GOLD RIVER, Calif. – With three of its four teams competing in petite finals on Sunday, the Navy heavyweight crew program concluded the 2019 IRA National Championship with a strong all-around effort. Racing in Northern California on Lake Natoma, the Mids' second and third varsity eights, as well as its first varsity four all secured tenth-place results in their respective classifications. As a program, Navy finished 11th overall in the Ten Eyck team point standings, improving by two positions and 14 points from its most recent national championship outing.
"The entire team finished the season well today," remarked head coach
Rob Friedrich. "I've very proud of the team's performance as a whole. They came out ready to race today."
Racing in reverse order, the Mids' first varsity four crew was first on the water on Sunday in its event petite final. Part of a deep, fast field, Navy was one of four teams in the heart of the petite final that crossed the finish line within 2.998 seconds of each other. While Boston University streaked to the win in the final with a time of 6:31.602, Marist, Dartmouth, Navy and Harvard were all within striking distance of each other during the second half of the race. The Red Foxes finished atop that quartet at 6:33.506, while the Big Green placed third overall at 6:34.841. Courtesy of a late push, the Mids overcame the Crimson by a 6:36.394 to 6:36.504 margin. Holy Cross rounded out the field at 6:39.851. That fourth-place result in the petite final meant that the crew of
Luke Sullivan,
Griffin Hamilton,
George Williams,
Matt Gregory and coxswain
Elise Odom finished the championship ranked 10th overall in the nation.
"The coxed four was in a fast petite final and avenged an early weekend loss to Holy Cross' top four," said Friedrich. "They finished strong and were able to sprint through Harvard in the last 300 meters."
The petite final action continued with the Mids' third varsity eight up next. In a six-team field that saw first through fifth place separated by 6.910 seconds, Navy was right in the mix in a battle for third place as they came within 1.07 seconds of Syracuse, though the Orange held on by a 5:56.504 to 5:57.574 final decision. The Mids completed the 2,000 meters ahead of Wisconsin (5:59.272) and Dartmouth (6:01.736). The 3V8 crew this weekend in California consisted of coxswain
Francesca Browne,
Aaron Hanko,
David Russell,
Jared Cox,
William Geib,
Matt Bute,
Evan Camp,
Josey Troyer and
Franklin Shew. Like their V4+ brethren, a fourth-place finish in the petite final translated to a 10th overall national standing.
"The 3V also had a gutsy race, battling with Syracuse and finishing ahead Wisconsin and Dartmouth," said Friedrich. "It was great seeing that crew come together and gain speed throughout the regatta."
Navy's second varsity eight was the third Midshipmen squad to compete in a petite final on Sunday. In an even more competitive contest than the previous 3V8 race, first through fifth place in the 2V8 petite were split by just 4.84 seconds as Boston University clocked in first at 5:50.124, while Syracuse placed fifth at 5:54.964. Navy found itself in a battle with Eastern Sprint rivals, Dartmouth, Northeastern and Syracuse. As the race drew to a conclusion, the Big Green and the Huskies went back-to-back in second and third place, respectively at 5:51.919 and 5:52.976. Navy came in 0.303 seconds behind Northeastern with a time of 5:53.279. The Mids' 2V8 lineup at the IRAs was as follows:
Peter Faber,
Stephen Huber,
Harrison Bleckley,
Owen Firebaugh,
Griffin Dunne,
Michael Palaski,
Jared Taintor,
Joey Merkel and coxswain
Tiffany Johnstone. Navy's fourth place petite final outcome meant that the Mids ranked 10th overall nationally.
"The 2V had a great start and held second place for a good portion of the first 1,000 meters," remarked Friedrich. "In the second half we battled with Northeastern, Dartmouth and Syracuse and in the end we pushed away from Syracuse and reversed our early season loss to the Orange."
The first varsity eight crew of
M.J. Duffy,
Jacob Klosowski,
Brandon Sagawinia,
Alec Gould,
Andrew Knoll,
John Lamb,
Dwayne Williams,
James Pushner and coxswain
Matthew Catanoso rounded out the action at Lake Natoma in the C-Final. Racing for positions 13 through 18, a late sprint by the Mids helped them finish runner-up in the event, 0.745 seconds behind George Washington. The Colonials clocked in at 5:48.910 versus a 5:49.655 for the Mids. Columbia and Wisconsin were tightly packed at the line within a second of Navy with times of 5:50.050 and 5:50.490, respectively. Penn closed out the top-five at 5:51.027. The Mids' result placed them 14th overall in the nation.
"The 1V got off the line fast but fell behind the pack in the middle 1,000 meters," said Friedrich. "With 500 to go, they sprinted through Wisconsin, Penn and finally Columbia to edge the Lions at the line."
At the conclusion of the three-day national competition, Washington was atop the podium with an event-high 207 team points. On the strength of their V8 event victory, Yale notched 205 points to finish runner-up. California (189), Harvard (188) and Princeton (162), rounded out the top-five. Improving by 14 points and two positions over its previous IRA National Championship, Navy tallied 88 points to rank 11th overall. The Mids were surrounded in the standings by tenth place Dartmouth (105 points) and 12th place Cornell (81).
"This has been a much better year in the team standings and it had a lot to do with the 21 graduating officers," exclaimed Friedrich. "We are proud of their leadership and determination this year. The new class of Firsties have big shoes to fill but we have an exciting young group that will take over the reins and they are ready to continue our upward trend."
Race Results
First Varsity Eight
C-Final
George Washington – 5:48.910
Navy – 5:49.655 **14th in Nation
Columbia – 5:50.050
Wisconsin – 5:50.490
Penn – 5:51.027
Colgate – 5:58.708
Second Varsity Eight
Petite Final
Boston Univ. – 5:50.124
Dartmouth – 5:51.919
Northeastern – 5:52.976
Navy – 5:53.279 **10th in Nation
Syracuse – 5:54.964
Cornell – 6:02.053
Third Varsity Eight
Petite Final
Northeastern – 5:52.362
Boston Univ. – 5:54.912
Syracuse – 5:56.504
Navy – 5:57.574 ** 10th in Nation
Wisconsin – 5:59.272
Dartmouth – 6:01.736
Varsity Four
Petite Final
Boston Univ. – 6:31.602
Marist – 6:33.506
Dartmouth – 6:34.841
Navy – 6:36.394 **10th in Nation
Harvard – 6:36.504
Holy Cross – 6:39.851
Boat Lineups
