LEONIA, N.J. – The Navy lightweight rowing team had an action-packed day of racing on Saturday at the 2026 National Collegiate Lightweight Invitational. The majority of the Mids' (1-2) reps at Overpeck Park came versus Yale (1-2) in the morning and Columbia (0-2) in the afternoon. At the conclusion of eight individual contests, Navy came away with five victories, as well as the VanAmrige Points Trophy over Yale and WIT Cup courtesy of its V8 win.

"We were fortunate enough today to match up against some strong, well-coached teams," remarked head coach Shawn Bagnall. "I was proud of our team making the most of each trip down the course in some, at times, challenging conditions.
 
"In the morning session, we saw our 2V, 3V, and 4V extend some of their progress from this past week of training and earn wins. Earning the JEVA Points Trophy with an entire team effort was awesome to see. The Varsity 8+ fell short, but we saw some elements that we could apply to the afternoon session. Regardless the outcome in the 1V race vs Yale, it's always an honor each year to race for the Eads Johnson Cup, named for a brave WWII Navy Captain and Yale Lightweight oarsman. 
 
"Much like the morning session, our 4V led the afternoon and kicked things off well. Getting a chance to race Penn in the 2V and 3V racing before our Callow Cup racing in April was a fun new wrinkle in our dual racing with Columbia. It was some very competitive racing and we're excited about the young athletes in those boats. Having the opportunity to close out the regatta with a gutsy race by the 1V and earning the WIT Cup was a rewarding way to round out our racing. 
 
"My gratitude and thanks to the entire Columbia University staff for putting all of the racing together and hosting an outstanding day for US Collegiate Lightweight Rowing."

The meet was run in reverse order (4V-3V-2V-1V) so the Mids' fourth varsity eight was in action first in both sessions. Navy's 4V kick-started the day of winning with an open-water win over Princeton and Penn. The Mids cruised across the finish line with a time of 6:26.72 that was 7.86 seconds ahead of the second-place Tigers and 9.28 seconds faster than the Quakers. The same three teams duked it out five hours later with much tighter results at the top of the leaderboard. Those results were so tight the race to the finish line was deemed a dead heat between Navy and Princeton as both boats clocked in at 6:21.27. Penn was over 13 seconds back with a 6:34.52 time.

The first boat to participate in the VanAmrige Points Trophy competition between Navy and Yale was the third varsity. The Mids' 3V dominated the Bulldogs from start-to-finish and rolled to an 11.22-second margin of victory, 6:57.00 to 7:08.22. In the afternoon, Navy's 3V was tested in a three-team heat versus Penn and Princeton. In a competitive 2,000-meter contest, the Quakers held off the hard-charging Mids by less than two seconds, 6:40.90 to 6:42.71. Both teams easily surpassed the Tigers' 6:50.47 results.

Navy's second varsity eight clinched its points trophy battle with Yale courtesy of a 6:33.60 to 6:38.01 decision in the morning session. Later on Saturday, Navy's annual 2V showdown with Columbia went the way of the Mids by a significant 22.82-second margin, 6:35.85 to 6:58.67. Racing as a guest in the Navy-Columbia matchup, Penn turned in the overall fastest time of the 2V heat with mark of 6:31.83. 

The Mids' first varsity eight was also in action twice on Saturday with a pair of trophies on the line, the Eads Johnson Cup versus the Bulldogs in the morning and WIT Cup against the Lions in the afternoon. Navy put forth a valiant effort in its morning piece versus Yale though the Bulldogs held on to retain the Johnson Cup, 6:28.70 to 6:33.96. The Mids looked for redemption in the afternoon and found it as they shaved a second off their initial time versus Yale and used that faster result to push ahead of Columbia 6:32.96 to 6:34.95 and take the WIT Cup back to Annapolis.

Navy will look to continue building off of Saturday's effort with two weeks of practice as it has a bye in its schedule next weekend before hosting Georgetown in the annual Forster Cup competition on Saturday, April 11.

Race Results
First Varsity Eight
Session 1
Yale – 6:28.70
Navy – 6:33.96

Session 2
Navy – 6:32.96
Columbia – 6:34.95
 
Second Varsity Eight
Session 1
Navy – 6:33.60
Yale – 6:38.01

Session 2
Penn – 6:31.83
Navy – 6:35.85
Columbia – 6:58.67
 
Third Varsity Eight
Session 1
Navy – 6:57.00
Yale – 7:08.22

Session 2
Penn – 6:40.90
Navy – 6:42.71
Princeton – 6:50.47
 
Fourth Varsity Eight
Session 1
Navy – 6:26.72
Princeton – 6:34.58
Penn – 6:36.00

Session 2
Navy / Princeton – 6:21.27 (tie)
Penn – 6:34.52

Boat Lineups

	First Varsity Eight	Second Varsity Eight	Third Varsity Eight	Fourth Varsity Eight
1	Decker Moy-Jacobs	Ben Lacuesta	Alexander Crowther	Sam Rahm
2	Sam Rembold	Frank Keusenkothen	Diego Zaidle	Frank Whitlock
3	Emmett Sullivan	Chris Binney	Thomas Kelly	Hayato Majoros
4	John Michael Blake	Max Gomez	Ryan Kennedy	Collin de la Garza
5	Alexander Kaiser	Charlie Conroy	William Seitz	Jacob MacNab
6	Nani Veluchamy	Gunner Williams	Parker Schofield	Nihko Johnson-Newman
7	Paddy McNamara	Jacob Harvey	Owen Maloney	B.J. Brown
Str.	Noah Ferguson	Tanner Hamilton	George Liu	Chirag Chandnani
Cox.	Christian Ramos	Aila Toivonen	Devin Ratte	Jack Bode