Completed Event: Rowing versus ACC Championships on May 15, 2026 , , 7th/69 points
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Final
Rowing
vs ACC Championships
Duke Rowing Origins: Kelsey Lackey
5/6/2020 10:13:00 AM | Rowing
DURHAM, N.C. – The Duke Rowing Origins continue this week with sophomore Kelsey Lackey, a native of Cincinnati, Ohio, who came to Duke in the fall of 2018.
In her freshman campaign, Lackey contributed to a number of impressive finishes, including a first-place performance at the Cooper Sprints with the 4V8 crew and a silver medal at the ACC Championship with the 3V8 boat.
Growing up in the Cincinnati area, Lackey's rowing influence did not come geographically. She was invested in lacrosse and basketball when she was in middle school, and even when she was immersed in the recruiting cycle late in her high school career, she said her friends would still have to ask her what it was she was doing. It wasn't until her brother, Bryce, began rowing as a sophomore that she was first exposed to the sport. He would eventually go on to compete at Wisconsin, which led to Kelsey coming face to face with the Badgers' then-associate head coach and now Duke's volunteer assistant coach, Simon Cooke Carcagno. According to Lackey, that interaction played a part in sparking her earliest interest in rowing.
"Before I started rowing myself, I visited him while he was there and Simon was actually his coach, so I met Simon and I really liked him," she said. "Then, when I did start rowing myself, I really liked it. I did some middle school camps when I was younger and I just really liked it, so I quit all my other sports and just dove right into rowing."
After participating at week-long summer camps, Lackey's interest quickly grew into a passion. She said she knew by the time she was in eighth grade that rowing would be the only sport she wanted to compete in during her high school years. Lackey then joined the renowned Cincinnati Junior Rowing Club, and even with no experience going in, she created a goal to follow in Bryce's footsteps and compete for a Division-I program. When she could establish which position best suited her as a junior, Lackey realized that her goal was well within reach.
"My freshman year at my club, everyone was a novice, and so that year I was pretty good for a novice," she said. "Then, once I got into varsity, they switched my side to port and I was really bad, and it was really hard. My junior year, I switched back sides to starboard, which is what I was when I was a novice. I ended up being really good at that and moved up to the first boat. That's kind of when I knew that I would be able to go on and do it in college."
As she began to think about what colleges she wanted to row at, Wisconsin was naturally at the top of the list. However, Lackey had no choice but to turn her attention to the Blue Devils when she saw what former Wisconsin freshman coach Megan Cooke Carcagno had accomplished in her first season in Durham, even if doing so went against Lackey's prior notions.
"Wisconsin was always my goal, but then my Mom actually told me that Megan had moved to Duke, and that I should look there because she had just gotten Coach of the Year," Lackey said. "I was like 'Fine, I'll go look there,' but I really hated Duke because Duke beat Wisconsin in the national championship in basketball. I didn't like Duke and I was like 'I don't want to go there.'"
She went on her first visit in February of her junior year, and came back with a new school as her number one choice. According to her, seeing the campus and meeting the coaching staff made it feel like a natural fit, and having extended family in North Carolina only served as an extra reason to keep Duke at the forefront of her options. And after a second-place finish with her varsity-8 boat at the 2017 Youth Nationals, the Blue Devils were, as Lackey put it, "Really into me."
Now two years into her career at Duke, Lackey reiterates the same feeling of chemistry that is shared by her teammates.
"It just feels like we're all friends and I can go to anyone on the team. It definitely feels different than what it felt like in high school. In high school, it wasn't as close. There was a lot of people angry that they weren't where they wanted to be on boats. Overall, here it's more about the team."
Although she has been well-occupied with competing through the calendar year while managing academic responsibilities, Lackey has done her part to assist the program on the recruiting trail. She was able to serve as a source of great influence for current freshman Lauren Sizemore, as the two competed together for the Cincinnati Junior Rowing Club and developed a close friendship through being a stern pair in Lackey's senior year.
The two first had discussions about reuniting in Durham after Sizemore took a visit to campus in her junior year, and once Lackey had a chance to experience the Duke rowing culture for herself, she used it to her advantage in her pitch to narrow Sizemore's search.
"Eventually, it just ended up happening," Lackey said. "Chase wanted her to come here and I was like 'You should really, really come here.' At one point, she sent me a text message and asked if I truly thought she could fit in on the team and if she would like it, and I was like 'You'll love it. The team is such a good friendship, sisterhood and comradery.' She committed later that day."
