Men's Crew Shows Speed and Depth in D.C.

Saturday, April 11

Washington, D.C

TBA

Bucknell University

George Washington Invitational

4/13/2026 3:33:00 PM | Men's Crew

It was another great weekend to be a Bison as the team took to the Potomac River in Washington D.C. for the George Washington Invite. The team was set to face off against 6 of the top 16 ACRA programs in the country including Michigan, Virginia, Rutgers, Delaware, Washington State, and UNC. The order of racing and official results for the day can be seen here.

The #2 ranked varsity 8 stayed hot this week, beating #7 Delaware and UNC in a come from behind win with a time of 5:49.1. In their second round of racing, the crew led from start to finish, beating #5 Virginia and Washington State with a time of 5:42.9, the fastest of the day from any crew. "It's always great to go to DC and face some of the best ACRA competition in the country. The results this year are really encouraging to see, with the whole squad being competitive with last year's A-final and medaling crews. This was a good test for our mid season speed and all crews know they can find another gear next time we face these teams at the MARC and ACRAs" said senior captain and stroke seat Christopher Kirby.

The second varsity 8, having struggled earlier in the season, was looking to assert themselves and show off the hard work they had put together over recent weeks. In the morning, they did just that, beating speedy crews from Delaware and UNC in a time of 6:06.3. In the afternoon they faced up against reigning champ Virginia and Washington State. The crew showed their improvements, finishing 2nd, and cut down the margin on Virginia to under 5 seconds with a time of 5:57.5.

The third varsity 8, two-time reigning national champions, looked to continue their winning form. In the morning they defeated Delaware in a time of 6:21.5, and in the afternoon they bested Virginia in a time of 6:04.5. The crew will look to stay hot through the end of the season as they seek to repeat as three time national champions.

The #5 ranked freshman 8 faced a daunting challenge, racing #1 Virginia twice and #8 Washington State. The crew took to the water and attacked their first race. Although they lost to Virginia by 11 seconds, they came away with a close win over Washington State in what was a good confidence boost for a crew that had yet to cross the line in a close race. In the afternoon, the crew finished with the same margin behind Virginia, but beat rival Rutgers by over 20 seconds.

The fourth varsity 8 had an interesting scenario on their hands with a repeat race between Delaware and Michigan, two of the few teams in the country with 4Vs. The crew had a slow start in the first race, but found their rhythm through the body of the race, finishing one length behind Delaware but 4 seconds ahead of Michigan. In the afternoon, with more urgency around an aggressive start, the crew raced hard in a tight race from start to finish. The crew won the race in a time of 6:15, beating Michigan and Delaware.

The varsity 4 raced once against Michigan and Rutgers. They fell to Michigan but beat Rutgers by just under 10 seconds.

A special thank you goes out to the Abushacra Family for hosting a delicious Dinner for the team on Friday night. Up next the team will travel to Philadelphia with the top five 8s to race St Joe's, on Saturday 4/18 from 9 to 10am.