GOLD RIVER, Calif. -- The men's rowing team wrapped up the 2025-26 Bates athletics year by taking fifth place among D3 schools at the IRA National Championship, held Friday and Saturday on Lake Natoma.
"There's giving it all you got and then there's winning," assistant men's rowing coach and recruiting coordinator
Hannah Fitts '20 said. "Sometimes those things overlap, sometimes they don't. The guys executed 100% of their ability today and we are proud of their full-throttled execution."
The two Bates eights combined to score 36 points, ahead of Marietta (30), Colby (28.5) and Ithaca (22.5) in the final standings. The Bobcats weren't too far behind fourth-place Tufts (40.5 points), while Trinity took home the points trophy with 52.5. NESCAC schools took each of the top five spots at the regatta.
Both Bates crews took fifth place in their respective grand finals on Saturday.
The second varsity eight went first, with senior captain coxswain
Micah Shimizu (Batavia, Ill.) and first-year stroke seat
Will Mitchell (Belvedere, Calif.) leading the Bobcats down the course in 6:16.560. Bates defeated rival Colby, as the Mules crossed the finish line in 6:22.180. Williams won the 2V grand final in 6:04.830.
The first varsity eight didn't have to contend with the Mules, as Colby's 1V did not make the grand final. Instead, the Bobcats defeated Marietta College for fifth place. Junior coxswain
Darien Chiang (Quincy, Mass.) and senior captain stroke seat
Luke Desmaison (New York City) led the Bobcats across the finish line in 6:07.910, with Marietta just over three seconds behind at 6:11.270. Trinity won the 1V grand final in 5:54.770.
Bates also brought a developmental boat, the varsity four, to IRAs. With no D3 varsity four race, this crew took on the schools of all sizes. On Saturday, they placed fourth in the "E" Final, out-racing D1 program Holy Cross for the third straight time. Led by sophomore coxswain
Sara Maquera (Glenview, Ill.) and sophomore stroke seat
Sam Williams (Guilford, Conn.), the Bobcats crossed the finish line in 7:10.410, well-ahead of the Crusaders (7:15.390). The University of Wisconsin won the race in 6:58.100.
This marks the fifth straight year that Bates men's rowing has finished as one of the top five D3 schools in the country since the IRA introduced the D3 Race in 2022.
"The team learned what it means to deplete their fuel tanks at the national championship," Fitts said. "I am excited to see what they will do as they increase the size of those fuel tanks."
Bates IRA National Championship Lineups:
Bates MV8 lineup: Bow:
Erik Lindholm; 2:
Brendan Kelly; 3:
Samuel Perozek; 4:
Conor McGuckin; 5:
Roy Bellows; 6:
Lando Putnam-Bagley; 7:
Luke Johnson; Stroke:
Luke Desmaison; c:
Darien Chiang
Bates M2V8 lineup: Bow:
John Cleary; 2:
Hugh McCabe; 3:
Benji Richards; 4:
Bryce Ahn; 5:
Kelly McKaige; 6:
Sean McCabe; 7:
Thomas Pacinda; Stroke:
Will Mitchell; c:
Micah Shimizu
Bates MV4 lineup: Bow:
Nicholas Hoerle; 2:
Logan Schlichter; 3:
Jack Tierney; 4:
Sam Williams; c:
Sara Maquera
Student Assistant Coach: Wiley Anderson
