Five Named All-Americans From Men’s Heavyweight Rowing

HANOVER, N.H. — Following a sensational season, five members of Dartmouth men's heavyweight rowing's varsity eight have been named Empacher-IRCA All-Americans. Leading the way was Billy Bender, who was named an All-American for the fourth time in his career, earning first-team honors for a third time. Miles Hudgins was also named a first teamer, with Isaiah Harrison, Julian Thomas and Munroe Robinson all garnering second team All-America recognition. The five All-Americans are tied for the most nationally.

As members of the Eastern Sprints runner-up boat, all five were also named second team All-Ivy League last month.

Bender was named a second team All-American in 2021 then first team in 2022 and 2023. Last season, he was away from campus training for the Olympics. Upon his return to Dartmouth, he was in the stroke seat all year for the varsity eight, which went unbeaten in its spring dual season. The crew went on to finish second at Eastern Sprints and third at the IRA National Championship, only trailing Washington and Harvard at IRAs. Dartmouth's grand final time of 5:30.900 was only 0.15 seconds behind the Crimson in second and just 1.12 seconds behind the national champion Huskies.

Meanwhile, Hudgins sat in the five seat of the varsity eight. He was also named an Academic All-Ivy member this season. Along with his success at Dartmouth, he has been a mainstay in the USRowing pipeline as a member of the Under-19 national team in 2021 and Under-23 teams in 2022 and 2024. Last summer, he won gold in the four.

A first-year, Harrison jumped right into the varsity eight and impressed, sitting in the four seat at Eastern Sprints and IRAs. Julian Thomas was in the six seat while Munroe Robinson sat in the seven seat, all playing critical roles in the varsity eight's success. The spring began with a win at Yale, giving Dartmouth the Olympic Axe for the first time in the Axe's 21-year history. The crew went on to pick up dual victories over Boston University, Syracuse, Wisconsin, Columbia and Northeastern. Thomas has excelled with USRowing as well, with the Under-19 team in 2021 and Under-23 teams from 2022-24. Last summer, he won silver in the eight.

The varsity eight's third-place finish at IRAs marked its highest national finish since 1992.

Schedules