BOSTON, Mass. – Taking on talented fields of national and international crews across three separate events at the world-renown Head of the Charles Regatta, the Navy rowing program proved it was up to the task with four top-10 performances over Saturday and Sunday, including a podium finish by the Mids' heavyweight second varsity boat. Racing on a three-mile stretch of the Charles River in Boston, Navy's heavyweight and lightweight programs had entries in the Men's Club Eights, Men's Championship Eights and Men's Lightweight Eights events.
 
First up over the two days of competition were the second varsity crews from both the heavyweight and lightweight teams suiting up in the Men's Club Eights contest. Taking on a field of 35 crew, Navy's heavyweight 2V was the fastest boat from Hubbard Hall in this race as the Mids completed the three-mile course in a time of 14:37.408 to rank third overall. Navy headed down the Charles briskly as they crossed the Riverside checkpoint at 3:21.883, the Weld checkpoint at 8:02.374 and the CBC checkpoint at 12:09.091 before closing out the race with a 2:28.317 final leg to post its final time. The lineup for Navy's 2V on Saturday consisted of Mark Ostrowski, Hill Atwell, Alex Sucato, Sam Beach, Aidan Leavy, Carey Hutchens, John McNicholas, Ian Dennis and coxswain Alex Coleman.
 
The Mids' lightweight entry finished in a crowded pack of crews that finished within two and half seconds of each for positions five through nine. Navy's 2V boat traversed the course with a time of 14:51.200 after going through the three checkpoints at 3:24.105, 8:06.661 and 12:15.708, respectively. In the final standings, Navy placed ninth overall, just 0.206 seconds shy of eighth place Northeastern (14:50.994) and 2.288 seconds behind the fifth place Riverside Boat Club (14:48.912). Jack Spector, Seamus Tomb, Robby Klanac, Matt Ross, Stephen Frost, Matt Fox, Mason Banks, Charlie Goodrich and coxswain Stephen Scholl represented the lightweight program on Saturday. 
 
Navy's first varsity squads had their turn on the Charles on Sunday in the Men's Championship and Men's Lightweight Eights contest. Racing in event 58, the Championship Eights, Navy's top heavyweight crew placed tenth of 20 boats with a time of 14:27.162 that was within 0.027 seconds of ninth-place Harvard (14:27.135) and 3.817 seconds of eighth-place Princeton (14:23.345). The crew consisting of James Walsh, Luke Phelan, James Sills, Reed Schilb, Griffin Dunne, Will Geib, Billy Duffy, James Pushner and Matt Catanoso raced up the Charles and clocked in at the Riverside marker at 3:20.745, at the Weld spot at 8:02.681 and at the third marker, CBC at 12:01.888.
 
"We had our best Head of the Charles in a long time," remarked heavyweight head coach Rob Friedrich. "I was proud of the performances of both our Championship Eight and Club Eight crews. Our Club Eight earned our first HOCR medal since 2014; that crew is a great mix of walk-on athletes and recruits. The Champ Eight had a solid row and was within striking distance of the top crews in the country. We have an inspired group of athletes that will take this result as motivation for training moving forward."
 
In the lightweight eight race, the Mids clocked in with a time of 14:51.901 that was sixth-best in the field of 16. The top of the leaderboard was filled with competitors in the Eastern Sprints League as Yale won the event at 14:30.961 and Princeton was challenged by Navy in a battle for fifth with a 14:48.284 result. Navy defeated the top crews from Penn, Harvard and Georgetown amongst other entries in the competition. The lightweight crew raced over the three miles with a 3:21.349 check-in time at Riverside, an 8:06.906 mark at Weld and a 12:18.183 time at CBC. Jack Ransick served as the coxswain of the boat that was made up of Brooks Kirchen, Connor Rex, Lucas Schatz, Robert Sherman, Myles Knight, Andy Laberee, Owen O'Malley and Jackson Fuller.  
 
The teams will split up for action next weekend as the heavyweights are scheduled to participate in the Head of the Schuylkill Regatta next Saturday in Philadelphia, while the lightweights step away from competition until the Princeton Chase on Nov. 7.
 
Results
Saturday, Event 28 – Men's Club Eights (35 in field)
1-Brown – 14:26.072
2-Harvard A – 14:29.443
3-Navy HWT – 14:37.408
4-Harvard B – 14:38.308
8-Northeastern – 14:50.994
9-Navy LWT – 14:51.200
 
Sunday, Event 58 – Men's Championship Eights (20 in field)
1-Washington – 13:59.432
2-Dartmouth – 14:01.513
3-Yale – 14:02.459
9-Harvard B – 14:27.135
10-Navy HWT – 14:27.162
 
Sunday, Event 59 – Men's Lightweight Championship Eights (16 in field)
1-Yale – 14:30.961
2-Cornell – 14:39.750
3-Princeton A – 14:43.485
5-Princeton B – 14:48.284
6-Navy LWT – 14:51.901