Lehigh takes silver in varsity eight at MARC Championships, narrowly missing gold

OCCOQUAN, Va. — In the program’s first-ever season at the Mid-Atlantic Rowing Conference, the Lehigh men’s rowing team nearly won gold in the inaugural event, the Varsity Eight, but fell by just three-tenths of a second. Still, the Mountain Hawks took home silver on a highly successful day Sunday at Virginia’s Occoquan Reservoir.

“The men definitely played to their best and I think the result shocked many members of MARC,” said Lehigh’s head coach Brian Conley. “But at the same time we weren’t surprised by their skills and how they drove. We’re really proud of them.”

The Mountain Hawks showed their strength in their morning heat and won it in 6:07.3.

“In the heat we decided we were going to run it really hard to the 1,000 (meter mark) and measure our speed where everyone else was and save energy for the finals,” said Conley. “I think the guys executed the race plans perfectly.

Lehigh finished the grand final in 5:59.1, less than a second behind first-place finisher Bucknell (5:58.8). Full results and award winners are below. The Mountain Hawks also finished second overall in the final team standings.

“The development of this group has been impressive,” said Conley. “We have guys on this boat who just started rowing in September and are now silver medalists at the conference championships. It says a lot about who you are, what your values ​​are and how rowing fits into your life. I’ve established a culture within the team that breeds success and I’m excited to see where they will take this team.”

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Results

Uni eight
Heat 1 – 9:20 am
1. Lehigh—6:07–3
2. Bucknell—6:07.7
3. Catholic – 6:15.9
4. MSOE-6:32,9
5. Stockton—7:01.9

Big final
1. Bucknell-5:58.8
2. Lehigh-5:59–1
3.WAC—6:04.2
4. Adrian—6:04.4
5. Villanova – 6:17.0
6. Catholic – 6:20.8

Final team ranking
1. Bucknell-44
2. Lehigh – 31
3.Washington College-28
4. Adrian – 27
5. Catholic – 26
6. Villanova – 23
7. St. Mary – 16
8. MSOE-13
9. Stockton

First overall team conference

Max McFadden

Andrew Chamber

Second overall team conference

Alex Chin

All Novice Team

Baxter Reihman

All-Academic

Max McFadden