High Performance Team – Members & Coaches
Head Coach Sean Hall
With nearly 40 years in the sport of rowing, Sean has a distinguished career as both an athlete and a coach. He began his coaching journey in earnest in 2001, immediately after completing his third Olympic appearance as an oarsman. From 2001 to 2004, he worked alongside Igor Grinko, a distinguished USRowing coach, at the Augusta Training Center. During this time, Sean developed the trials-winning LM4x, which went on to achieve a remarkable 4th place at the 2004 World Championships in Banyoles, Spain.
In 2005, Sean embraced an exciting opportunity as the Head Women’s Coach in Fujian province, China. There, he led the team to its first-ever medal in the W8+ at the Chinese National Games, a groundbreaking achievement that earned him an invitation to return three years later.
After the 2009 National Games, Sean moved to Hong Kong, where he contributed significantly to the HK National Team and later the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club. He made history as the first coach to bridge the gap between club, university, and national teams through his University Elite Program. This initiative allowed Hong Kong university athletes to race for the first time in the West at events like the San Diego Crew Classic, with several going on to qualify for the HK National Team.
After a brief coaching stint in Taiwan, Sean returned to the U.S. to take on the role of Head/High Performance Coach at Penn AC. When he joined, the program had only six athletes and had not seen a Trials victory since 2006. By the end of 2016, however, Penn AC athletes achieved remarkable success, winning prestigious events such as Henley, Canadian Henley, US Nationals, the Head of the Charles, and the Head of the Schuylkill. From 2017 onwards, Penn AC athletes began winning World Championship trials for the first time in over a decade. Between 2017 and 2021, his athletes competed at three World Championships, and four World Cups, also earning accolades at Amsterdam and Henley.
As a three-time Olympian and five-time National Team athlete in both sculling and sweep, Sean’s impressive background reflects his dedication to the sport. He began his rowing career at Washington-Lee High School under the mentorship of Charlie Butt Sr. and graduated from Rutgers University, where he trained alongside fellow Olympians Bob Kaehler, Jeff Klepacki, and Jim Neil. Sean’s extensive experience and commitment to excellence make him an invaluable asset to the rowing community.
The Athletes
Claire Friedlander
Hometown: Philadelphia, PA
Education: University of Wisconsin (2023)
National Team: 2022 U23
Bio: Claire holds a BS of Psychology from the University of Wisconsin- Madison. She started rowing freshman year of high school at Sacred Heart Academy where she made varsity all four years. During her time on the team, she was named team MVP in 2018, won the 2018 Philadelphia Indoor Erg Challenge and Center City Slam, and placed second at 2019 City Championships in open weight double.
She is a 2019 Royal Canadian Henley medalist in the Women’s U23 LWT 8+. At Wisconsin, she was named Academic All-Big Ten and Competed in the lightweight double at the 2021 IRA National Championships. She received top placements at Dad Vails, Stanford invite, and SIRA Regatta.
She Placed fourth with women’s lightweight quadruple sculls at the 2022 World Rowing Under 23 Championships in Varese, Italy.
Following her graduation at Wisconsin, she has since return to the Philadelphia area in hopes of competing on the world stage again. She was a part of the lightweight women’s 4x that rowed and trained out of WBC in the summer of 2024. This 4x competed at the Holland Beker Regatta, where they placed first in the lightweight quad event. At the 2024 Canadian Henley Regatta Claire took 2nd in the lightweight 1x, she was placed 1st in the senior 4-, the senior open weight 4x, and the lightweight 4x. In the fall of 2024 she won the lightweight 2x at Head of the Charles.
Nick Hlinka
Hometown: New York City, NY
Education: Stuyvesant High School (2023)
Bio: Nicholas started rowing in his junior year of high school with PNRA/Mercer, where he placed third in the Men’s Youth 4+ at the 2022 Youth National Rowing Championships, and placed 8th in the Men’s Youth 4+ at the 2023 National Rowing Championships. After graduating, he took a gap year to conduct platelet research at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. Following a brief stint at Undine Barge Club, he joined the High-Performance Teat here at WBC with the intent to race in the lightweight 1x. He placed third at Canadian Henley in the u23 Lightweight Men’s 1x, and second in the Senior Lightweight Men’s 1x. He plans to continue racing in the single, and to compete at the 2025 u23 World Rowing Championships in Poznan, Poland in the Men’s Lightweight 1x.
