West Winsor, NJ – The Catholic University men's rowing team raced three boats at the MARC Championship on Sunday. All three crews placed within the top three of their preliminary heat to qualify for the final. 

The varsity four started things off with a preliminary race in heat two of event two. They beat out St. Mary's (Md.) with a time of 7:35.30 to place third out of four boats. Catholis was less than three seconds shy of topping Lehigh who secured second. In the final, the crew showed massive improvement to finish with a 7:26.62 and earn fifth in a field of six. They finished three seconds shy of George Washington for fourth and were able to get the best of Lehigh this time by nearly six seconds.

The varsity eight placed third out of five programs in heat one of their preliminary event. The team clocked at 6:23.12 to beat out St. Mary's and Stockton but was nine seconds off the pace of MSOE who took second. The final saw Catholic secure fifth with a 6:28.01. They finished two seconds ahead of familiar foe Washington College who came in at 6:30.40.

The second varsity eight added another third-place prelim finish to the Cardinals' totals. They crossed the finishing line in 6:33.92, two seconds behind Bucknell C for second, and were able to beat St. Mary's who took last. Catholic improved in the final race by over a second to clock a 6:32.88. 

The 2024 International Rowing Association (IRA) National Championship Regatta is next for the Cardinals if they are selected. The committee will invite the top teams from across the country to compete in West Windsor, N.J from May 30 through June 1.

Boatings:
Varsity Four: Arthur Gange (coxswain), Declan Pennese (stroke), Alan Nicholas (3), Luis Pinero (2), Thomas Robertson (bow)

Varsity Eight: Matthew Blombren (coxswain), Jack Koubek (stroke), Sean Farrelly (7), Nathan Lovell (6), David Fritz (5), Jonah Stofko (4), Charles Moran (3), Mason Zajac (2), Jack Wright (bow)

Second Varsity Eight: Dillon George (coxswain), Ryan Lewis (stroke), Andrew Palmer (7), Sean Morgenstern (6), Nicholas Martens (5), Alexander Canada (4), Bryce Wnek (3), Paul O'Conner (2), Timothy Kling (bow)