WORCESTER, Mass. – For the second time in program history and the second time in the last three seasons, the Wesleyan men's crew team varsity 8 boat bested a loaded field to capture the 2026 NESCAC Championship at the National Invitational Rowing Championship on Sunday at Lake Quinsigamond.
A landmark achievement for the program, the first-place finish for the V8 signals a return to the top as Wesleyan repeated the first-time success from the 2024 season that saw the Cardinals sweep all three major competitions (New England, NESCAC, and IRA). That 2024 group became the first in the near 60-year history of Wesleyan men's crew to place first in a national invitational race. Prior to 2024, the Cardinals previously placed second at the 2023 IRA D3 National Championship as well a runner-up finish in 1987 at the Dad Vail Regatta, which was collegiate men's crew national invitational equivalent from the 1960's through the early 1990's.
Wesleyan made their way to the grand final by way of a 6:24.718 time in preliminaries that topped a field of seven boats competing in heat 2. Racing again in the grand final out of lane 1 against Trinity, Williams, Tufts, Bates, and Colby, the all-NESCAC grand final saw Wesleyan prove more than capable with a time of 6:10.42 to capture first place. The runner-up boat from Trinity finished in 6:11.64 while Williams was a distant third with a time of 6:17.26.
In other action throughout the day, Wesleyan took first place in the 4
th varsity 8 race as the Cardinals were first to cross the line with a time of 6:36.387. That edged Trinity by more than four seconds while third place Tufts was nearly seven seconds back.
The 2
nd varsity 8 qualified for the grand final with the second-best preliminary time in heat 2 (6:35.346). Then in the grand final, Wesleyan clocked in at 6:35.068 which was good enough for fourth place.
The 3
rd varsity 8 made it to the grand final, ensuring all four Wesleyan varsity 8 boats made the grand finale of their respective race. In the 3V8 grand final, Wesleyan managed a third place showing with a time of 6:37.824.
The men's four boat was also in the running and earned a spot in the grand final before finishing in third place at 7:51.869.
Wesleyan's first place finish from the V8 earns an automatic bid to the 2026 IRA Division III National Championships scheduled for May 28 through May 30 out in Sacramento, California. The Cardinals are just the fourth NESCAC program to win a conference title (Williams 11, Trinity 5, Bates 4, Wesleyan 2) since 2004.
Boat Lineups:
Varsity 8 -
Asher Israel '26 (coxswain),
Gus Shuman '27,
Pierce Buckner-Wolfson '26,
Nelson Bellows '26,
Eli Smirin '26,
Roy Krueger '28,
Sam Penn '28,
Will McNally '27,
Mac Haines '28
2nd Varsity 8 -
Ben Fischer '27 (coxswain),
Ben Vyzas '28,
Drew Hinton '28,
Luke Rowles '29,
Thomas Jamison '28,
Jack Cornog '26,
Evan Salhanick '27,
Andres Krizan '29,
Brett Beaman '26
3rd Varsity 8 -
Hailey Love '29 (coxswain),
Ro Barrett '26,
Cory Reavy '26,
Cabot Adams '27,
Maxime Victoir '29,
Finn Gardner '29,
Rowan Cahill '26,
Emmett Price '29,
Tor Kushner '27
4th Varsity 8 -
Isabella Catalina '27 (coxswain),
Nate Weinstein '28,
Sam Bierlink '29,
Ross Lee '29,
Vlad Grass '28,
Ben Duda '29,
Tommy Stoffel '29,
Atticus Keep '29,
Aaron Feldhammer '28
Varsity 4+ -
Iris Deer '29 (coxswain),
James Kolodner '29,
Cole Davies '28,
Taji Duncan '27,
George John '29
