GOLD RIVER, Calif. – The Navy heavyweight rowing team had a successful second day at the 2026 IRA National Championship on Saturday as the Mids secured a pair of victories in CD Semifinal competitions. With its top three crews racing on the waters of Lake Natoma in northern California, Navy's first and third varsity eight boats placed first in their respective races, while the Mids' second varsity came in third in its race to also advance to C Final action on Sunday.
Navy's first varsity eight led off the day of racing in the second CD Semifinal of the classification. Matched up against Columbia, Wisconsin, Drexel, Oregon State and MIT, Navy was the class of the field throughout the 2,000 meters of action as it crossed each of the 500-, 1,000-, 1,500-meter and finish line markers in first place. The Mids came out of the gates fast with an excellent opening sprint that left them 0.24 seconds ahead of the Lions and 1.1 seconds up on the Badgers at the quarter pole. Navy and Columbia broke away from the pack as the Eastern Sprint rivals were in-sync over the next 500 meters as they both posted identical 1:27.750 splits.
The two-boat showcase continued in the second half of the race as the Mids and Lions kept their stroke-for-stroke battle going through 1,500 meters when it was just a 0.11-second differential between the crews. Down the stretch, Navy flexed its muscle with the fastest closing split in the field and moved out on Columbia for a 2.04-second margin of victory, 5:52.290 to 5:54.330. Wisconsin secured the last spot in Sunday's C Final with a time of 5:56.400. Drexel (5:59.280), Oregon State (6:05.260) and MIT (6:07.390) will be relegated to the D Final for the V8+ division. Navy will wrap up action at 12:30 p.m. ET/9:30 a.m. PT on Sunday.
Navy's second varsity eight crew was next out on the water to race for spot in a Sunday C Final. The Mids' 2V8+ had to withstand the efforts of Boston University, Drexel, Temple, La Salle and UC San Diego to do just that. Navy's hopes of making it two-for-two in securing C Final bids initially looking a bit uneasy as the Mids broke out of the opening sprint in fourth place behind the Terriers, Dragons and Owls. While BU and Drexel drew out to a near open-water advantage over Navy during the next 1,000 meters of racing, the Mids were locked in on chasing down and passing the Owls. Trailing by 0.37 seconds after 500 meters and 0.41 seconds after 1,000 meters, Navy overtook Temple with a 1.33-second faster split in the third quarter of the race and a 1.78-second advantage in the final 500 meters to capture the third advancement position into Sunday's C Final for the 2V8+ division.
The final standings for Saturday's race saw Boston University win with a time of 5:56.710 and Drexel and Navy finish in second and third with respective times of 5:58.720 and 6:03.090. Temple had to settle for a spot in Sunday's D Final after clocking in at 6:05.790, ahead of La Salle (6:10.690) and UC San Diego (6:20.800). The 2V8+ C Final is scheduled for 12:22 p.m. ET/9:22 a.m. PT on Sunday.
The third and final team racing under the Navy banner on Saturday was the third varsity eight crew, who was grouped together with Cornell, Georgetown and Oregon State. The Mids secured the program's second win of the day in come-from-behind fashion as they initially trailed the Big Red through each of the first two checkpoints, first by 0.30 seconds and later by 0.37 seconds. Keeping it close at the midway juncture helped Navy in the second half of the race when it put together the fastest third and fourth quarter splits to accelerate past Cornell and onto victory.
At the finish line, the Mids were victorious by 3.590 seconds over the Big Red, 6:06.160 to 6:09.750. Georgetown held off Oregon State for the final C Final qualification spot, 6:15.640 to 6:21.890. Navy will be back in action in Sunday's C Final starting at 12:14 p.m. ET/9:14 a.m. PT.
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Race Results
First Varsity Eight
First of Six in CD Semifinal 2
Navy – 5:52.290
Columbia – 5:54.330
Wisconsin – 5:56.400
Drexel – 5:59.280
Oregon State – 6:05.260
MIT – 6:07.390
   Next Up: C Final – Sunday, 12:30 p.m.
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Second Varsity Eight
Third of Six in CD Semifinal 1
Boston Univ. – 5:56.710
Drexel – 5:58.720
Navy – 6:03.090
Temple – 6:05.790
La Salle – 6:10.690
UC San Diego – 6:20.800
   Next Up: C Final – Sunday, 12:22 p.m.
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Third Varsity Eight
First of four in CD Semifinal 1
Navy – 6:06.160
Cornell – 6:09.750
Georgetown – 6:15.640
Oregon State – 6:21.890
   Next Up: C Final – Sunday, 12:14 p.m.
Boat Lineups
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