PRINCETON, N.J. – The Intercollegiate Rowing Coaches Association (IRCA) announced it 2022 postseason awards earlier this month and the Navy lightweight rowing team saw five of its athletes garner IRCA All-American nods, while 15 were noted as IRCA Scholar-Athletes. Additionally, the Mids' support staff was noted as the 2022 IRCA Lightweight Staff of the Year.
 
Recent graduates Andy Laberee (Medford, N.J.) and Myles Knight (Northbrook, Ill.) spotlighted Navy's recognition as members of the 2022 IRCA All-America First Team. The duo of May graduate Jack Ransick (Corte Madera, Calif.) and rising sophomore Robert Sherman (Riverside, Conn.) joined Laberee and Knight as noted performers as both were named to the IRCA All-America Second Team. Stephen Frost (Pittsburgh, Pa.) was the final lightweight rower to garner accolades as he was selected as an honorable mention IRCA All-American.

This spring all five of the above honorees played a pivotal role in Navy's first varsity eight going 6-1 with trophy victories over Princeton, Columbia, Georgetown, Harvard and Penn. In the postseason competitions, the Mids' top crew finished runner-up to Yale at the Eastern Sprints in a tight, 1.735-second margin before falling 1.958 seconds short of Columbia's final time at the IRA National Championship. Navy's Eastern Sprints V8 result was the best since 2006 when the Mids finished second. At the IRAs, Ransick served as the coxswain of the V8, while Frost, Sherman, Knight and Laberee served as the 'engine' of the boat in the third, fourth, fifth and sixth seats.

Laberee and Ransick have now attained IRCA All-American status in consecutive years as both were noted on the 2021 First Team.
 
For the second straight season, Navy was honored with the IRCA Lightweight Staff of the Year award. The six-man crew of assistant coach James Sands, Officer Rep. Lt. Tom Paul, Captain Bill Fouse (USMC, ret.), Captain Bob Qu (USMC), Faculty Rep. Professor Danny Morse and boatman Steve Fluhr were honored for their excellence in coaching, recruiting, commitment to the program, student-athletes, and head coach, while upholding the values of the IRCA and men's collegiate rowing.

As a program, Navy tied for first at both the Eastern Sprints and the IRA National Championship in the team standings. The Mids' 4V8 and 5V8 earned gold to lead the program at the Sprints, in addition to silver medal-winning performances by Navy's V8 and 2V8 on May 15. In the season-ending IRA regatta, the Mids' 2V8 and V4 won gold and the V8 took silver.
 
In the academic portion of the IRCA's announcements, the Navy lightweights had 15 members of its team noted as IRCA Scholar-Athletes. The Mids' Class of 2022 highlighted the list of high academic achievers with seven honorees: Matt Fox (Aurora, Colo.), Charlie Goodrich (Norwich, Vt.), David Jackson (Spearman, Texas), Jack Spector (Weston, Mass.), Kyle Jung (Upper Marlboro, Md.), Seamus Tomb (North Creek, N.Y.) and Will Jarrett (Gales Ferry, Conn.). Seven rising seniors also are noted on the honor roll: Colby MaGill (Edmond, Okla.), Connor Rex (Alexandria, Va.), Jackson Fuller (Winter Park, Fla.), Jonathan Greenberg (Providence, R.I.), Lucas Schatz (Wrightwood, Calif.), Matt Ross (Anchorage, Alaska) and Stephen Scholl (Annapolis, Md.). Robby Klanac (Strongsville, Ohio) is the only member of Navy's Class of 2024 to qualify for the national accolade.
 
For the 2022 season, all honorees needed to have completed their second season of eligibility, competed in their program's top three boats during the regular season or raced at the IRA Championships in May and have a 3.50 cumulative GPA or higher through the end of the fall semester.  In total, there were 525 rowers and coxswains from 44 different teams who met the criteria set by the IRCA Awards & Polling Committee.