Katrina Miehlbradt
Hometown: Auckland, NZ
Education: University of Toronto
National Team: 2023 U23
Bio: Katrina holds a BS in Environmental Science, and Biodiversity and Conservation Biology from the University of Toronto. She started rowing at North Shore Rowing Club in New Zealand her senior year of high school where she won gold in the women’s novice 4x and silver in the women’s novice 4+ at the 2019 NZ Rowing Championships. Katrina went on to row on the University of Toronto varsity team where she helped the team to several podium finishes in the lightweight women’s 2x and 4+, and the openweight women’s 8+ at the Ontario University Rowing Championships in 2019 and 2022. In her senior year, Katrina was named Oarswoman of the Year and Women’s Top Scholar Varsity Athlete of the Year.
During the summer of 2022, Katrina competed for Argonaut Rowing Club. She won 1st in the senior lightweight 2x, 4-, and 4x at the RowOntario championships and earned two 2nd place finishes in the U23 LW2x and senior LW4x, and two 3rd place finishes in the senior LW2x and LW4- at Royal Canadian Henley. In the summer of 2023, she rowed for Conshohocken Rowing Centre and competed at the U23 World Championships after winning the LW2x at U23 trials. Katrina ended her 2023 season winning gold in the Lightweight Women’s Champ 2x at her first Head of the Charles and gold in the Women’s open weight Champ 2x and 4x at Head of the Schuylkill.
She was a part of the lightweight women’s 4x that rowed and trained out of WBC in the summer of 2024. This 4x competed at the Holland Beker Regatta, where they placed first in the lightweight quad event. At the 2024 Canadian Henley Regatta Katrina won four gold medals in the lightweight 2x, senior 4-, senior open weight 4x, and the lightweight 4x.
After graduating from university, Katrina joined the Black Sheep Racing Team with the goals of getting faster, gaining more racing experience and representing Team USA in international competition again.
Aislinn O'Brien
Hometown: Philadelphia, PA
Education: St. Joseph’s University (2022)
National Team: 2023 U23
Bio: Aislinn holds a B.S. in Interdisciplinary Health Sciences from Saint Joseph’s University and has started her MHA in Health Administration. Aislinn began rowing in 2015 at Archbishop Carroll High School, where she was a part of some of its best finishes in program history, including 6 Catholic League Championship wins, and a win at the USRowing Mid Atlantic Youth Championships. Aislinn then went on to row for Saint Joseph’s University where she was named team captain and won 1st Team All-Conference 2023, as well as being named a member of the Atlantic 10 Commissioner’s Honor Roll. She helped lead the team to a number of medal finishes including 1st in the Varsity 8+ at the Jesuit Invitational 2021, 2nd in the V8+ at the Jesuit Invitational 2023, 1st place in the Women’s 2- at Navy Day Regatta 2022, 2nd in the Women’s 2- at HOSR 2022, and 3rd place V8+ at the A10 Championships 2023.
Aislinn also competed for Vesper U19 and U23 summer programs 2019-2022, where she won 2nd in the LW1x at Summer Nationals 2022, 1st in the U23 8+ at Canadian Henley 2022, and a number of IDR wins. She rowed for Conshohocken Rowing Center in the summer of 2023, where she won the U23 Team Trials in the LW2x and competed at the U23 World Championships in Plovdiv, Bulgaria.
She was a part of the lightweight women’s 4x that rowed and trained out of WBC in the summer of 2024. This 4x competed at the Holland Beker Regatta, where they placed first in the lightweight quad event. At the 2024 Canadian Henley Regatta Aislinn won four gold medals in the lightweight 2x, senior 4-, senior open weight 4x, and the lightweight 4x. In the fall of 2024 she won the lightweight 2x at Head of the Charles.
Her current goals are to continue gaining speed and experience and hopefully having more opportunities to succeed at the international level.
Justin Schmidt
Hometown: Westport, CT
Education: University of Delaware (2023)
National Team: 2022 U23
Bio: Justin graduated from the University of Delaware with a BS degree in Finance. He started rowing in middle school with the Saugatuck Rowing Club and continued his rowing career with the University of Delaware, being named President during the 2022-2023 season. While in school, Justin’s most memorable achievement included winning Dad Vails in the Men’s Lightweight 4+ in 2023.
Justin also raced competitively with the Conshohocken Rowing Center for the 2022 and 2023 summer seasons. In 2022, he represented the United States in the Under-23 Lightweight Quad (2022), finishing 4th at the U23 World Rowing Championships. In 2023, Justin was a four-time medalist in the Men’s LWT 1x, U23 LWT 1x, LWT 2x, and 4x at the 2023 Summer National Championships. Later, Justin competed at the 2023 Royal Canadian Henley, medaling in the Men’s U23 LWT 1x, LWT4x, U23 4x, and LWT 2x.
In 2024 Justin took home the gold at Canadian Henley Regatta in the lightweight 1x. In the fall he also won gold in the lightweight 1x at Head of the Charles.
In his free time, Justin enjoys cycling and trail running.
