ITHACA, N.Y. – The Cornell men's heavyweight rowing team closed out its fall season on a high note, posting three top-five finishes at the Cornell Autumn Classic on Saturday, Nov. 2 on the Cayuga Lake inlet in Ithaca, N.Y.

After facing stiff competition at the 55th Head of Charles Regatta, the Big Red showed significant improvement on Saturday, taking multiple steps in the right direction that will benefit the team in the spring season.

"In what is a rebuilding year for us, we had a good regatta yesterday," said Todd Kennett, the Spirit of '57 Director of Rowing and head coach of heavyweight rowing. "We closed the gap from what we showed two weeks ago, and in a lot of ways, the varsity was able to take several steps forward. The important thing now becomes making sure that the development of our younger guys comes along so that they push the varsity and enable us to get more peaking rather than base speed."

Saturday's regatta featured two flights, with every event in each flight featuring a 3,000km race and 300m sprint. To determine the placings for every event, each boat's 300m sprint time was multiplied by three and added to its 3,000km time. The overall winner was the boat with the lowest time from the summation of these distances.

In the first flight of racing, the Big Red placed three boats in the top-10 of the men's 4+. Coxed by Jack Robinson, the Cornell A 4+ boat of Chris Wilkins, Adam Campain, James Aimer, and Maxwell Kreutzelman was the top Big Red finisher, placing fourth with a time of 12:24.59. Led by coxswain Tommy Brittingham, the Cornell B 4+ boat composed of Drew Serven, Jackson Hardin, Isaac Murphy, and Nick Horbowy finished seventh with a combined time of 12:41.78. The Cornell C 4+ boat of Greg Nelson, Charles Bierden, Evan Wilt, Nicholas Hartnett, and coxswain William Zec rounded out the Big Red boats in the top-10, finishing ninth in 12:48.49.

The Big Red also found success in the 4+ race in the second flight, as the lone Cornell boat finished fifth with a combined time of 14:07.80. Coxswain Zec guided his second boat of the day to a top-five finish, and Drew Brady, Charles Mencke, Finn Lynch, and Chris Lawson helped him do so.

In the 8+ race of the second flight, Cornell had two boats finish in the top-10. Coxed by Brittingham, the varsity eight of Carl Pracey, Aimer, Kreutzelman, Wilkins, Campain, Hardin, Serven, and Horbowy rowed their way to a fourth place finish in 11:13.67. The second varsity eight also had a solid race, as the combination of Jackson Stone, Patrick Moore, William Grotto, Murphy, Bierden, Wilt, Hartnett, Ian Mignone, and coxswain Jacob Shusko placed 10th with a time of 11:48.43.

With the completion of the Cornell Autumn Classic, this concludes the fall season for the Cornell men's heavyweight rowing team. The Big Red will open its spring season when it competes in the Ithaca College Round Robin on Saturday, March 28 in Ithaca, N.Y.

Full Boatings

First Flight

Men's Heavyweight 4+
Cornell Boat A
Coxswain: Jack Robinson
4: Chris Wilkins
3: Adam Campain
2: James Aimer
1: Maxwell Kreutzelman

Cornell Boat B
Coxswain: Tommy Brittingham
4: Drew Serven
3: Jackson Hardin
2: Isaac Murphy
1: Nick Horbowy

Cornell Boat C
Coxswain: William Zec
4: Greg Nelson
3: Charles Bierden
2: Evan Wilt
1: Nicholas Hartnett

Cornell Boat D
Coxswain: Jacob Shusko
4: Ian Mignone
3: Jackson Stone
2: Patrick Moore
1: William Grotto

Cornell Boat E
Coxswain: Katherine Hintlian
4: Costa Theodore
3: Will Goetz
2: Drew Brady
1: Mark Krneta

Men's Heavyweight 8+
Cornell Boat D
Coxswain: James Kelso
8: Charles Mencke
7: Iain Kazmierczak
6: Graham Roman
5: Finn Lynch
4: Chris Lawson
3: Joshua Louser
2: Ethan Waxman
1: Alan Romanick
 
Second Flight

Men's Heavyweight 4+
Cornell Boat F
Coxswain: William Zec
4: Drew Brady
3: Charles Mencke
2: Finn Lynch
1: Chris Lawson

Men's Heavyweight 8+
Cornell Boat A
Coxswain: Tommy Brittingham
8: Carl Pracey
7: James Aimer
6: Maxwell Kreutzelman
5: Chris Wilkins
4: Adam Campain
3: Jackson Hardin
2: Drew Serven
1: Nick Horbowy

Cornell Boat B
Coxswain: Jacob Shusko
8: Jackson Stone
7: Patrick Moore
6: William Grotto
5: Isaac Murphy
4: Charles Bierden
3: Evan Wilt
2: Nicholas Hartnett
1: Ian Mignone

Cornell Boat C
Coxswain: Jack Robinson
8: Will Goetz
7: Costa Theodore
6: Greg Nelson
5: Austin Chase
4: Jordan Broihier
3: Joshua Louser
2: Mark Krneta
1: Ethan Waxman