WEST WINDSOR, N.J. – The Navy heavyweight rowing team had four boats in action on Saturday in the second day of competition at the 2022 IRA National Championship. The Mids' top three varsity eight crews, as well as their varsity four all raced at Mercer Lake and came away with a pair of top-two results. Navy's varsity four led the way as it won the third final of its classification.
 
One of six teams racing in the third level final with overall positions 13 through 18 up for grabs, the Mids led for nearly the entire 2,000-meter race. An efficient sprint at the start of the race helped Navy clock in first at the 500-meter mark with a time of 1:36.690, 0.36 seconds ahead of Syracuse, who was in second place. The Mids continued to pace the field and checked in first at the 1,000- and 1,500-meter markers. Navy found itself getting pressure from Williams College with 500 meters to go as the Mids were ahead by 0.83 seconds, 5:02.37 to 5:03.20. Accelerating down the stretch, Navy held its lead position and won by a final margin of 2.272 seconds over Hobart, 6:40.575 to 6:42.847. The Mids' win placed them 13th overall in the nation.
 
Navy's next best result on Saturday came from its second varsity eight crew. Racing in second CD Semifinal, Navy found itself locked in a two-boat pack at the front of the field with Columbia. The Mids and Lions were competitive throughout the contest as the duo were over seconds ahead of the field at the midway point and three seconds ahead at the 1,500-meter mark. Navy put together a strong closing push and tightened a 2.06-second deficit to just 1.59 seconds at the finish line. Columbia posted a winning time of 5:59.171, while Navy came in at 6:00.761. That result will see the Mids race on Sunday in the third final at 8:50 a.m.
 
A pair of Navy crews were in AB Semifinals with a potential spot in Sunday's grand final on the line. The Mids' first varsity eight was the first boat on Mercer Lake on Saturday morning. Part of an extremely fast heat, the top three boats in the race quickly separated themselves from the pack as California, Washington and Harvard were over three seconds ahead of Northeastern, Princeton and Navy at the 1,000-meter point. Those three front-running teams continued to hold onto the three grand final advancement spots over the second half of the race. At the finish line, Navy clocked in sixth at 5:55.713. The Mids will compete in the V8 Petite Final on Sunday at 10:40 a.m.
 
Navy's third varsity eight was the other crew in an AB Semifinal. Similar to its V8 brethren, the Mids were trying to obtain one of the top-three advancement positions. Unfortunately, a fast threesome broke away from the field quite quickly as Yale, Washington and California all had a three-plus second lead over Princeton, Navy and Penn at the halfway juncture of the race. The positioning of all six teams stayed static over the final 1,000 meters of the race and the Mids crossed the finish line in fifth place a 5:58.324, a little over 2.5 seconds behind the fourth-place Tiger crew. Navy will now race for positions seven through 12 in the 3V8 Petite Final on Sunday starting at 9:20 a.m.

The 2022 IRA National Championship will conclude on Sunday morning with Navy's V8, 2V8 and 3V8 boats in action.

Race Results
First Varsity Eight
Sixth of 6 in AB Semifinal 1
California – 5:33.311
Washington – 5:35.977
Harvard – 5:40.365
Northeastern – 5:44.577
Princeton – 5:44.837
Navy – 5:55.713
    Next Up: B Final – Sunday, 10:40 a.m.
 
Second Varsity Eight
Second of 6 in CD Semifinal 2
Columbia – 5:59.171
Navy – 6:00.761
Temple – 6:05.333
Marist – 6:10.657
Santa Clara – 6:12.871
MIT – 6:16.539
    Next Up: Third Final – Sunday, 8:50 a.m.
 
Third Varsity Eight
Fifth of 6 in AB Semifinal 1
Yale – 5:46.462
Washington – 5:49.300
California – 5:53.316
Princeton – 5:55.600
Navy – 5:58.324
Penn – 6:13.900
    Next Up: Petite Final – Sunday, 9:20 a.m.
 
Varsity Four
First of 6 in Third Final
Navy – 6:40.575 **13th in the nation
Hobart – 6:42.847
Williams – 6:42.861
Syracuse – 6:44.417
Oklahoma – 6:46.251
Wisconsin – 6:47.393

Boat Lineups

	First Varsity Eight	Second Varsity Eight	Third Varsity Eight
1	Ian Dennis	Hill Atwell	Alexander Sidhu
2	James Walsh	Mark Ostrowski	Nick Bostock
3	Reed Schilb	Connor Feeley	Alex Sucato
4	Billy Duffy	Matthew Lexa	Ethan Barton
5	James Pushner	Reed Romo	Aidan Leavy
6	James Sills	Evan Robertson	Will Holsinger
7	Will Geib	Sam Beach	Jack Mollohan
Str.	Griffin Dunne	Duncan Ayles	Luke Phelan
Cox.	Matthew Catanoso	Zack Shieh	Alex Coleman

 

	Varsity Four
1	George Wright
2	Joseph Colley
3	Jack Gill
4	William Wright
Cox.	Maeve Swick