WEST WINDSOR, N.J. – The Navy heavyweight crew program had a strong series of performances on Saturday in the second day of competition at the 2024 IRA National Championship. Racing in CD Semifinals for the first and second varsity eight events both crews turned in crisp and efficient 2,000-meter pieces on Mercer Lake that advanced them into Sunday's C Finals as the V8 placed first, while the 2V8 came in second.
The first varsity was in three-team fight off the line as Cornell broke out to a slim 0.49-second advantage over Navy and a 0.71-second edge over Wisconsin at the 500-meter mark. While the Badgers fell off the pace a bit in the next 500-meter section to drop two-plus seconds back, the Big Red and Mids continued their duel at the front of the field as they were separated by just 0.377 seconds at the halfway point. Cornell kept a minuscule lead over Navy at the 1,500-meter checkpoint by 0.468 seconds, 4:18.138 to 4:18.606. Down the stretch, the Mids sprinted to the race victory with a final quarter time that was more than a second faster than the Big Red. At the finish line, Navy clocked in at 5:44.417, while Cornell crossed with a time of 5:45.070. Both teams will advance to Sunday morning's C Final that is set for 9:20 a.m. Additionally, Georgetown earned the last C Final progressive berth from this heat with a time of 5:48.320.
The second CD Semifinal for the second varsity eight classification saw a similar level of tight competitive action as a quartet of boats came off the starting launches within 2.36 seconds of each other, including second through fourth place being separated by just 0.54 seconds at the quarter pole. While Columbia was keeping its two-plus second lead over the final 1,500 meters for the eventual victory, the jockeying for position between Navy, Drexel and Wisconsin held on for the next 1,000 meters. At the midway point, the Mids were second at 2:53.571 with the Dragons and Badgers right behind at 2:53.856 and 2:53.913, respectively. In the second half of the contest, Drexel overtook Navy by the three-quarter mark by 0.1 seconds, though Wisconsin lost seats and fell nearly two seconds back. In the final 500 meters, the Mids bolted past the Dragons for a 0.996-second margin, 5:52.455 to 5:53.451. Columbia (5:50.355), Navy and Drexel will all duke it out on Sunday as part of the six-team field in the 9:00 a.m. C Final.
The final crew in action on Saturday was the varsity four squad. Competing in the fifth-level final, Navy was part of an active heat that saw Marietta College break out to an early lead after 500 meters before being overtaken by Wisconsin in the ensuing 500 meters. The Mids stayed in mix throughout these initial 1,000 meters completing the first sector in third and second in fourth place. Once in the lead, the Badgers held off all late race challenges and secured the victory with a time of 6:44.308. While keeping contact with the crews from Oklahoma City (6:46.048) and MIT (6:46.053), Navy was unable to make that last final charge and completed the 2,000-meter final with a 6:48.638 time to rank fourth. Overall, the crew of
Gavin Frazer (So., Bridgeton, N.J.),
Hunter Golly (Jr., Orem, Utah),
Stanton Allman (Fr., Honolulu, Hawai'i),
Alex Coelho (Sr., Philadelphia, Pa.) and coxswain
Emily Kraft (So., Ormond Beach, Fla.) finished the championship ranked 28th overall in the nation.
The three-day national regatta will wrap up on Sunday for Navy starting at 8:50 a.m. when its 3V8 crew competes in its corresponding C Final. The 2V8 and V8 will also race on Sunday in C Finals at 9:00 a.m. and 9:20 a.m., respectively.
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Race Results
First Varsity Eight
First of 6 in Semifinal 4 (CD)
Navy – 5:44.417
Cornell – 5:45.070
Georgetown – 5:48.320
Wisconsin – 5:48.487
UC San Diego – 5:51.173
MIT – 5:52.063
  Next Up: C Final – Sunday, 9:20 AM
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Second Varsity Eight
Second of 5 in Semifinal 4 (CD)
Columbia – 5:50.355
Navy – 5:52.455
Drexel – 5:53.451
Wisconsin – 5:55.868
UC San Diego – 6:00.928
  Next Up: C Final – Sunday, 9:00 AM
Varsity Four
Fourth of 6 in E Final (Positions: 25-30)
Wisconsin – 6:44.308
Oklahoma City – 6:46.048
MIT – 6:46.053
Navy – 6:48.638 *28th in Nation
Marietta – 6:51.078
Williams – 6:54.391
Boat Lineups
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