4 members of Gig Harbor Canoe and Kayak Race Team selected for Team USA
Four members of the Gig Harbor Canoe and Kayak Racing Team were in Georgia last weekend competing for a chance to represent the U.S. in international competition this summer.
Olivia Crocker, Ryan Grady, Catherine Wilborn, Ziggy Norberg and coach Aaron Huston traveled to Lake Lanier Olympic Park just outside of Atlanta to take part in the Sprint Canoe/Kayak USA Team Trials. After a day of intense competition against the top sprint kayak and canoe athletes in the nation, all four Gig Harbor athletes were selected to be on Team USA.
Olivia Crocker, Ryan Grady, and Catherine Wilborn will represent the U.S. at the 2017 Junior World Championships in Pitesti, Romania in July. All three are senior Gig Harbor High School/Running Start students.
Crocker, 17, will attend Pacific Lutheran University in the fall. She received both academic and music scholarships from PLU, and plans on studying communications and piano performance. Crocker is also a Gig Harbor Students of Distinction nominee.
Grady, 17, will attend Whitworth University in Spokane, where he plans on studying engineering. Grady is an Eagle Scout with Gig Harbor Boy Scout Troop 212, plays piano with the Chapel Hill adult worship band, played violin with the Peninsula Youth Orchestra, and swam for GHHS.
Wilborn, 17, will attend University of Washington, where she earned direct admission to the College of Engineering and was admitted to the Honors Program.
Norberg, 23, will represent the U.S. at the 2017 Paracanoe World Championships in Racice, Czech Republic in August. Norberg was born with spina bifida, and this will be his fourth time as a para-athlete on Team USA. Norberg is a junior at Evergreen State College, where he a pre-law student focusing on sports and disability. He also plays wheelchair basketball for the Tacoma Titans.
Each athlete is responsible for the full cost of training for and participating in the World Championships. Both Crocker and Norberg have established Go Fund Me accounts to help offset their costs.
This story was originally published May 25, 2017 at 2:19 PM with the headline "4 members of Gig Harbor Canoe and Kayak Race Team selected for Team USA."