WIRA CHAMPIONSHIPS 2024

April 27-28, 2024 - Rancho Cordova, CA

The WIRA Regatta is raced on a fully buoyed course, with a floating starting platform. Thirty-six university teams had entries in the 2024 Regatta.  Please note that a few universities have a varsity women’s program and a club men’s program; they are considered as two different teams. For WSU, this was the first time this season they were able to lineup next to many crews of similar speed. This allowed for close racing in nearly every event, regardless of placing or finish.

Washington State had a solid weekend at the WIRA Regatta, and has once again, like many races earlier this season, closed the gap on their competitors. This shows the increase in speed and depth that the program has been able to hold onto.

Results

WSU had excellent racing results on heat race Saturday.  Every team that raced qualified for the Grand Finals (for places 1 – 6).  There were also several finals only events, on Sunday.  The result is that all eight crews that were entered raced in the Sunday Grand Finals.  That may well be a record for Cougar Crew!

Although the Cougs had a strong outing this weekend, improving their finish in regard to last year, the team is hungry for more. This is the first time in recent years that the Cougs have been contending for medal spots at WIRA, and they left the course with the smell of blood in the water. A summary of the weekends results can be found below, along with in depth stats and finish times at the following link. ClockCaster - Results: (WIRA) Western Intercollegiate Rowing Assoc Championships 4/27-4/28/2024

Placement

Men’s Varsity Eight                                       4th out of 13 entries

Men’s Second Varsity Eight                       4th out of 7 entries

Men’s Novice Eight                                     6th out of 14 entries

Men’s Second Novice Eight                      2nd out of 7 entries

Men’s Pair                                                    4th out of 6 entries

Men’s Novice Four                                      6th out of 17 entries

Women’s Varsity Four                                 6th out of 12 entries

Women’s Novice Four                                6th out of 21 entries

Looking Ahead

The team is looking forward to the ‘time off of the road’ as a significant training block. In addition to physical training, they will focus on improving their technical skills while blending the individuals in each crew together. 

All of the WSU crews continue to race hard through each race.  The Cougar Crew Culture of finishing strong is now deeply embedded in the program.  Just one example was the M2N8 final, where WSU beat third place Cal Davis by 0.082 seconds.  WSU essentially won the silver medal on the last stroke of the race.

Next up on the Cougar Racing schedule is the American Collegiate Rowing Association (ACRA) National Championships.  The Championships will be held in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, from May 17-19, 2024.