WEST WINDSOR, N.J. – The Navy lightweight rowing team wrapped up its racing at the 2024 IRA National Championship on Sunday with a pair of grand final contests. After taking yesterday off for a practice-only day, the Mids' first and second varsity eight crews were well-rested and left it all out on the waters of Mercer Lake in central New Jersey. At the end of their respective 2,000-meter pieces, Navy's second varsity placed fourth, just 0.24 seconds out of the medals, while the first varsity came in sixth in an extremely fast grand final.
The second varsity eight final was the first contest of the day for the Mids. The action was close from start-to-finish as four crews opened the initial 500 meters within 1.3 seconds as Penn broke out first at 1:25.58 with Harvard (1:26.30), Navy (1:26.77) and Cornell (1:26.88) right behind. The Crimson overtook the Quakers over the next 500 meters and grabbed first place, a position that they would not relinquish for the remainder of the race. Jockeying for second, third and fourth was story for the second half of the event. At the three-quarter mark, Penn was holding off Navy for second place by 1.446 seconds with Cornell lingering nearby 1.448 seconds back in fourth. A crisp final 500 meters for the Big Red saw them un-seat the Mids for the final medal position by the slimmest of margins, 0.24 seconds, 5:52.096 to 5:52.336. The final standings went Harvard (5:46.629), Penn (5:50.183), Cornell, Navy, Dartmouth (5:56.253), Princeton (5:56.533) and Yale (6:02.373). The crew of
Andy Fichtel (Jr., Wellesley, Mass.),
Owen O'Malley (Jr., Pittsburgh, Pa.),
Frank Keusenkothen (So., Reston, Va.),
Robby Klanac (Sr., Strongsville, Ohio),
Ramon Mendoza (Jr., Los Banos, Calif.),
Tanner Hamilton (So., Phoenix, Ariz.),
Noah Ferguson (Fr., El Dorado Hills, Calif.),
Pete Carino (Jr., Great River, N.Y.) and coxswain
Kelly Bye (Sr., Stafford, Va.) finished the championship ranked fourth in the nation.
The first varsity eight concluded Navy's IRA action with racing in its respective grand final. A dominant opening 500 meters by Harvard set the tone in the race as the Crimson went wire-to-wire as they sprinted out to an initial two-second lead over the field kept that advantage throughout the 2,000 meters defeating second-place Princeton, 5:36.821 to 5:39.408. Penn finished just over a second back of the Tigers to grab the final medal position with a 5:40.484 time. The battle in the second half of the field saw Cornell, Dartmouth and Navy going stroke-for-stroke down the stretch as the Big Green led the fight for fourth place at the midway point, though Navy was just 1.482 seconds back in sixth. Over the ensuing 500 meters, Dartmouth continued to hold onto fourth before Cornell made a significant move in the final sector to clinch the fourth position with a time of 5:45.518. Dartmouth came in fifth at 5:46.598 ahead of Navy's 5:50.571 time. The Mids' V8 lineup for the IRAs consisted of coxswain
Mia Sachs (Jr., Herndon, Va.),
Mason Banks (Jr., Westport, Conn.),
Brooks Kirchen (Jr., Dallas, Texas),
Luca Mezzanotte (Fr., Belmont, Mass.),
Paddy McNamara (So., Philadelphia, Pa.),
Nani Veluchamy (So., Naperville, Ill.), team captain
Stephen Frost (Sr., Pittsburgh, Pa.),
Jonathan Sauer (Jr., Princeton Junction, N.J.) and
Decker Moy-Jacobs (Fr., Fairfax, Va.). Overall, Navy's V8 finished sixth in the nation.
"Over the course of this national championship weekend, we saw three young Navy crews growing up and learning how to be their best at the right moment," remarked head coach
Shawn Bagnall.
"Our V4+ put together a great and complete race in their petite final win. Obviously, we look to have that type of effort in the grand final, but these guys went out and really closed their season on a strong note.
"We might be most proud of the 2V8 grand final, where our guys went out and raced to win, just missing a bronze medal by less than half a second. We are extremely proud of the effort, determination and boldness that they showed in final.
"Our V8 had a great heat on Friday to earn a spot in the grand final. They likely are a little disappointed in their grand final performance this morning, but I know that this young crew will come back ready to have an awesome year next year.
"I'm extremely proud of this team, our coaching staff and all of the investment that our newly minted officers gave to the program over four years. All of our boats finished higher than they were seeded at this regatta. There is no doubt that the future is bright for the Navy Lightweight Rowing Program. Go Goats!"
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Race Results
First Varsity Eight
6th of 6 in Grand Final
Harvard – 5:36.821
Princeton – 5:39.408
Penn – 5:40.484
Cornell – 5:45.518
Dartmouth – 5:46.598
Navy – 5:50.571 *6th in Nation
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Second Varsity Eight
4th of 7 in Grand Final
Harvard – 5:46.629
Penn – 5:50.183
Cornell – 5:52.096
Navy – 5:52.336 *4th in Nation
Dartmouth – 5:56.253
Princeton – 5:56.533
Yale – 6:02.373
Boat Lineups
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