Men’s Lightweight Crew Varsity Eight Takes Sixth at IRA National Championship

GOLD RIVER, Calif. -- The MIT men's lightweight crew varsity eight placed sixth in the grand final at the 2026 IRA National Championship regatta on Sunday at Lake Natoma. The Engineers also earned a third-place finish in the second varsity eight B Final.

VARSITY EIGHT (V8+):

Lineup: C. Jane Atkinson; 8. Harry Sillifant; 7. Ryosei Tanakamaru; 6. Lucas Young; 5. Daniel Kurlander; 4. Kieran Dunn; 3. Jonathan Dase; 2. Dean Bittker; 1. Milon Kalia
Results: 6th of 6 (05:52.160) in the Grand Final
MIT had a strong start in a tightly contested field where only 04.931 seconds separated sixth-place MIT from champion Harvard. The Crimson posted a wire-to-wire victory in 05:47.229 but were pushed by runner-up Princeton, as the Tigers finished just 01.985 seconds back in 05:49.214. Dartmouth earned bronze in 05:50.339. Cornell (05:51.926) was fourth despite sitting sixth through the opening 500 meters of the course. Penn (05:52.100) finished fifth followed closely by MIT (05:52.160).

SECOND VARSITY EIGHT (2V8+):

Lineup: C. Gavin Ng; 8. Robert Romani; 7. Will Savage; 6. Jude Carroll; 5. Eric Chung; 4. Zachary Troeller; 3. Diego Gonzalez; 2. Christopher Hom; 1. Trent Lee
Results: 3rd of 3 (06:10.085) in the B Final;
MIT finished third in an exciting B Final. Columbia overtook Yale over the final 500 meters to win. Yale had the lead from the start through the 1500-meter mark but Columbia's sprint to the finish earned a 06:04.887 finish while Yale finished in 06:05.350. MIT was third in 06:10.085.