WEST WINDSOR, N.J. – Action at the 2024 IRA National Championship kicked off for the Navy heavyweight program on Friday with four crews taking on the nation's best at Mercer Lake in central New Jersey. The Mids raced in qualifying heats, time trials and semifinals across the first, second and third varsity eight and varsity four classifications as part of the festivities of opening day.
Navy's top varsity eight crew was the first on the water and was immediately on the hunt for one of the top-three qualifying positions in Saturday's AB Semifinals. After the opening 500 meters, the standings showed Harvard (1:21.000) out front of Princeton (1:22.054), Boston Univ. (1:23.702), Navy (1:24.482), La Salle (1:25.272) and Santa Clara (1:28.937). Significant moves by the Crimson and Tigers over the next 500 meters moved those two boats out front by three-plus seconds each. That trend continued over the final 1,000 meters as those crews captured two of the advancement spots at 5:34.016 and 5:36.593, respectively. The battle between the Mids and Terriers for the final berth in the V8 AB Semifinal went the way of BU as it out-paced Navy in each of the final three checkpoints to clock in at the finish line, 5:43.286 to 5:50.709. The Mids will next compete in the CD Semifinals on Saturday morning at 10:00 a.m.
A similar storyline played out in heat number two of the second varsity eight event. The opening sprint decided the heat and three AB Semifinal qualifying positions as Princeton broke out into first place at 1:23.333 after the initial 500 meters ahead of Yale (1:24.515), Penn (1:25.935), Navy (1:26.418), Oregon State (1:30.498) and Jacksonville (1:31.160). The standings never changed for the remaining 1,500 meters as the trio of Princeton, Yale and Penn went one-two-three at 5:44.593, 5:47.293 and 5:48.273, respectively. Working on strategy down the stretch, Navy placed fourth with a time of 6:00.117, 12.733 seconds ahead of fifth-place Oregon State, 6:12.850. The Mids will hit the water again on Saturday at 10:20 a.m. as part of the CD Semifinals.
The final eight-man boat in action on Friday was Navy's third varsity eight. The fight for the last advancement was immediately noticeable at the 500-meter mark as Penn and Navy were separated by just 0.75 seconds after the opening quarter segment. A three-second advantage for the Quakers over the next 500 meters helped Penn build out its lead ahead of Navy by the mid-point. Significant splits in favor of the Quakers over the final 1,000 meters saw them grab the final spot in the AB Semifinal with a time of 6:01.703. Cal and Yale garnered the first two positions at 5:47.330 and 5:50.060. Navy's ended up fourth with a 6:16.713 time. The Mids' 3V8 will be off from action on Saturday before concluding its IRA competition in the C Final on Sunday morning at 8:50 a.m.
The varsity four crew raced twice, first in a time trial and later in the afternoon in a DEF Semifinal. Initially, the Mids' V4 posted a time trial result of 6:38.307 in the morning to set it up for an afternoon semifinal to determine D-E-F final action on Saturday. Stanford and Adrian College went wire-to-wire in first and second place as the duo opened at 1:35.000 and 1:36.800, respectively through 500 meters before finishing at 6:29.818 and 6:32.418. Navy found itself in a tussle with MIT and Bates throughout the 2,000-meter competition. The three crews were separated by 1.990 seconds after 500 meters and 1.999 at the midway point. The margin grew even tighter between the 1,000 and 1,500-meter marks as MIT crossed at 5:01.334 fractionally ahead of Bates (5:01.772) and Navy (5:01.970). A drag race to the end, the Mids came through with the best final sector of the trio and placed third overall in the field at 6:42.178, while the Engineers fell to fourth at 6:43.221 and the Bobcats crossed in fifth at 6:44.018. Navy's result will advance them into V4 E Final that goes off at 10:40 a.m. on Saturday morning.
All three of the crews that will be in action on Saturday will go off in quick succession with the V8, 2V8 and V4 racing at 10:00 a.m., 10:20 a.m. and 10:40 a.m., respectively.
Race Results
First Varsity Eight
Fourth of 6 in Heat 3
Harvard - 5:34.016
Princeton – 5:36.593
Boston Univ. – 5:43.286
Navy – 5:50.709
La Salle – 5:57.559
Santa Clara – 6:13.726
  Next Up: CD Semifinals – Saturday, 10:00 AM
Second Varsity Eight
Fourth of 6 in Heat 2
Princeton – 5:44.593
Yale – 5:47.293
Penn – 5:48.273
Navy – 6:00.117
Oregon State – 6:12.850
Jacksonville – 6:22.373
  Next Up: CD Semifinals – Saturday, 10:20 AM
Third Varsity Eight
Fourth of 4 in Heat 4
California – 5:47.330
Yale – 5:50.060
Penn – 6:01.703
Navy – 6:16.713
  Next up: C Final – Sunday, 8:50 AM
Varsity Four
32nd of 35th in Time Trial – 6:38.307
Third of 5 in Semifinal 5 (DEF)
Stanford – 6:29.818
Adrian College – 6:32.418
Navy – 6:42.178
MIT – 6:43.221
Bates – 6:44.018
  Next Up: E Final – Saturday, 10:40 a.m.
Boat Lineups
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