The West Virginia University rowing team competed at the Lake Wheeler Invitational in Raleigh, North Carolina, on April 24-25. The event was hosted by Duke and North Carolina and included teams such as Alabama, Boston College, Clemson, Georgetown, George Washington, High Point, Lehigh, Louisville, Miami (Fla.), Navy, Oklahoma, SMU, Villanova and Virginia. Big 12 Conference member Kansas and affiliates Old Dominion and Tulsa also participated.
Coach Jimmy King said “For multiple reasons, largely beyond our control, we did not have a good week of training leading into the Lake Wheeler Invite. Despite those factors we were pleased with how our team raced through the weekend. The format of this regatta allowed schools to race different lineups in each round, and we took full advantage of those opportunities.”
The regatta used a unique structure with three separate rounds over two days instead of traditional heats and finals. This allowed teams to try different lineups throughout the competition. King said “This is the first time in many years that we’ve had an opportunity to race Big 12 teams this late in the spring season. With Big 12’s three weeks away, we have a clearer picture than usual of how we match up across all boat categories.”
In racing results: West Virginia’s third varsity eight placed fifth in Heat 2 with a time of 7:39.15; they finished sixth in Heat 3 during Round 2 (7:41.70) and fifth again in Round 3 (7:25.54). The second varsity four placed sixth then fifth across their heats while WVU’s third varsity four saw seventh- and fifth-place finishes before both boats raced together for fifth- and sixth-place spots ahead of Lehigh and High Point.
Other Mountaineer crews recorded various placements across rounds including consistent seventh places for the second varsity eight (with times improving from round to round), while their top varsity eight crew achieved its best result—a sixth place—in Round 3 with a time of 6:51.33.
West Virginia will next compete at the Duquesne Invitational on May 2.
