just love racing,” the Lakota West senior said. Dittrich has been rowing since GMRC began in 2007.

Their coach, Jackie Kleinhans, said because of the money involved in women’s rowing, there is a lot of opportunity for GMRC rowers to be recruited.

“Bethany and Ashley are our first recruiting class; the potential for athletes to be recruited out of GMRC is huge,” she said.

Of course the women have worked very hard to be good enough to row in college. Kleinhans said the junior rower varsity team rows every weekday for two hours, and on Saturdays for three hours.

The team members really “push each other; they’re a very tightknit group,” Kleinhans said. “They come out here six days a week and they push themselves every day. It comes from the athletes, their souls. Rowing takes a lot of dedication.”

As a former scholarship rower for the University of Cincinnati, Kleinhans knows how much work it takes to make it.

“Not every woman rower is going to be recruited. They have to be fast enough and Bethany and Ashley are fast enough,” Kleinhans said.

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