GOLD RIVER, CA (May 29, 2026) -- The Tufts University men's rowing squad opened action at the 2026 Intercollegiate Rowing Association (IRA) Championships Friday afternoon, as both varsity eight boats cruised into Saturday's Grand Finals while the varsity four competed against some of the best in all of collegiate rowing.
The Jumbos started the day out in California with the first varsity eight on the water in the first Division III heat, and comfortably qualified for Saturday's 1V8+ Grand Final with a time of 5:59.29. The time was 1.15 seconds behind Wesleyan University in the heat, but nearly 12 seconds better than Bates College in third place.
With the second-place finish in the heat, Tufts will now square off in Saturday's Grand Final at 10:08 local time. The Jumbos will be in Lane 3, and will be taking on Wesleyan University, Trinity College, Williams College, Bates and Marietta College. The winner of the first varsity race is considered the "national champion."
The Jumbos first varsity boat was made up of coxswain
Aidan Keusch, along with stroke
Patrick Moran,
Theo Balavoine,
Vince Mezzanotte,
Peter McLaughlin,
Peter Conard,
Maxwell Rosenberger,
Mark Machle,
Peter McCormick.
In the second varsity race, the Jumbos 2V8+ continued their strong run this season as the top second varsity in the country as it won its heat against Wesleyan, Bates and Ithaca with a time of 6:11.20. That was 2.05 seconds faster than Wesleyan, while besting Bates by nearly nine seconds.
The Jumbos will now move into the Division III 2V8+ Grand Final on Saturday at 10:24 local time, squaring off against five NESCAC squads in Bates, Colby College, Wesleyan, Trinity and Williams. The boat was coxswain
Jamie Forman, stroke
Owen McKendry,
JT Machle,
Harrison Sweet,
Lev Tolkoff,
Xander Mesires,
Ben Sackrey,
Seamus Ruiseal,
Alex Flynn.
Tufts also had a 1V4+ squad competing in a field of 29 boats, as they first ran a time trial to seed the boats going into the initial races. Tufts was the second-fastest Division III boat entered, while finishing 26th overall with a time of 6:36.302. The Jumbos were then entered into the Semifinal DE race, where it took on Loyola, Mercyhurst, Columbia and Drexel.
In the DE semifinal, the boat of coxswain
Lucas Resnik, Oliver Sjoholm,
Yahir Ramos,
Charlie Aber,
Hayden Stone took third place with a time of 6:42.98, edging Columbia by exactly one second. With the finish, the Jumbos move into Final D on Saturday at 10:40 a.m.
Action starts for Day 2 of the IRA Championships at 8 a.m. local time in Gold River, CA.
--JUMBOS--
