WEST WINDSOR, N.J. — A late push helped Colgate's varsity four finish fourth at the IRA National Championship Regatta on Saturday.
 
The Raiders posted a time of 06:22.286, defeating defending national champion California by less than a second and Brown by three seconds in the A Final. It marks the first time a boat has finished in the top six since 2019 when the varsity eight placed sixth.
 
"The crew had a great race today. We couldn't quite hang with the leaders off the start, but were able to work our way back through Brown and eventually caught California at the line.," said assistant coach Eric Summers.
 
Washington pulled ahead early on, followed by Dartmouth. Colgate kept within striking distance of the following three boats before making a push that saw it pass Brown and narrowly edge Cal at the finish line.
 
The Huskies won the race at 6:15.019, while silver medalist Dartmouth posted a time of 06:17.432, and FIT earned bronze at 06:19.146.
 
The varsity four had a strong start to the regatta during the time trials and semifinals on Friday.
 
"The Four had a solid day of racing. The morning time trial was a solid row and set us up well for the semifinals. In the semis, we got out with the University of Washington early and had open water on the field by the third 500, allowing us to conserve some energy at the end of the race. We are very excited about the final tomorrow," said Summers.
 
The Raiders made the top final after finishing second in Semifinal 1, posting a time of 6:24.203. Colgate quickly broke free from Princeton and San Diego, putting heavy pressure on Washington. The crew finished four seconds behind UW and six seconds ahead of Princeton and San Diego while defeating Hobart and St. Joseph's.
 
During the morning time trials, the Raiders posted the sixth-best time at 6:11.305. The boat placed within five seconds of the top five schools, including Washington, California, Brown, FIT, and Dartmouth.
 
Colgate's time bested Princeton and Stetson by under a second and also beat crews from Penn and Syracuse.
 
 
LINEUP
Cox: Bella Jaffe
4:  Luca Williams
3:  Lucca Figlioli
2:  Charlie Jones
1:  Eldon Scott