While Lackey continues to develop her craft, both on the water and in promoting the program for future Blue Devils, her impact through her first two seasons certainly cannot be understated.
#GoDuke
In her freshman campaign, Lackey contributed to a number of impressive finishes, including a first-place performance at the Cooper Sprints with the 4V8 crew and a silver medal at the ACC Championship with the 3V8 boat.
Growing up in the Cincinnati area, Lackey's rowing influence did not come geographically. She was invested in lacrosse and basketball when she was in middle school, and even when she was immersed in the recruiting cycle late in her high school career, she said her friends would still have to ask her what it was she was doing. It wasn't until her brother, Bryce, began rowing as a sophomore that she was first exposed to the sport. He would eventually go on to compete at Wisconsin, which led to Kelsey coming face to face with the Badgers' then-associate head coach and now Duke's volunteer assistant coach, Simon Cooke Carcagno. According to Lackey, that interaction played a part in sparking her earliest interest in rowing.
"Before I started rowing myself, I visited him while he was there and Simon was actually his coach, so I met Simon and I really liked him," she said. "Then, when I did start rowing myself, I really liked it. I did some middle school camps when I was younger and I just really liked it, so I quit all my other sports and just dove right into rowing."
After participating at week-long summer camps, Lackey's interest quickly grew into a passion. She said she knew by the time she was in eighth grade that rowing would be the only sport she wanted to compete in during her high school years. Lackey then joined the renowned Cincinnati Junior Rowing Club, and even with no experience going in, she created a goal to follow in Bryce's footsteps and compete for a Division-I program. When she could establish which position best suited her as a junior, Lackey realized that her goal was well within reach.
"My freshman year at my club, everyone was a novice, and so that year I was pretty good for a novice," she said. "Then, once I got into varsity, they switched my side to port and I was really bad, and it was really hard. My junior year, I switched back sides to starboard, which is what I was when I was a novice. I ended up being really good at that and moved up to the first boat. That's kind of when I knew that I would be able to go on and do it in college."
As she began to think about what colleges she wanted to row at, Wisconsin was naturally at the top of the list. However, Lackey had no choice but to turn her attention to the Blue Devils when she saw what former Wisconsin freshman coach Megan Cooke Carcagno had accomplished in her first season in Durham, even if doing so went against Lackey's prior notions.
"Wisconsin was always my goal, but then my Mom actually told me that Megan had moved to Duke, and that I should look there because she had just gotten Coach of the Year," Lackey said. "I was like 'Fine, I'll go look there,' but I really hated Duke because Duke beat Wisconsin in the national championship in basketball. I didn't like Duke and I was like 'I don't want to go there.'"
She went on her first visit in February of her junior year, and came back with a new school as her number one choice. According to her, seeing the campus and meeting the coaching staff made it feel like a natural fit, and having extended family in North Carolina only served as an extra reason to keep Duke at the forefront of her options. And after a second-place finish with her varsity-8 boat at the 2017 Youth Nationals, the Blue Devils were, as Lackey put it, "Really into me."
Now two years into her career at Duke, Lackey reiterates the same feeling of chemistry that is shared by her teammates.
"It just feels like we're all friends and I can go to anyone on the team. It definitely feels different than what it felt like in high school. In high school, it wasn't as close. There was a lot of people angry that they weren't where they wanted to be on boats. Overall, here it's more about the team."
Although she has been well-occupied with competing through the calendar year while managing academic responsibilities, Lackey has done her part to assist the program on the recruiting trail. She was able to serve as a source of great influence for current freshman Lauren Sizemore, as the two competed together for the Cincinnati Junior Rowing Club and developed a close friendship through being a stern pair in Lackey's senior year.
The two first had discussions about reuniting in Durham after Sizemore took a visit to campus in her junior year, and once Lackey had a chance to experience the Duke rowing culture for herself, she used it to her advantage in her pitch to narrow Sizemore's search.
"Eventually, it just ended up happening," Lackey said. "Chase wanted her to come here and I was like 'You should really, really come here.' At one point, she sent me a text message and asked if I truly thought she could fit in on the team and if she would like it, and I was like 'You'll love it. The team is such a good friendship, sisterhood and comradery.' She committed later that day."
While Lackey continues to develop her craft, both on the water and in promoting the program for future Blue Devils, her impact through her first two seasons certainly cannot be understated.
#GoDuke
Players Mentioned
/ Rowing
/ Rowing
Saturday, October 19
Saturday, October 19
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