SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Columbia's lightweight coxed varsity four captured a silver medal on the final day of the IRA National Championships. The Lions have now medaled in six of the last seven years in the lightweight division.
The Columbia's lightweight varsity eight narrowly missed out on the podium with a fourth-place finish in the grand final. In the heavyweight varsity eight, the Lions placed 15
th overall after a third-place finish in the third level final and the second varsity eight was 14
th overall with a runner-up performance in its final race. Columbia's lightweight straight four began the day, placing second in the petite final and eighth overall.
LIGHTWEIGHT RECAP
The varsity four + really turned on the jets in the second half of the race and began to gain on the leaders, Navy, but could never pull closer than stern-to-bow. Meanwhile, Princeton and Cornell were on the Lions' heels and those three boats finished within 0.8 seconds in a battle to reach the podium after the Midshipmen took the gold.
Columbia stayed with the pack, but Cornell jumped out quickly and built up a length margin on the rest of the field by the 1,000-meter mark. Princeton, Penn and the Lions all remained in tight quarters until the Tigers made a push in the final strokes, but did not overtake Cornell, who won the gold. The Quakers also had a burst down the stretch to pull in six seats in front of Columbia for the bronze.
In the straight four, Columbia overtook Yale for second place around 750 meters in and held that position the rest of the way. The Lions tried to pick up ground on first-place Cornell, however, the Big Red held off Columbia for the win.
HEAVYWEIGHT RECAP
Columbia used a strong start to take the lead about 500 meters into the varsity eight, but five boats were all within striking distance, making for a thrilling finish. George Washington won the heat, but Navy, Columbia and Wisconsin were all within 0.7 seconds of each other.
In the second varsity, the Lions held the second position early before Oregon State turned it on and went slightly ahead of Columbia. The crews were neck-and-neck after Wisconsin took early control for first place. The Beavers narrowly overtook Columbia with 500 meters or so to go, but the Lions responded with a strong sprint to finish ahead of Oregon State by a nose.
COLUMBIA'S SUNDAY RESULTS
LIGHTWEIGHT
Varsity Eight (Grand Final)
Cornell – 5:44.426
Princeton – 5:44.849
Penn – 5:46.244
Columbia – 5:47.573
Yale – 5:49.914
Navy – 5:50.086
Varsity Four + (Grand Final)
Navy – 6:25.819
Columbia – 6:27.702
Cornell – 6:28.350
Penn – 6:28.534
Princeton – 6:32.454
Georgetown – 6:33.172
Varsity Four – (Petite Final)
Cornell – 6:18.347
Columbia – 6:19.925
Yale – 6:20.237
Georgetown – 6:39.690
HEAVYWEIGHT
Varsity Eight (3rd Level Final)
George Washington – 5:48.910
Navy – 5:49.655
Columbia – 5:50.050
Wisconsin – 5:50.490
Penn – 5:51.027
Colgate – 5:58.708
Second Varsity Eight (3rd Level Final)
Wisconsin – 5:56.545
Columbia – 5:57.978
Oregon State – 5:58.192
Penn – 6:00.108
Hobart – 6:03.052
Stanford – 6:04.795
SUNDAY'S BOATINGS
LIGHTWEIGHTS
Varsity Eight in the Alex Navab
Cox:
Bella Zionts, Stroke:
Alexandros Zisimidis, 7:
Max Amsterdam, 6:
Alan Blaesser, 5:
Torrance Smith, 4:
Sebastian Krappe, 3:
John Robison, 2:
Jim Stewart, Bow:
Levi Beckett
Varsity Four +
Cox: Judy Liu, Stroke:
Alex Overmeer, 3:
Lukas Geiger, 2:
George Patterson, Bow:
Constantino Khoury
Varisty Four -
Stroke:
Michael Ritter, 3:
Brooks Ralph, 2:
Sam Melvin, Bow: Aiden Norder
HEAVYWEIGHTS
Varsity Eight
Cox:
Caroline Hurley, Stroke: Alexander Hedge, 7:
Tom Mortimer, 6;
Ryan Lee, 5:
Henry Quinn-Pasin, 4:
Clay Watson, 3:
Kyle Fram, 2:
Ian Low, Bow:
Neil Kennedy
Second Varsity Eight
Cox:
Alex Herron, Stroke:
Nick Edwards, 7:
Oliver Babb, 6:
Sean Aral, 5:
John Tanguay, 4:
Ben Tilden, 3: Will Randolph, 2:
Andrew Sizemore, Bow:
Chris Magnani
