BOSTON – The Navy heavyweight and lightweight rowing teams represented the Naval Academy this weekend with action at the world-renown Head of the Charles Regatta. Racing on at three-mile course on the Charles River, the Mids' first and second varsity boats from both programs tested themselves against deep and talented fields of international and American collegiate and club teams. Navy's boats collected three top-six results amongst its four entries. The Mids' lightweight contingent led the way with a pair of fourth-place outcomes at the 55th running of the regatta.
 
The first action for the Midshipmen fleet was Saturday's Men's Club Eights event. Taking on a field of 39 crews, Navy's lightweight junior varsity team was the fastest boat from Hubbard Hall in this race as the Mids conquered the three-mile course in a time of 14:51.274 to rank fourth overall. The Mids were within two seconds of the third-place Brown boat, who clocked in at 14:49.530. Navy's lineup in this boat was Soren Mercer, Creig Tarrant, Karl Schwarzkopf, Brendan Finn, Jackson Fuller, Max Gelbach, Jesse Hall, Brendan Philbin and coxswain Christophe Theodore. As a result of the Mids' placement and number of entries in this race they were awarded a medal.
 
Two spots back from Navy's lightweight boat in the Men's Club Eights race was the Mids' junior varsity heavyweight entry. The crew of Peter Faber, Ian Dennis, James Walsh, Reed Schilb, George Williams, William Geib, William Duffy, Franklin Shew and coxswain Matthew Catanoso completed the race with a 15:03.112 time.
 
The lightweights highlighted the racing on Sunday, as well as the Mids' first varsity crew tested itself in the Men's Lightweight Eights contest. Racing against a host of their regular season rivals, the Mids were in the mix throughout as they broke out at the start with the second-best time of 3:10.194 at the first checkpoint, Riverside. They stayed in second at the Weld checkpoint before Princeton over took them by the CBC marker. In a race for the final spot on the podium, Cornell edged Navy for third place by 0.453 seconds, 14:13.256 to 14:13.709. Princeton prevailed for the event win at 14:06.754. Navy clocked in ahead of other Eastern Sprint rivals, such as Harvard (14:20.056), Yale (14:22.534) and Dartmouth (14:41.139). The Mids' lineup on Sunday was Myles Knight, Theo Freidenrich, Ben Capannari, Noah Chaskin, John Schoenewolf, Connor Gladieux, Kaden Dohm, Riki Gagnon and coxswain Jack Ransick.
 
Navy's heavyweight first varsity boat concluded the Mids' time at the Head of the Charles Regatta with action in the Men's Championship Eights event. In a 30-boat field that was littered with national and international level crews, as well as highly-regarded international collegiate teams, the Mids placed 25^th overall with a time of 14:34.383. The standings were tightly-packed and as a result Navy was just over eight seconds out of breaking into the top-20. Tiffany Johnstone was the coxswain of the crew that consisted of M.J. Duffy, Harrison Bleckley, Jared Taintor, Jacob Klosowski, Griffin Dunne, John Lamb, Andrew Knoll and Joey Merkel.
 
"This weekend was a learning experience for our athletes," remarked heavyweight head coach Rob Friedrich. "The effort was there, but we still have a lot of work to do. These guys are hungry, so I know they are ready for the challenge."
 
Navy will continue its fall racing schedule next Sunday, Oct. 27 with competition at the 2019 Princeton Chase in Princeton, N.J.
 
Results
Saturday, Event 27 – Men's Club Eights (39 in field)
1-Harvard – 14:36.116
2-Dartmouth – 14:48.517
3-Brown – 14:49.530
4-Navy LWT – 14:51.274
5-Potomac Club – 14:51.556
6-Navy HWT – 15:03.112
 
Sunday, Event 59 – Men's Championship Eights (30 in field)
1-USTC/Oakland – 13:32.283
24- Penn – 14:33.483
25-Navy HWT – 14:34.383
 
Sunday, Event 60 – Men's Lightweight Championship Eights (17 in field)
1-Princeton – 14:06.754
2-Penn – 14:07.403
3-Cornell – 14:13.256
4-Navy LWT – 14:13.709