WORCESTER, Mass. – Racing against the best boats in the region, the Wesleyan men's crew team saw their varsity 8 boat claim a runner-up finish in the grand final of the 2025 New England Championships held on Lake Quinsigamond on Saturday. This marks the third consecutive Top 3 finish at New England's by the Cardinals' varsity 8 boat.
Racing in tough conditions with strong winds throughout, the 2
nd varsity 8, 3
rd varsity 8, and 4
th varsity 8 grand finals all had to be canceled due to unsafe rowing conditions as the wind strengthened throughout the day.
Opening with preliminaries in the morning session, Wesleyan saw the V8, 2V8, and 3V8 each qualify for the grand final of their respective flights. Wesleyan's V8 clocked in at 6:15.273 in heat 1 to claim the fourth-fastest preliminary time out of the 14 boats in the competition. The Cardinals' 2V8 boat turned in the fastest preliminary time out of all the 2V8 boats, finishing in 6:21.606. The 3V8 meanwhile had the second-fastest time in prelims, crossing the line in 6:58.218.
In the V8 grand final, it was a strong showing from the Cardinals who overcame the conditions to finish in second place overall with a time of 7:19.984. Trinity won the V8 with a time of 7:10.517 while the Cardinals defeated Bates, Tufts, Williams, and MIT to claim a runner-up result.
The Cardinals look to defend their title at the National Invitational Rowing Championships next Sunday at Lake Quinsigamond.
Lineups on the day:
Varsity 8 –
Asher Israel (coxswain),
Pierce Buckner-Wolfson,
Nelson Bellows,
Eli Smirin,
Gus Shuman,
Sam Penn,
Paul Kiyonaga,
Hugo Harington,
Brett Beaman
2
nd Varsity 8 –
Ben Fischer (coxswain),
Cory Reavy,
Ben Vyzas,
Drew Hinton,
Jack Cornog,
Freddie Bell,
Vlad Grass,
Will McNally,
Leyton Tucci
3
rd Varsity 8 –
Mo Frazier (coxswain),
Evan Salhanick,
Nate Newcomer,
Roy Krueger,
Cabot Adams,
Aaron Feldhammer,
Teddy Manning,
Tor Kushner,
Mac Haines
4
th Varsity 8 –
Isabella Catalina (coxswain),
Ro Barrett,
Haakon Kohler,
Nate Weinstein,
Taji Duncan,
Cole Davies,
Thomas Jamison,
Alex Glotzer,
Rowan Cahill
