GOLD RIVER, Calif. – Improving throughout the weekend, the Navy heavyweight rowing program concluded its three days of action at the 2026 IRA National Championship on Sunday with its top three varsity eight crews all competing in C Finals. Racing for positions 13 through 18 nationally, the Mids' first and third boats finished runner-up in their respective competitions to place 14th overall, while its second varsity came in 17th. As a team, Navy ranked 14th in the Ten Eyck Team Points standings.
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The Mids' first varsity eight had the performance of the day as they were in a stroke-for-stroke battle for first place in their final against Cornell, Wisconsin, Columbia, Georgetown and Holy Cross. A solid opening 500 meters saw Navy sit third in the early standings. A speedy and efficient second 500 helped the Mids edge in front of the Badgers and into second place only 0.63 seconds behind the Big Red's pace at the halfway juncture.
The jockeying between Navy and Wisconsin continued over the next third of the race with Columbia and Georgetown entering the conversation and fight for second place. At the 1,500-meter mark it was Cornell (4:20.850), Wisconsin (4:22.520), Columbia (4:22.720), Navy (4:23.510) and Georgetown (4:23.870). The jumbled top of the leaderboard found clarity in the final 500 meters with five very different sprints to the finish line as the last splits ranged from the Mids' 1:24.084 to the Hoyas' 1:30.232. When the dust settled, Cornell was victorious by just 0.159 seconds over Navy, 5:47.435 to 5:47.594. Wisconsin and Columbia fell over three seconds off Navy's pace and finished third and fourth respectively at 5:51.037 and 5:51.309. Georgetown (5:54.102) and Holy Cross (5:56.600) rounded out the field.
With Sunday's result, the crew of
Wyatt Campagna,
Charlie Tomasi, team captain
Colin Lang,
Edward Winkler,
Jackson Fagg,
Nathan Pawlowicz,
Ben Vogel,
Nathaniel Duffy and coxswain
George Bentley finished 14th in the nation for first varsity eight crews.
A similar scrap between Cornell and Navy atop the leaderboard occurred in the C Final of the third varsity eight division. The rest of the field in the battle for national positions 13 through 18 included Columbia, Drexel, Georgetown and Holy Cross. The Lions were the early leaders out of the gate as they crossed the 500-meter marker in first, a half second ahead of the Big Red and a second faster than the Mids. A swap of positions between Cornell and Columbia went down in the next segment of the race as the Big Red were the first to cross the halfway point with a time of 2:58.520, 1.14 seconds better than the Lions and 2.19 faster than the Mids' 3:00.710.
The crew of
Isaiah Shuchman,
Beckett Browning,
Luke Welch,
Greyson Goddard,
Alberto Grossetti,
Eli Webre,
Emmett Kloss,
Matthew Simmons and coxswain
Jonathan Leite made its move in the third quarter of the contest and had a 1.49-second faster split than Columbia and accelerated into second place. Trailing Cornell by less than two seconds, Navy emptied its tank with one final sprint and closed out the race in second place, 1.899 seconds back of Cornell, 5:58.383 to 6:00.282. Columbia (6:02.978) and Drexel (6:03.898) finished in contact with Navy as the finish line. Georgetown (6:05.618) and Holy Cross (6:06.908) came in fifth and sixth, respectively.
That runner-up finish in the C Final placed the Mids' 3V8+ 14th overall in the nation.
The third team in action representing the Navy heavyweight program on Sunday was the Mids' second varsity eight crew. Consisting of
Turner Coomes,
Robert Sherman,
Luke Hoffman,
Zach Lee,
Nick Duncan,
Ryley Keegan,
Austin Campagna,
Vladyslav Khanas and coxswain
Tyler Smolensky, Navy's 2V8 was in the mix from the start with an opening 500-meter time of 1:28.010 that left it in third place, just over a second out of first place. Moves continued occurring up-and-down the grid over the next 1,000 meters as Wisconsin passed Navy leading up to the mid-way mark, while Columbia pulled closer to the Mids by the 1,500-meter mark.
Down the stretch, Boston University and Drexel pulled away to place first and second respectively at 5:51.180 and 5:53.952 before Wisconsin glided across the finish line in third at 5:56.390. A back-and-forth battle to the end saw Columbia hold off Navy by 0.303 seconds, 5:58.960 to 5:59.263. Holy Cross was three-plus seconds back of Navy in sixth place with a 6:02.492 effort.
The Mids' fifth-place result translates to 17th overall in the nation for the 2V8+ division.
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At the conclusion of the racing, Navy finished 14th in the team points trophy standings with 120 points. Washington claimed the national team title as it bested Princeton by 12 points, 284 to 272. Harvard grabbed the final spot on the medal stand with 258 points.
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Race Results
First Varsity Eight
Second of Six in Third Final
Cornell – 5:47.435
Navy – 5:47.594  **14th in the nation
Wisconsin – 5:51.037
Columbia – 5:51.309
Georgetown – 5:54.102
Holy Cross – 5:56.600
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Second Varsity Eight
Fifth of Six in Third Final
Boston Univ. – 5:51.180
Drexel – 5:53.952
Wisconsin – 5:56.390
Columbia – 5:58.960
Navy – 5:59.263 **17th in the nation
Holy Cross – 6:02.492
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Third Varsity Eight
Second of Six in Third Final
Cornell – 5:58.383
Navy – 6:00.282 **14th in the nation
Columbia – 6:02.978
Drexel – 6:03.898
Georgetown – 6:05.618
Holy Cross – 6:06.908
Boat Lineups
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