PITTSBURGH — Make no mistake about it: Samantha Potter and Abi Palmer are going places.

They're just taking to the water to get there.

Both 15-year-old sophomores at Seneca Valley High, Potter and Palmer were members of the Three Rivers Junior Rowers junior varsity girls 8-plus team that won its race at the Head of the Ohio event Oct. 3 in Pittsburgh.

The victory came against 16 other teams, most of them high school squads from Western Pennsylvania, Ohio and Canada.

Three Rivers finished the 2.6 mile race in 15 minutes, 47.4 seconds.

Both girls competed in the event's novice division in 2007, but last year's race was canceled because of bad weather.

"I knew the team was faster than they were last year, but I was a little surprised we won it," said Three Rivers coach Robin Brown. "There was some very good competition in the race."

"We looked at that race as a good way to gauge how good we were, but I didn't believe it when we won," said Palmer.

A number of high schools in the Pittsburgh area have crew teams, but the Three Rivers Rowing Association accepts members from high schools that don't.

The 8-plus division refers to the number of rowers in the boat, not counting the coxswain, which is Potter's position.

Her role is to steer the boat, provide motivation to her teammates and inform them of where the team is in relation to its opponents.

"They usually like a coxswain to be small and loud," said Potter, who lives in Cranberry Township. "I'm 5-feet-2 and have been told that I'm done growing even though I'm just 15, so I guess that's good."

"She's very impressive," Brown said of Potter. "She's always doing things outside of practice to make herself better, like researching the sport on the Internet and talking to other people involved with rowing. She really embraces her role."

Palmer, a resident of Zelienople, is a rower in the middle of the boat, which is called the engine room.

"That's where you stick your most powerful rowers," said Brown. "The only thing they have to worry about is pulling as hard as they can. Abi is one of the fastest rowers we have."

Potter and Palmer have been friends for years and the former first became involved in rowing 3Z\x years ago.

"Sam asked me one day if I'd like to try rowing," said Palmer. "I didn't know anything about it, but I gave it a try. My first practice, I had no idea what was going on and I was so embarrassed."

But both girls set out to succeed in a sport that's very demanding.

During the eight-month rowing season, practices are held for more than two hours Tuesdays through Saturdays at the Three Rivers Rowing Association at Washington's Landing on the Allegheny River.

During the winter, much time is spent on an ergometer, which is a rowing machine that measures the amount of effort put into a workout.

"Sometimes I have a lot of homework and I think, 'Ah, I have to go to practice,'" said Potter. "But I always keep going and keep a positive attitude. Every practice is going to make us better."

The hard work has paid off, as evidenced by the Head of the Ohio victory earlier this month. But the rewards aren't just first-place medals.

Potter, Palmer and their teammates are headed to Boston for this weekend's Head of the Charles event.

On Nov. 1, they will take part in the Head of the Occoquan in Virginia.

"The race in Boston will include 75 teams in the girls division," said Brown. "The teams that finish in the top half of that will automatically get to compete in next year's race, so I'm hoping we can do that."

"Going to Boston for this race, it's such an honor," said Palmer. "We worked really hard. Just the experience of being there, I'm so excited about it."