NEW HAVEN, Conn. – The Yale Lightweight Crew is once again mustering in strength, this time for the 122nd running of the IRA National Championship on the Cooper River in Camden, N.J. — the finale of a short but intense championship season. The Y150 will assemble a fleet of two eight-man crews to compete on the national stage, where medals, shirts and Cups will be on the line. 
 
The Cooper River is a standard six-lane race course, and to Bulldog rowing fans, its name might ring familiar — the Y150 raced on these waters earlier in the 2025 season when they battled for the Dodge and Colgan Cups against Columbia and Penn. 
 
In contrast to regular season dual races and even the Eastern Sprints Championship of two weeks ago, this regatta will be held over the span of three days. Moreover, while lightweight athletes typically weigh in just once before any given regatta, this time around both varsity and JV lightweight eight competitors must weigh in twice — once on Thursday and again on Saturday.
 
The No. 9 seeded varsity eight will kick off its weekend with a 9:48 a.m. heat on Friday against Columbia, MIT, Harvard and Dartmouth. The top three finishers will move on to the Grand Final on Sunday at 11:40 a.m. The remaining crews will race in the Petite Final at 11:20 a.m. 
 
The No. 3 seeded JV will first compete in an 8:08 a.m. heat on Friday against Georgetown, Penn and Dartmouth. The top three crews will advance to the 10:10 a.m. Grand Final on Sunday, while the remaining crews will compete in the 9:50 a.m. Petite Final.
 
While winning shirts and hardware are surely at the forefront of every competitor's mind, there are also two Cups up for grabs this weekend. The first-place lightweight varsity crew will earn the distinction of National Champion and claim the 1922 Trophy. A team points trophy will also be awarded to the team with the highest overall finish across the varsity and JV events, with the varsity race given more weight. 
 
The live-streamed races can be viewed here (Friday) and here (Sunday). The results will be posted here. 
 
Below is the schedule for this weekend:
 
Friday, May 30
8:08 a.m. 2V Heat
8:48 a.m. 1V Heat
 
Sunday, June 1
9:50 a.m. 2V Petite Final (TBD)
10:10 a.m. 2V Grand Final (TBD)
11:20 a.m. 1V Petite Final (TBD)
11:40 a.m. 1V Grand Final (TBD)
 
Here are the Yale lineups:
 
1V
Cox      Magdalena Moore / Winthrop, Wash.
Stroke  Fielding Staelin / Nashville, Tenn.
7           Timmy Parsons / Eugene, Ore.
6           Andrew Kasparyan / Southborough, Mass.
5           Finlay Murray / London, England
4           Cassin Edgar-Smith / Barrington, R.I
3           Max Blacksten / McLean, Va.
2           Dylan Oberst / Greenwich, Conn.
Bow     Ago Ghiso / Chicago, Ill.
 
2V
Cox       Jackie Weyerhaeuser / Minneapolis, Minn.
Stroke   Ryan Vaughn / Moraga, Calif.
7           Andrew Griesinger / Princeton, N.J.
6           Will Konopka / Philadelphia, Pa.
5           Ry Natterson / Los Angeles, Calif.
4           Raph Clark / South Hamilton, Mass.
3           Nolan Kaputa / Princeton, N.J
2           Asher Patent / Chicago, Ill.
Bow     John Cahill / Los Angeles, Calif.