WORCESTER, Massachusetts - The Marist men's rowing team competed in their conference championship, the NIRC Regatta, on May 12.

Recap:
Today the Marist Men's Rowing Team Competed at the 2024 National Invitational Collegiate Regatta (NIRC) Championships. The event was hosted in Worcester MA on Lake Quinsigamond at the Regatta Point Park. Marist was one of 16 men's teams in attendance at the event. The NIRC acts at the conference championship for the Marist Men where the winning crew in the Varsity 8 event earns an automatic qualifying spot to attend the IRA National Championship Regatta at the end of May.

Marist entered three crews at the event.

The 3rd Varsity Eight raced in a morning heat against Tufts, Hobart, Williams, and UNH. Marist pulled a time of 6:43.8 which placed them in 4th and earned them a spot in the petite finals. In this final they raced against WPI and UNH. The crew had a strong final race pushing for a larger margin over UNH and sprinting early to try and catch WPI. They pulled a time of 6:49.2 losing to WPI at 6:41 and soundly defeating UNH at 7:35.

The 2nd Varsity Eight raced in a morning heat with Wesleyan, Bates, and Coast Guard. Bates was seeded ahead of Marist but Marist had a brilliant start and put themselves ahead of Bates by 3-4 seats early in the first 500m of the race. Marist pushed hard to maintain their position and in the middle of the piece were as far as bow to stern on the Bates Crew. Wesleyan took a large early lead but then settled too low and allowed Marist and Bates to walk back into them later in the race. Bates charged hard at the end of the race to get back on terms with Marist and Wesleyan. At the finish line it was Wesleyan to win the heat in 6:11.81 with Marist only a hair behind at 6:11.84. Bates came across at 6:13 in Coast Guard at 6:50. In the Grand Final, the Marist 2V8 had a shakier start but were still well in the mix in the early part of the race. Marist was tied for 4th with Trinity and Hobart in the latter half of the race but lacked the power to outsprint the other crews. Their final result was 6th place behind 5th Hobart by just 1 second and with a time of 6:25.9

The 1st Varsity Eight raced in a heat with MIT, Williams, Coast Guard, and Skidmore. Marist had a good run in the early part of the race but ended up in 4th with a time of 6:23.9 defeating Skidmore. This placed Marist in the petite final with Colby, Hobart, Coast Guard, Iona, and WPI. Marist once again had a disappointing final placing 6th with a time of 6:19 behind 5th place WPI at 6:17.

COACH'S COMMENTS:
Overall a tough day for the team. The 2V was a highlight for the day meeting their goal and making the grand final. Our V8 continues to perform below the expectation of the team's long term standard but not an unlikely result given the overall regular season and fitness scores of the athletes seen over the course of the year. With only 3 graduating athletes and 25 incoming we are extremely excited about building into the future. In the mean time we will have  an opportunity to develop a varsity four for the IRA at the end of the Month. A special thanks to or Seniors who've been outstanding leaders this year. Go Red Foxes!!!

For a full race analysis check out our youtube channel here.

Results:

Men's Third Varsity Eight

Heat 1

1	Tufts	6:22.507
2	Hobart	6:24.051
3	Williams	6:26.509
4	Marist	6:43.812
5	UNH	7:29.078

Petite Final

1	WPI	6:41.008
2	Marist	6:49.208
3	UNH	7:35.651

Men's Second Varsity Eight

Heat 3

1	Wesleyan	6:11.817
2	Marist	6:11.840
3	Bates College	6:13.620
4	Coast Guard	6:50.378

Grand Final

1	Tufts	6:10.592
2	Williams	6:10.972
3	Wesleyan	6:19.200
4	Trinity	6:21.038
5	Hobart	6:24.418
6	Marist	6:25.966

Men's Varsity Eight

Heat 2

1	MIT	6:07.719
2	Williams	6:12.755
3	Coast Guard	6:18.523
4	Marist	6:23.925
5	Skidmore	6:44.419

Petite Final

1	Colby College	6:10.596
2	Hobart	6:11.090
3	Coast Guard	6:11.384
4	Iona	6:16.608
5	WPI	6:17.696
6	Marist	6:19.722