Cornell men's heavyweight rower Walid Ghamra poses for a media day photo for the 2024-25 season.

John Lukach/Cornell Athletics

Heavyweight Rowing Places 13th at 2026 IRA National Championship

5/31/2026 8:45:00 PM | By: Marshall Haim, Assistant Director of Athletic Communications

GOLD RIVER, Calif. — The Cornell men's heavyweight rowing team concluded its 2026 season at the IRA National Championship on Lake Natoma, finishing 13th in the Ten Eyck standings with 152 points across three days of racing.

Washington claimed the Ten Eyck Trophy for a third consecutive year, finishing the event with 284 points. Princeton and Harvard followed closely with 272 and 262 points, respectively.

Cornell entered four boats across the weekend, with the 2V8+ placing 11th, the 4+ finishing 12th, and both the 1V8+ and 3V8+ each finishing 13th overall.

FRIDAY'S RECAP
The 2V8+ stayed within striking distance of Princeton through the opening 500 meters, only three seconds behind, before the Tigers widened the gap to nearly five seconds at the 1000-meter mark. Cornell ended up finishing third in 5:53.800 behind Princeton (5:46.990) and Brown (5:49.410) and ahead of Wisconsin by just over two seconds to advance to Saturday's 'AB' semifinal.

Cornell's 1V8+ opened the regatta in last of four heats within a second of the second-to-sixth-place crews through the opening 500 meters before Princeton and Stanford began to pull away through the middle of the race. Cornell finished fourth in 5:48.030, ahead of Navy and La Salle.

In the 3V8+, Cornell stayed within striking distance of Princeton and Syracuse through the first half of the race before fading over the closing 500 meters, finishing fourth in 6:05.160 behind Princeton, Syracuse, and Boston University.

Competing in the 4+ time trial — a head race among 29 entries — Cornell finished 12th in 6:23.266 to advance to the 'ABC' semifinal, where the Big Red finished fourth in 6:43.710 behind California, Princeton, and Syracuse.

SATURDAY'S RECAP
The 2V8+ placed sixth in the 'AB' semifinal in 5:56.870, finishing behind Washington, California, Brown, Yale, and Northeastern. Cornell sat within two seconds of the lead through the first 500 meters before gradually falling back over the second half of the race.

Cornell's 1V8+ turned in one of its strongest performances of the weekend in the 'CD' semifinal, winning in 5:52.030 to advance to Sunday's 'C' Final. Cornell led wire-to-wire, building a lead of more than a second over Georgetown and holding it through the finish.

The 3V8+ finished second in its 'CD' semifinal after holding onto a slim lead through the opening 1000 meters. Navy used a second-half surge, posting the top times over the final two segments of the piece, to jump ahead of the Big Red and post a 3.59-second victory over the Big Red. Cornell finished nearly six seconds ahead of third-place Georgetown, solidifying its spot in Sunday's 'C' Final.

The Big Red's 4+ placed sixth in the 'B' Final in 6:46.600, finishing behind Boston University, Syracuse, Northeastern, Dartmouth, and Jacksonville. Cornell trailed the field through the opening 500 meters but closed strongly over the final 500, posting the fastest split of any boat (1:37.370).

"Day one and two both were extremely competitive, with both ups and downs," said Todd Kennett '91, the Spirit of '57 Director of Cornell Rowing and the head coach of Cornell men's heavyweight rowing. "The guys are being given a lot of different and challenging situations. Our youthfulness has shown several times."

SUNDAY'S RECAP
The 2V8+ placed fifth in the 'B' Final in 5:54.885, finishing behind Stanford, Northeastern, Yale, and Penn. Cornell matched Stanford's pace through the opening 500 meters before gradually falling back over the middle 1000 meters, to finish 11th overall.

Cornell's 1V8+ delivered a nail-biting victory in the 'C' Final, crossing the finish line in 5:47.435, less than two-tenths of a second over Navy (5:47.594). The Big Red posted a wire-to-wire victory, with Navy closing the gap over the final 500 before falling just short. Wisconsin and Columbia finished third and fourth.

The Big Red's 3V8+ also won the 'C' Final with a time of 5:58.383. Columbia held a slight lead over both Cornell and Navy before the Big Red posted the fastest time between the 500 and 1000 meters, taking the lead for good to finish 13th overall.

TEN EYCK TROPHY STANDINGS

1. Washington, 284
2. Princeton, 272
3. Harvard, 262
4. California, 258
5. Stanford, 209
T6. Brown, 206
T6. Dartmouth, 206
T6. Yale, 206
9. Syracuse, 204
10. Penn, 201
11. Northeastern, 187
12. Boston University, 161
13. Cornell, 152
14. Navy, 120
15. Columbia, 111
16. Wisconsin, 108
17. Drexel, 91
T18. Georgetown, 84
T18. Holy Cross, 84
20. Temple, 54
21. La Salle, 53
22. Oregon State, 38
23. UC San Diego, 17
24. MIT, 10

RESULTS

1V8+ HEAT NO. 4 (Friday)