Owls Perform Well in Semifinal Round of IRA National Championships

Saturday, May 31

Camden, N.J.

All Day

Temple University

IRA National Championship

Owls Perform Well in Semifinal Round of IRA National Championships

5.31.25 | Men's Crew

Results

PENNSAUKEN, N.J. - The top two varsity eight boats for the Temple men's crew team put together outstanding semifinal races at IRA National Championships on Saturday at the Cooper River. The second varsity eight picked up a hard-fought victory over No. 14 Cornell to earn a spot in the C final, while the first varsity eight finished less than a second behind No. 12 Wisconsin to also advance to the C final on Sunday.

HOW IT HAPPENED

The top varsity eight, ranked No. 16 heading into national championships, was the first to race on Saturday and found itself in a hotly-contested race through 500 meters, with five boats, including No. 12 Wisconsin, No. 18 Columbia, No. 19 Oregon State and No. 21 Holy Cross, within 1.5 seconds of one another.
The Owls were in fourth position at the 500-meter mark, but moved up to third past Oregon State when the race hit the midway point.
At the 1,500-meter mark, Temple had moved into a strong third position behind Wisconsin and Columbia, before putting together an outstanding final 500 meters.
The Owls posted a 1:23.380 split over the final 500, the fastest of the semifinal by nearly two seconds, and overtook the Lions before coming up just short of the Badgers.
Temple's strong finish placed them in lane 5 for what is shaping up to be a competitive C final with No. 12 Wisconsin, No. 13 Boston University, No. 14 Cornell, No. 17 La Salle, and No. 18 Columbia set to compete.
Not to be outdone, the second varsity eight was strong from the start and was nip-and-tuck with No. 14 Cornell throughout.
The margin between the Owls and Big Red was never more than seven-tenths of a second, with Cornell holding a narrow lead at each of the first three 500-meter checkpoints.
Over the final 500, Temple gained steam and sprinted past Cornell to cross the finish line in first place by half a second.
The Owls will meet the Big Red again in Sunday's C final, along with No. 13 Wisconsin, No. 16 Columbia, No. 19 Navy, and No. 25 UC San Diego.

RACE RESULTS
Men's Varsity 8 - C/D Semifinal
1. No. 12 Wisconsin - 5:36.040
2. No. 16 Temple - 5:36.710
3. No. 18 Columbia - 5:37.880

Men's Second Varsity 8 - C/D Semifinal
1. No. 15 Temple - 5:45.810
2. No. 14 Cornell - 5:46.330
3. No. 25 UC San Diego - 5:48.040

UP NEXT

Three Temple University men's varsity eight boats will round out IRA National Championships at the Cooper River on Sunday.
In addition to the first and second varsity eights, the third varsity eight will compete in the C final, beginning at 8:56 a.m.
The second varsity eight is scheduled to race in its C final at 9:04 a.m., with the varsity eight rounding out the day at 9:20 a.m.