GOLD RIVER, Calif. – The Washington men’s rowing team bid adieu to its longtime conference home Sunday, winning the program’s 41st league title at the 2024 Pac-12 Men’s Rowing Championships at Lake Natoma.
The Huskies won the varsity eight, second varsity eight, third varsity eight and the varsity four finals to regain the crown for the first time since 2021, in what was the final Pac-12 championship regatta prior to the departure of the UW to the Big Ten Conference next school year.
The Huskies’ wins in those four races was essentially a repeat of their performance in the UW-Cal Dual in April, when Washington won four out of five – all but the freshman eights race, which the Bears also won Sunday.
Washington finished with 72 team points, ahead of Ca’s 65. Oregon State was third, with 47 points while Stanford (42) finished in fourth place.
“I think across the board, we improved,” said UW men’s head coach Michael Callahan. “We took on a new challenge from the Cal Dual, and we answered that.
“It can be anxious. The mindset is that you want to get through this, with the national championships on the horizon,” Callahan continued. “After the Cal Dual, we trained very hard. We don’t want to be vulnerable here, but your eyes are set on the last day of the season. It’s a balance, and we were in a good spot that way.”
In the final men’s race of the day, the varsity eight, Washington and California broke from the starting dock neck-and-neck, with Cal holding the smallest of advantages very early on. But by 500 meters, UW had moved in front and began to increase its edge in the second 500, stretching a lead of less than a half-second to one of more than two seconds by 1,000 meters.
The Golden Bears closed the gap in the second half of the race, but couldn’t reel in the Husky crew, the lineup of which has remained unchanged for the last three races. The Huskies finished in 5:40.250, about five seats ahead of the Bears (5:52.050).
The second varsity eight race was an exciting one. Washington was very strong off of the start, establishing a quick lead, but by 1,000 meters, the Bears had drawn nearly even. But the Huskies added more than a second to its lead in each of the last two-quarters of the 2,000-meter race course to win in a time of 5:45.790, about eight seats ahead of Cal (5:48.250).
Washington picked up another trophy in the varsity four, where Washington grabbed a lead of nearly five seconds over the rest of the field in the first 500. While Cal closed the gap, the Huskies never lost their open-water lead and won the title with a time of 6:34.880. Cal was second, in 6:38.850.
The Huskies’ win in the third varsity eight marked its widest margin of the regatta. The Huskies from wire-to-wire, with the fastest splits in all four, 500-meter segments of the race. The Dawgs’ time of 5:45.650 was more than 10 seconds ahead of second-place California (5:56.060).
The morning opened with a head-to-head race in the men’s freshman eight, with UW and Cal the only two entrants. The Golden Bears earned the victory in that race by about 2.5 seconds, winning in 5:47.340 to UW’s 5:49.820.
“It’s a little bittersweet,” Callahan noted regarding the Huskies’ last Pac-12 regatta, which was first held in 1960. “There’s a joy in winning, but you see all of the hard-working people from the conference and you feel sad, especially this being one of the last championships in the academic year.”
Next up for the Huskies are the 2024 IRA National Championships, May 31-June 2 at Mercer Lake in West Windsor, N.J.
Callahan will travel directly from the Bay Area to Lucerne, Switzerland, for the Final Olympic Qualification Regatta, which wraps up Tuesday. He is coaching the U.S. men’s eight, which won its preliminary race very early Sunday (Pacific Time), with Callahan watching from his hotel. On Tuesday, that crew, which features four former Huskies, will compete for one of two remaining berths to the 2024 Olympic Games. Seven other UW alumni are also competing in the same regatta.
“Our thoughts also go out to the family of Bruce & Jeannie Nordstrom,” Callahan noted, regarding the passing of the former UW lightweight rower and friend of the Husky rowing program. “They were definitely on my mind today. He always shared a lot of joy and kindness. We feel for the whole family.”
WASHINGTON MEN’S LINEUPS
Varsity Eight
Shell: Brett Reisinger ’98
Cox: Nikita Jacobs
Stroke: Max Heid
7: Archie Drummond
6: Jonathan Wang-Norderud
5: Giuseppe Bellomo
4: Sam Ford
3: Cameron Tasker
2: Harry Fitzpatrick
Bow: Marius Bjørn-Hansen Ahlsand
Second Varsity Eight
Shell: ShoedaWg
Cox: Kieran Joyce
Stroke: Darcy McCluskey
7: Ethan Blight
6: Marc Tennesen
5: Povilas Juskevicius
4: Ben Shortt
3: Lyle Donovan
2: Ryan Smith
Bow: Blake Vogel
Third Varsity Eight
Shell: John Nordstrom
Cox: Casey Neumann
Stroke: Gus Altucher
7: Blake Bradshaw
6: Quinn Hall
5: Ethan Walsh
4: Parker Raines
3: Louis Gallia IV
2.: Ryan Martin
Bow: Giulio Acernese
Freshman Eight
Shell: Grand Challenger
Cox: Chas Knittel
Stroke: Klas Ole Lass
7: Billy Osborne
6: Hector Guimet
5: Rory McDonnell
4: Mason Boulter
3: Alex Ware
2: Ryan O’Connor
Bow: Dimitri Chamitoff
Varsity Four
Shell: Lou Gellermann
Cox: Tess Kadian
Stroke: Connor Shoup
3: Finn Griskauskas
2: Alex Gonin
Bow: Luke Collins
