Morgan House Named USA Canoe/Kayak Male Athlete of the Year for 2005
Morgan
House (Gainesville, Ga.) has been named the USA Canoe/Kayak Male Athlete of the
Year for 2005. House had a fantastic year and found success competing in men’s
kayak in the United States and at both the Junior and Senior World
Championships. This is his first time being selected as Male Athlete of the
Year.
At the US Team Trials in Lake Placid, N.Y., House was outstanding, and swept both the K-1 events. Only two other paddlers were able to finish within six seconds of his winning time in both the 500 meter and 1000 meter distances.
House then went on to win both the K-1 500 meter and 1000 meter events at the Pan American Championships in Quebec. From there he joined the US Junior Team under the direction of volunteer coach Guy Wilding. At the Junior World Championships in Szeged, Hungary, House paddled to an excellent fifth place finish in the K-1 500 meter event. His finish was the highest ever for a U.S. paddler at the sprint Junior World Championships.
House was not finished after his success at the junior level. He joined the senior U.S. team and paddled in the K-4 at the Senior World Championships with Danny Krawczyk (Bayside, N.Y.), Ty Hagler (Gainesville, Ga.) and Tim Hornsby (Gainesville, Ga.). The team made the B Final and finished 17th in the K-4 500 meters.
House is a member of the Lanier Canoe & Kayak Club in Gainesville, Ga., which is the largest flatwater sprint club in the U.S. He got into the sport at the age of thirteen after seeing his friends paddling and thinking it looked like fun. Competing for his club he has won 16 gold medals at the juvenile, junior and senior levels since 2002.
In his spare time House enjoys swimming, boating and spending time with his family. He has always been an avid outdoorsman, and this year became an Eagle Scout with the Boy Scouts of America.
With the 2006 US Team Trials just around the corner at the end of April, House is training hard on Lake Lanier in Gainesville with his club. He is too old to compete as a junior in 2006, and has his sights set on making the senior U.S. team and finding even greater success at the World Championships.
To go to the original article, click www.usack.org/articles/2006/january/morgan_house_aoy.asp