BOSTON, MA – Cornell's men's lightweight eight finished fourth at the Head of the Charles on Sunday afternoon, closing in on the podium in the first race of the 2026-27 season.

The Big Red's varsity eight, stroked by Gabriel Xu and steered by coxswain Rhea Kaycee, covered the three-mile Charles River course in 14:05.935. That was 18.365 seconds behind winner Harvard (13:47.570) and 5.333 seconds behind third-place Princeton (14:00.602). Cornell finished just ahead of Yale (14:06.349) and beat Penn, Georgetown, MIT and Queen's in the nine-boat field. Results are unofficial.

Dartmouth finished second at 14:00.551, which includes a five-second penalty. Princeton was 0.051 seconds behind the Big Green.

Cornell stayed in the top four through every checkpoint. It reached Riverside in 3:13.537, Weld in 7:49.344 and Cambridge Boat Club in 11:44.143. Harvard led at each of those marks.

Earlier in the day, Cornell's lightweight four placed 10th in an 11-boat field after a one-minute penalty. Stroked by Nathaniel Santaniello and steered by coxswain Jasper Tam, the crew had a raw time of 16:09.566, which became 17:09.566 with the penalty. Harvard 'A' won in 15:45.379, with Penn 'A' second at 15:45.647 and Harvard 'B' third at 15:55.976.

Cornell's four covered the final stretch from Cambridge Boat Club to the finish in 4:26.094, the second-fastest time in the field behind Penn 'A' (4:25.628).

Cornell next competes at the Princeton Chase on Sunday, Nov. 1, in Princeton, N.J.

BOATINGS
Men's Lightweight 8+ (Bow No. 2)
Bow: Owen Brown; 2: Theodore Holtman; 3: Dean Burton; 4: Logan Freshwater; 5: Colin Bailey; 6: Samuel Peale; 7: Maximilian Purcea; Stroke: Gabriel Xu; Cox: Rhea Kaycee

Men's Lightweight 4+ (Bow No. 2)
Bow: Mateo Montero Johnson; 2: Silas Evans; 3: John Zegger; Stroke: Nathaniel Santaniello; Cox: Jasper Tam