Upcoming Event: Men's Heavyweight Rowing at Head of the Charles on October 18, 2025
Men's Heavyweight Rowing
at Head of the Charles
Sunday, June 1
Camden, N.J.
Dartmouth College
at
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IRA National Championship
Varsity Eight Captures Bronze to Highlight Strong Weekend and Season for Heavyweight Rowing
6/1/2025 6:26:00 PM | Men's Heavyweight Rowing
The Big Green were just over a second behind national champion Washington
CAMDEN, N.J. – The Dartmouth's men's heavyweight rowing's varsity eight took third place in a tight grand final on Sunday afternoon at the Cooper River. The Big Green placed a crew into the varsity eight grand final for the first time since 2004. Dartmouth's second and third varsity eight also enjoyed success on Sunday in their respective B finals at the IRA National Championship.
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"Happy for the guys," said Wyatt Allen, Betsy and Mark Gates 1959 Head Coach of Men's Heavyweight Rowing. "I'm happy for the whole team and certainly happy for the nine guys in the varsity eight. I've been at Dartmouth for 11 seasons now. This is by far the most competitive field I've seen and for our guys to manage this regatta with tough conditions (wind), and I thought they had a really tough semifinal draw, I'm really proud of them for laying down three good pieces in a row."
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The Big Green varsity eight qualified for the 2021 grand final at the IRA National Championship, but not every program was represented that season due to COVID-19. The time before that was 2004.
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On Sunday, Dartmouth's varsity eight down the stretch in a tight pack of crews. Washington wound up in first at 5:29.780, followed by Harvard less than a second later (5:30.750) and Dartmouth just 0.15 seconds after that (5:30.900). Princeton wasn't far behind (5:32.200) followed by Brown (5:34.550) and Syracuse (5:41.620).
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"We really bought into the process, asked a lot of these guys coming into the fall and people were super committed to buying into what we thought was going to make boats go faster every day and every week, working towards the end result," said Billy Bender, who stroked the varsity eight. "I'm really proud of the way the group stuck together in the race today and also in the nine months leading up to this. The medal is not won in the day; the day is the reflection of the work you've put in through the previous year. "
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The third varsity eight began the day by placing second in its B final (5:38.420), only trailing Brown (5:36.100) and less than a second ahead of Penn (5:39.180). The 2V later came in fourth in its B final, posting a time of 5:38.390. That crew finished 10th nationally, with the 3V coming in eighth.
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Dartmouth finished seventh in the country in Ten Eyck Points with 221.
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"This is a huge step for the program," said Allen. "For the varsity eight to get back to the grand final after 21 years is pretty significant, and it shows the rest of the guys in the program that we can compete with the best in the country. With that being said, we're graduating five seniors out of that boat – four rowers and Sammy [Houdaigui] in the coxswain seat – so we've got a lot of big shoes to fill.
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"I believe we have the guys in the program to step up and do that, but it's going to require a lot of hard work," Allen continued. "Excited to get back to work."
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Varsity Eight
Grand Final
1. Washington – 5:29.780
2. Harvard – 5:30.750
3. Dartmouth – 5:30.900
4. Princeton – 5:32.200
5. Brown – 5:34.550
6. Syracuse – 5:41.620
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Second Varsity Eight
B Final
1. Princeton – 5:34.520
2. Stanford – 5:34.850
3. Northeastern – 5:35.000
4. Dartmouth – 5:38.390
5. Penn – 5:38.590
6. Boston University – 5:47.250
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Third Varsity Eight
B Final
1. Brown – 5:36.100
2. Dartmouth – 5:38.420
3. Penn – 5:39.180
4. Cornell – 5:40.310
5. Northeastern – 5:40.510
6. Boston University – 5:57.600
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"Happy for the guys," said Wyatt Allen, Betsy and Mark Gates 1959 Head Coach of Men's Heavyweight Rowing. "I'm happy for the whole team and certainly happy for the nine guys in the varsity eight. I've been at Dartmouth for 11 seasons now. This is by far the most competitive field I've seen and for our guys to manage this regatta with tough conditions (wind), and I thought they had a really tough semifinal draw, I'm really proud of them for laying down three good pieces in a row."
Â
The Big Green varsity eight qualified for the 2021 grand final at the IRA National Championship, but not every program was represented that season due to COVID-19. The time before that was 2004.
Â
On Sunday, Dartmouth's varsity eight down the stretch in a tight pack of crews. Washington wound up in first at 5:29.780, followed by Harvard less than a second later (5:30.750) and Dartmouth just 0.15 seconds after that (5:30.900). Princeton wasn't far behind (5:32.200) followed by Brown (5:34.550) and Syracuse (5:41.620).
Â
"We really bought into the process, asked a lot of these guys coming into the fall and people were super committed to buying into what we thought was going to make boats go faster every day and every week, working towards the end result," said Billy Bender, who stroked the varsity eight. "I'm really proud of the way the group stuck together in the race today and also in the nine months leading up to this. The medal is not won in the day; the day is the reflection of the work you've put in through the previous year. "
Â
The third varsity eight began the day by placing second in its B final (5:38.420), only trailing Brown (5:36.100) and less than a second ahead of Penn (5:39.180). The 2V later came in fourth in its B final, posting a time of 5:38.390. That crew finished 10th nationally, with the 3V coming in eighth.
Â
Dartmouth finished seventh in the country in Ten Eyck Points with 221.
Â
"This is a huge step for the program," said Allen. "For the varsity eight to get back to the grand final after 21 years is pretty significant, and it shows the rest of the guys in the program that we can compete with the best in the country. With that being said, we're graduating five seniors out of that boat – four rowers and Sammy [Houdaigui] in the coxswain seat – so we've got a lot of big shoes to fill.
Â
"I believe we have the guys in the program to step up and do that, but it's going to require a lot of hard work," Allen continued. "Excited to get back to work."
 Complete ResultsBronze medal for the varsity eight at the IRA National Championship!
— Dartmouth Men's Heavyweight Rowing (@BigGreenHeavies) June 1, 2025
Check out the final strokes of a very tight final 🎥#GoBigGreen | #TheWoods🌲 pic.twitter.com/bVmgvKCbwp
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Varsity Eight
Grand Final
1. Washington – 5:29.780
2. Harvard – 5:30.750
3. Dartmouth – 5:30.900
4. Princeton – 5:32.200
5. Brown – 5:34.550
6. Syracuse – 5:41.620
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Second Varsity Eight
B Final
1. Princeton – 5:34.520
2. Stanford – 5:34.850
3. Northeastern – 5:35.000
4. Dartmouth – 5:38.390
5. Penn – 5:38.590
6. Boston University – 5:47.250
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Third Varsity Eight
B Final
1. Brown – 5:36.100
2. Dartmouth – 5:38.420
3. Penn – 5:39.180
4. Cornell – 5:40.310
5. Northeastern – 5:40.510
6. Boston University – 5:57.600
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