WEST WINDSOR, N.J. — The Cornell men's heavyweight rowing team's 2V8+ and 3V8+ crews posted third-place finishes in their respective heats to open the 2024 IRA National Championship on Friday at Mercer Lake.

With the third-place finishes, Cornell will have two chances to clinch spots in the 'A' Finals of the Kennedy Challenge Bowl (2V8+) and the Steward's Cup (3V8+) on Saturday morning.

MORNING RECAP
In their respective heats, Cornell's 2V8+ and 3V8+ crews held onto third place for the duration of the 2000-meter course, finshing behind Harvard and Dartmouth in each reach to record its third-place finishes.

The Crimson registered wire-to-wire victories in both races, posting times of 5:46.505 (2V8+) and 5:48.664 (3V8+). Dartmouth was 2.320 seconds behind the Crimson in the 2V8+ and 1.390 in the 3V8+. Cornell finished the 2V8+ nearly nine seconds behind Harvard (8.737) with its time of 5:55.242, while the 3V8+ crew was just 2.597 seconds behind the Crimson (5:51.261).

Finishing in fourth place in the 1V8+, Cornell could not jump ahead of California, Yale, or Stanford — the trio of crews that finished ahead of the Big Red. Similar to the 2V8+ and 3V8+, Cornell remained in fourth place for the entire 2000-meter event. Cornell's time of 5:50.468 was 12.274 seconds behind first-place finishing California, but was six-plus seconds ahead of Oregon State and 7.016 seconds better than UC San Diego.

One of 35 entries in the 1V4+, Cornell's varsity four clocked a time of 6:21.643 in the time trial on Friday morning, earning a spot in the 'DEF' semifinals, which were held on Friday afternoon. Washington clocked the best time of all crews, logging a 6:06.858 clip.

MORNING RESULTS
1V8+ HEAT #3:
1. California — 5:38.194
2. Yale — 5:40.964
3. Stanford — 5:43.731
4. Cornell — 5:50.468
5. Oregon State — 5:56.958
6. UC San Diego — 5:57.484

2V8+ HEAT #4:
1. Harvard — 5:46.505
2. Dartmouth — 5:48.825
3. Cornell — 5:55.242
4. Columbia — 6:01.992
5. La Salle — 6:07.122
6. UC San Diego — 6:15.772

3V8+ HEAT #3:
1. Harvard — 5:48.664
2. Dartmouth — 5:50.054
3. Cornell — 5:51.261
4. Wisconsin — 5:53.414
5. UC San Diego — 6:34.311

1V4+ TIME TRIAL:
1. Washington — 6:06.858
19. Cornell — 6:21.643

AFTERNOON RECAP
Posting a wire-to-wire victory in the fourth of six semifinals in the 1V4+, Cornell's lone varsity four entry at this year's IRA National Championship advanced to the 'D' Final after clocking a 6:33.033 time, edging out Northeastern (6:34.736) and Wisconsin (6:34.840) by just under two seconds.

With the first-place finish, Cornell will be joined by Northeastern, Stanford, Adrian, Marist, and La Salle in the 'D' Final on Saturday morning.

AFTERNOON RESULTS
1V4+ SEMIFINAL #4:
1. Cornell — 6:33.033
2. Northeastern — 6:34.736
3. Wisconsin — 6:34.840
4. Marietta — 6:42.023
5. Iona — 6:45.890

CORNELL BOATINGS
1V8+: Topher Luzarraga (coxswain), Adam Campain (stroke), Finn Lynch, Jake Lawson, Tony Klar, Tucker Poff, Ethan Waxman, Thomas Kunkler, Kyle Howe (bow).

2V8+: J. Maxwell Zirkman (coxswain), Joe Welling (stroke), Walid Ghamra, Paul Stone, Harrison Sremac, Geoffrey Miller, Charles Bierden, Ben Aquilina-Piscitello, Zachary Vorrath (bow).

3V8+: Abbey Charlamb (coxswain), Marko Djuranovic (stroke), Jackson Stone, Robert Walker, Constantino Oberto Calleri, Luke Brust, Alex Bloom, Abe Litvak, Christiaan Eikeboom (bow).

1V4+: Sofie Cole (coxswain), Iason Diogenous (stroke), Mark Krneta, Henry Joyner, Nicholas Hebard (bow).

A LOOK UPSTREAM
The first race in which Cornell crews will participate on Saturday will be in the second 2V8+ semifinal at 9:20 a.m., where the Big Red will square off against crews from Northeastern, Syracuse, Harvard, Princeton, and Brown.

Immediately following the 2V8+ race, Cornell's 3V8+ race will launch at 9:30 a.m. against crews from Yale, Brown, Washington, Dartmouth, and Syracuse.

Should Cornell finish in the top three in either the 2V8+ or 3V8+ races, it would advance to Sunday's 'A' Final. Any other result would lead the Big Red into the 'B' Final.

Cornell's 1V8+ will race in the final of four semifinal races on Saturday at 10 a.m., facing UC San Diego, Wisconsin, Navy, Georgetown, and MIT.

With a third-place finish or better, the Big Red would advance to Sunday's C' Final. If it finishes in fourth place or worse, it would participate in the 'D' final on Sunday.

Rounding out racing for Cornell on Saturday will be the 1V4+ in the 'D' Final at 10:50 a.m.