Gold River, Calif. - Friday morning's heats marked the beginning of racing at the 2026 IRA National Championship. The weather was great for it. Mild temps, cloudy skies, and negligible wind greeted the athletes at Lake Natoma. The Division III heats rounded out the morning's program after the Division I Heavyweight and Lightweights raced. The eight Division III teams at the championship raced in four-boat heats Friday morning. The top-three crews in each heat were set to advance to Saturday's grand final, and the fourth crew to the petite final. Entering IRAs, Colby's first and second varsity eights were seeded 7th. Both crews faced stiff competition in their heats and raced hard. The first varsity will be racing in Saturday's petite final, and in the only upset of the morning, the second varsity will be in the grand final.
In the first varsity,
Charlie Pantelick '27,
Ben Zipkin '29,
Cole Christensen '27,
Connor Katz '29,
Andy Li '28,
Jack Weinberg '26,
Jack Childress '26,
Ian Ucko '28, and
Jackson Harrington '28 made a valiant effort to upset 5th-seeded Marietta, coming up short by less than a second. Looking to overturn their result against the Pioneers from mid-April, Colby raced hard. Coming down the course neck and neck, Marietta pulled away around the midway point. In the final 500 meters, the Mules launched their sprint and crawled their way back. By the time the crews crossed the line, Colby had reduced Marietta's lead from nearly a boat length to a little more than their bowdeck. The times were: Trinity: 5:56.690, Williams: 5:58.850, Marietta: 6:05.620, Colby: 6:06.320.
In the second varsity,
William Leonard '29,
Alex Malkani '29,
Bennett Jones '27,
William Steinwachs '29,
Brendan Barrett '27,
Theo Grossman '27,
Reed Blaeser '29,
Robbie Trowbridge '28, and
Nolan Roche '28 put on a show. The Mules lined up against the same three teams that their teammates in the 1V did, and they too were looking to flip the script on Marietta after their mid-April match-up where the Pioneers prevailed. This time, when it counted, Colby upset Marietta, taking every punch the pioneers had and even threw a few of their own back. Colby's third place finish out of lane four earned them a spot in the grand final on Saturday and marked the only upset of the morning across Division I Heavyweight, Lightweight, and Division III. The times were: Williams: 6:05.220, Trinity: 6:08.380, Colby: 6:16.080, Marietta: 6:17.110.
Tomorrow, Colby's second varsity races at 11:56am PDT. The first varsity races at 12:14pm PDT.
