Page 27 - March 2019 IWMA News Interactive

coast; Florida, Virginia, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, West Virginia, and Michigan as part of the American Powerboat Circuit. She also has raced a few times in Canada as part of their racing circuit. This year, she is hoping to race out on the west coast a few times.
Katelyn races a sportsman en- try flat bottom. This boat runs a 350 chevy motor and is speed monitored at 90mph. She also races a v-bottom boat that has a Chevy 285 motor. She runs in the Jersey Speed Skiff Class and the
Sportsman Entry Class and will drive a hydro here and there when someone is looking for a
driver.
Katelyn’s weekend win in Stuart was one of her favorite wins because she was the first fe- male in the his- tory of APBA (112 years) to be on a flatbottom podium! Pretty
impressive! There
are a few other women that race hydroplanes. Most of these
women drive in the hydroplane classes which have the capsules and a 5 point harness. A few others are involved in the Skiff class, but she is the only fe- male that races in the flatbottom class. “I am hoping to change that! Of course we are all friends and consider ourselves more of a family than just friends.”
Katelyn’s goal is to be safe, have fun and try to win as many heats as pos- sible. She would love to be a National Champion one day.
Katelyn’s favorite part of being a race boat driver is being involved in the racing family. “I think that I have met the greatest people in the world through boat racing and these peo- ple have become family to me. Of course, I also enjoy meeting the fans and signing
autographs.”
Katelyn believes
success is defined by charac-
ter. “I think it is important to
always have integrity on and off of the water and feel that it is more important to be respected by others than to have trophies.”
Katelyn’s boat number for the flatbottom is 127. She chose this be- cause her birthday is December 7th
(12/7) and the person who owns the boat has a Jan. 27 (1/27) birthday, so it fit!
On race day, Katelyn always makes sure to have a water bottle be- cause it is very hot sitting in the boat waiting for her heats. She also never wears green of any kind because she thinks that it brings bad luck.
Katelyn is 31 years old and is a middle school special education teacher for math and science at a public school
in NJ. She obtained her undergradu- ate at West Virginia Wesleyan College, where she played soccer and lacrosse. She received her Master’s Degree in Special Education from Grand Canyon University. There are 5 people in her family and her 2 brothers currently race
hydroplanes as well! Between the 3 of them, they race in almost every class. “Sometimes we all race against each other, which is al- ways tough on our parents.”
Katelyn loves to read, travel, and be out on the wa- ter. Her favorite food is pizza!! She enjoys travelling to any race with her family because she
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