Miami rowing already had plenty of history to point to after its first NCAA Championship berth this season. Now, the Hurricanes have another national marker attached to the campaign: freshman rower Esther Fuerte Chacón earned honorable mention All-America recognition from the Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association.
Fuerte Chacón was listed among the CRCA’s honorable mention All-Americans after the organization announced its 2026 Division I teams Friday, according to the full CRCA list. For a Miami program still building its national identity in rowing, it is another sign that the Hurricanes did more this spring than enjoy one good weekend.
Fuerte Chacón rowed with the 1V8 crew throughout a season filled with program records and ranked wins. She was part of the 1V8 that opened the season with two wins at the Oak Ridge Cardinal Invitational, helped Miami place second in the Benderson Cup standings at the Sarasota 2K Invitational and contributed to program-record performances at the Orlando Invitational and Lake Wheeler Invitational.
Miami’s 1V8 crew raced at the NCAA Championships and posted a second-place finish in a C/D semifinal with a time of 6:21.23. That race came during a weekend when the program advanced two boats to petite finals and kept pushing through the first NCAA appearance.
Fuerte Chacón arrived with international credentials after winning a 2024 Spanish national title in U19 double sculls and earning a bronze medal at the 2024 U19 Rowing World Championships in the 2x. That background made her a serious addition before she ever pulled an oar for the Hurricanes.
For Miami, this is the kind of award that should travel well. It tells future rowers that Miami’s rise is not just internal optimism. The Hurricanes are putting athletes into national conversations.
Miami rowing just finished the most important season in program history, and one of the rowers who helped make it happen is already an All-American honorable mention as a freshman.
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