Dragon boat team wins gold on Lanier

A team of University of North Georgia (UNG) faculty, staff, students, and family members earned the gold in the collegiate division of the 200-meter race at the annual Atlanta Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festival at Lake Lanier Olympic Park in Gainesville, Georgia, on Sept. 10.

The team has participated nine times, the most recent race being in 2019, as the previous two years were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

UNG went up against the likes of Georgia Tech, Clemson University, Emory University, and Georgia State University. UNG had a winning time of 1:01.788 on its final heat, clinching the victory.

"This was a great team win for UNG. This year's boat was a mixture of new and experienced paddlers, and not all were able to attend the one practice for this event," said Neal Lin, team captain and lecturer of biology. "However, UNG won gold because of the hard work of each paddler on the boat and the ability of each paddler to participate as a team. Our competitive times showed how paddlers worked together effectively to help propel the dragon boat as one."

The dragon boat team was led by co-captains Lin and Gabe Fankhauser. Paddlers included Michael Bender, Ran Chen, Brandon Clark, Jaden Davidson, Adam Davis, Adam Frey, Allison Grundel, Victoria Hightower, Luying Huang, Yizhe Huang, Hannah Johnson, Evan Lampert, Jeanelle Morgan, Ella Reid, Sheila Schulte, Anita Turlington, Kelly West, Westry Whitaker, and Grace Witkowski.

Manager Anastasia Lin and drummers Arbor West Maldonado and Finnigan Jack Davis supported the team. UNG student Walker Peck served as steerer for all three races. The Dragon Boat team is sponsored by Dr. Christopher Jespersen, Dean of the College of Arts and Letters