WEST WINDSOR, N.J. — All three entries for the Cornell men's lightweight rowing team solidified their chances at earning gold medals this weekend on the opening day of the 2024 IRA National Championships on Mercer Lake on Friday.

Cornell's 1V8+ and 1V4+ each posted third-place finishes to clinch spots in their respective 'A' Finals, while the Big Red's 2V8+ placed fourth in its heat on Friday morning to determine lane assignments for Sunday morning's final.

MORNING RECAP
Kicking off the 2024 IRA National Championship, Cornell's 2V8+ crew placed fourth to determine lane assignments for Sunday's final between the seven crews that are participating in the event (Yale, Navy, Harvard, Princeton, Cornell, Dartmouth, and Penn).

The Big Red held onto third place through the 1000-meter mark before a strong push by Navy between the 1000- and 1500-meter marks enabled the Midshipmen to jump ahead of Cornell's crew. Harvard logged a wire-to-wire finish, concluding the 2000-meter course in 5:53.277. Princeton, who was in fifth place out of seven crews in the opening 500 meters, continually improved its placing as the race furthered, finishing with a time of 5:55.510 to edge Navy (5:55.533) by 23 thousandths of a second.

In the final lightweight varsity eight heat of the day, Cornell's 1V8+ placed third out of four crews, earning a spot in the 1V8+ 'A' Final. Like its 2V8+ counterparts, Harvard's top varsity eight did not relinquish first place in the event, always holding an edge over crews from Dartmouth, Cornell, and MIT. Dartmouth clocked a 5:46.912 time to earn its second-place finish, while Cornell (5:49.962) trailed the Big Green by three-plus seconds and crossed the finish line 82 hundredths of a second ahead of MIT (5:50.782).

Cornell's final entry at this year's IRA National Championship, the 1V4+, finished fourth in its time trail with a 6:15.816 running, which was six-plus seconds behind first-place finishing Georgetown (6:09.255).

MORNING HEATS / TIME TRIALS
1V8+ HEAT #1:
1. Harvard — 5:42.228
2. Dartmouth — 5:46.912
3. Cornell — 5:49.962
4. MIT — 5:50.782

2V8+ HEAT:
1. Harvard — 5:53.277
2. Princeton — 5:55.510
3. Navy — 5:55.533
4. Cornell — 5:58.350
5. Yale — 5:59.927
6. Dartmouth — 6:01.820
7. Penn — 6:02.877

1V4+ TIME TRIAL:
1. Georgetown — 6:09.255
2. Harvard — 6:13.930
3. Penn — 6:14.017
4. Cornell — 6:15.816
5. Columbia — 6:16.255
6. MIT — 6:21.520
7. Princeton — 6:25.989
8. Navy — 6:27.056
9. Dartmouth — 6:35.384
10. Marietta — 6:36.456
Yale — Scratched

AFTERNOON RECAP
Columbia paced the first lightweight 1V4+ semifinal, generating a wire-to-wire victory, clocking a time of 6:24.149 that was over two seconds better than second-place finishing Georgetown (6:26.255).

Cornell clinched the other appearance in the 1V4+ 'A' Final by finishing in third place, posting a clip of 6:28.935, which was nearly 10 seconds faster than Navy, who placed fourth.

Clinching spots in Saturday's 'A' Final from the other semifinal was Penn (6:32.039), Harvard (6:34.569), and Princeton (6:35.316).

AFTERNOON RESULTS
1V4+ SEMIFINAL 1:
Columbia — 6:24.149
Georgetown — 6:26.255
Cornell — 6:28.935
Navy — 6:37.562
Dartmouth — 6:56.525

CORNELL BOATINGS
1V8+: Alice Rau (coxswain), Gerald Anderson (stroke), Emmett Patterson, Grant Smith, Alex Ljunggren, Danny Mackle, Eliott Swinney, Sam Alston, Peter Albrecht (bow).

2V8+: Aden Walsey (coxswain), Jack Oliveira (stroke), Eric Genden, Jack Savell, Sebastian Pardo, Andrew Hohlt, Henry Koontz, Tomas Eliot Foxley, Keaton Lynch (bow).

1V4+: Joycelyn Vu (coxswain), Luke Zaslow (stroke), Henry McCarthy, Joe Savell, Patrick Reilly (bow).

A LOOK UPSTREAM
After the second-place finish in the 1V4+ semifinal on Friday afternoon, the Big Red will race in the lightweight 1V4+ 'A' Final on Saturday at 11:40 a.m., serving as the lone Cornell lightweight crew to take the water on Saturday.

Cornell will race out of the fifth lane in Sunday's 2V8+ final, which is scheduled to launch at 9:50 a.m. The 1V8+ crew will have a 10:40 a.m. start time on Sunday, racing out of lane six.

All races will be streamed live on Overnght for free, which can be viewed upon the creation of an account.