On the Allegheny River in Verona, a thin boat cuts through the water as members of Steel City Rowing Club practice sculling, a rowing discipline where each athlete uses two oars to propel the boat.

Working in unison, a single rower and teams of two or four power the boat, ramping up speed and striving to stay on course.

Members of the Verona-based club will travel to Harsha Lake just outside Cincinnati this weekend to compete in the Midwest Junior Rowing Championships, organized by U.S. Rowing.

“I really like that everyone kind of relies on one another,” said Emmajean Grove, a Franklin Regional freshman. “We all build each other up, and we’re working together to meeting our goals.”

Riverview eighth-grader Mia LaScola joined Steel City Rowing Club just a few months ago.

“One of the best things was how welcoming everyone was on the team,” she said.

Sculling competitions are divided into single, double and quad races. Club members will compete in all three this weekend, as well as in the pairs sweeping division, where two rowers propel their boat using only one oar each.

The top four finishers in each final will qualify for a spot at the U.S. Rowing National Championships, which will be held this summer in Sarasota, Fla.

“Most of us practice six days a week,” said Betsy McFadden, who also is in eighth grade at Riverview. “We’ve been training a lot to get to where we’re at now. We do 4,000 to 6,000 meter races in the fall, and shorter, 2,000 meter races in the spring. During the race, you have to be able to push through it even though it can be difficult.”

Grove said she tries to to let herself get distracted during competition.

“My main challenge is not getting in my head, and realizing that I have to compete against myself before I worry about competing against everyone else,” she said.

Grove’s classmate, Franklin Regional sophomore Taylor Buccicone, said sometimes it’s hard to see the progress she and her teammates have made.

“You have to be able to trust yourself and know that you’ll improve over time, even if you’re not seeing it at the moment,” she said. “One of the things I really love is being able to look back and see how far I’ve come.”

For more, see RegattaCentral.com.