GOLD RIVER, Calif. – Cal Poly Humboldt women's rowing put together a strong championship weekend at the Western Intercollegiate Rowing Association (WIRA) Championships on Lake Natoma, highlighted by one gold medal and two silver medals in Sunday's Grand Finals.
The Lumberjacks used Saturday's qualifying heats to set themselves up for a successful championship push, advancing all four boats into Sunday's Grand Finals where medals were on the line.
Humboldt's Varsity 8, 2V8, and Varsity 4 each won their respective qualifying heats on Saturday, while the 2V4 earned an automatic berth into Sunday's Grand Final. The Varsity 8 led the way with a winning time of 7:00.122, finishing ahead of Puget Sound and UC Santa Barbara. The 2V8 followed with a first-place finish in 7:25.382, and the Varsity 4 secured its spot in the final with a strong performance (8:14.451).
Sunday's Grand Finals saw the Lumberjacks rise to the occasion against some of the top competition on the West Coast.
The Varsity 8 delivered one of the most exciting races of the regatta, using a powerful sprint over the final 500 meters to secure a silver medal in a photo finish. Humboldt crossed in 6:57.781, narrowly edging Puget Sound (6:57.825) by just hundredths of a second for second place behind Western Washington (6:53.422). Seattle Pacific (6:57.973), UC Santa Barbara (7:06.079), and Pacific Lutheran (7:08.048) rounded out the field.
Humboldt's 2V8 crew claimed gold with a dominant wire-to-wire performance, finishing first in 7:20.74 ahead of Western Washington (7:25.951), Puget Sound (7:39.111), UC Santa Barbara (7:43.887), Pacific Lutheran (7:59.870), UC Irvine (8:06.603), and California Lightweights (8:15.151).
In the Varsity 4 Grand Final, Humboldt raced well against a deep field, finishing fourth in 8:03.372. UC Santa Barbara A won the race (7:44.352), followed by Loyola Marymount (7:52.739) and Western Washington (7:57.184), with Oregon (8:04.487) and San Diego State (8:12.555) rounding out the results.
The 2V4 added another podium result, earning silver with a time of 8:25.986, finishing just behind Western Washington (8:16.132). Oregon (8:43.528), Cal Poly San Luis Obispo (8:47.425), Seattle Pacific (8:49.786), UC Santa Barbara (9:17.002), and California Lightweights (10:10.950) completed the standings.
Lineups
The Varsity 8 featured Adelaide Toll, Ellie Walters, Elsie Stevens, River Walkington, Royce Ankel, Leah Dunn, Lily Storseth, Dayanara Anaya, with coxswain Giania Bogacki.
The 2V8 gold-medal crew included Rowan White, Dani Harper, Linea Vizenor, Clementine Buehler, Emily O'Keefe, Lea Lankston, Gabriella Griffin, Johanna Riffel, with coxswain Jenna Frampton.
The Varsity 4 lineup consisted of Laurel Calhoun, Nadia Weise, Keziah Rutschow, Emma Wilson, and coxswain Olivia Huynh.
The 2V4 silver-medal boat featured Rowan White, Lea Lankston, Linea Vizenor, Dani Harper, with coxswain Mia Kelm.
Head Coach Matt Weise praised his team's performance and momentum as they prepare now for championship/postseason racing.
"I'm very proud of the team overall and how we raced," said Weise. "We feel like we are in a good place for the upcoming GNAC Championships and are excited to train hard over the next three weeks to prepare and get where we need to be."
With a gold and two silver medals from WIRAs, the Lumberjacks now turn their attention to the GNAC Championships as they continue their postseason on Saturday, May 16 once again at Lake Natoma (Sacramento State Aquatic Center) in Gold River.
