WORCESTER, Mass. – The Navy heavyweight rowing team was in action on Sunday at the 2026 Eastern Sprints Championship at Lake Quinsigamond in central Massachusetts. Entering five boats into the conference regatta, the Mids' fourth and fifth varsity eight crews led the way as both placed inside the top 10 as the 5V8 claimed fifth in their classification, while the 4V8 squad came in ninth overall.

Navy's best result came from its fifth varsity crew, who participated in the grand final of its respective division. While Princeton was the class of the six-team field and pulled away for an open-water advantage in the second half of the race, Navy was squarely in the mix for third place and even for a bit, second place. Dartmouth eventually secured second place with a time of 6:13.340 that only trailed Princeton's 6:08.410. The trio of Penn, Boston University and Navy jockeyed for position throughout the 2,000-meter race and finished within a handful of seats of each other as the Quakers edged the Terriers by 2.212 seconds, 6:15.738 to 6:17.950 with the Mids less than a second back at 6:18.828. Harvard rounded out the field in sixth with a 6:26.582 time.

Navy's second top-10 result came courtesy of its fourth varsity eight crew. Coming into the regatta seeded tenth, the Mids bested that pre-event ranking by one on Sunday as they finished third in the petite final, good for ninth overall. Brown and Northeastern broke away early from the six-team field and finished one-two in the final with respective times of 6:10.052 and 6:10.474. Navy ran its race and withstood constant pressure from Yale and Cornell to hold onto third place with a time of 6:18.732 that clocked in 1.420 seconds ahead of the Bulldogs' 6:20.152 and 3.808 seconds better than the Big Red's 6:22.540.

The Mids' second and third varsity eight crews also participated in petite final action on Sunday. Navy had its hands full in the morning qualifying race as it earned the final spot in the petite final by 0.572 seconds over Columbia, 5:49.785 to 5:50.357. In the afternoon, the Mids were in contact with the Terriers of BU down the stretch, but came up a few seats short of grabbing fourth place. At the finish line, BU posted a time of 5:55.002, 2.791 seconds quicker than Navy's 5:57.793. Wisconsin was just under a second back in sixth place at 5:58.728. Navy's fifth-place result translated to 11th overall at the competition.

The Mids' third varsity eight nearly duplicated that fifth-place output in its own petite final competition, though the Big Red of Cornell ultimately secured that position by 0.148 seconds, 6:08.564 to 6:08.712.

Navy's first varsity eight struggled to find consistent speed over its two times down the course on Lake Quinsigamond on Sunday as they opened the day with a qualifying heat time of 5:51.699 that left them in the third final later on. In the third final that ranked positions 13 through 15 at the competition, the Navy V8 came in third of three crews with a time of 5:53.913. In a tightly-packed field, the Mids were in contact with the Georgetown Hoyas and Holy Cross Crusaders throughout, but just didn't have enough speed down the stretch as Georgetown claimed the race win at 5:49.941, 2,248 seconds ahead of Holy Cross' 5:52.189.

"Today was a mixed day for the Navy Heavyweight program at the Eastern Sprints," remarked Matt Fluhr, The Tom and Candy Knudson Heavyweight Rowing Head Coach. "Our lower boats competed hard and did a good job outperforming their seeding, which reflects the growth and depth we are continuing to build throughout the roster. At the same time, our varsity eight had a difficult day and was unable to put together a full day of racing at the level we expect from ourselves.

"As a program, we want more and are not satisfied with where we currently are. Part of building something sustainable is being honest about where you stand in the moment while continuing to push forward. We believe strongly in the direction of this program, the culture we are building and the work our athletes are putting in every day. We will continue to learn, develop and move this program forward."
  
In the Rowe Cup team standings, Navy finished 13th. Princeton took the team title with 39 points.

Navy will continue postseason action in 12 days when the three-day IRA National Championship commences in Lake Natoma, California on Friday, May 29.
 
Race Results
First Varsity Eight
Heat 1; 6th of 6 boats … 5:51.699
Third Final
Georgetown – 5:49.941
Holy Cross – 5:52.189
Navy – 5:53.913  *15th overall
 
Second Varsity Eight
Heat 1; 4th of 5 boats … 5:49.785
Petite Final
Cornell – 5:49.779
Penn – 5:51.718
Yale – 5:51.939
Boston Univ. – 5:55.002
Navy – 5:57.793  *11th overall
Wisconsin – 5:58.728
 
Third Varsity Eight
Heat 1; 4th of 5 boats … 6:02.698
Petite Final
Northeastern – 5:58.378
Boston Univ. – 5:58.522
Yale – 6:01.718
Columbia – 6:05.000
Cornell – 6:08.564
Navy – 6:08.712  *12th overall
 
Fourth Varsity Eight
Heat 2; 5th of 6 boats
Petite Final
Brown – 6:10.152
Northeastern – 6:10.474
Navy – 6:18.732  *9th overall
Yale – 6:20.152
Cornell – 6:22.540
Columbia – 6:29.040
 
Fifth Varsity Eight
Grand Final
Princeton – 6:08.410
Dartmouth – 6:13.340
Penn – 6:15.738
Boston Univ. – 6:17.950
Navy – 6:18.828
Harvard – 6:26.582

Boat Lineups

	First Varsity Eight	Second Varsity Eight	Third Varsity Eight	Fourth Varsity Eight	Fifth Varsity Eight
Bow	Vladyslav Khanas	Turner Coomes	Mason Wetzel	Isaiah Shuchman	Joseph Moran
2	Luke Hoffman	Robert Sherman	Beckett Browning	Britton Crockett	Leo Corsano-Leopizzi
3	Ben Vogel	Charlie Tomasi	Luke Welch	Maddox Routh	Wilford Beck
4	Edward Winkler	Zach Lee	Eli Webre	Grant Sonntag	Robert Trafford
5	Wyatt Campagna	Nathan Pawlowicz	Alberto Grossetti	Hogan Anderson	Wesley Solomon
6	Nick Duncan	Ryley Keegan	Greyson Goddard	Everett Sargent	Carter Rose
7	Jackson Fagg	Austin Campagna	Emmett Kloss	Matthew Wainwright	Nathan Mehls
Str.	Nathaniel Duffy	Colin Lang	Matthew Simmons	Xavier Kovac	Gavin Frazer
Cox.	George Bentley	Tyler Smolensky	Jonathan Leite	Emily Kraft	Carter Braun