GOLD RIVER, Calif. – The Stanford varsity eight placed third in its first Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Men’s Rowing Championships on Sunday on Lake Natoma.
The placing extended a streak of third-place finishes in a conference 1V8+ Grand Final to 11 consecutive seasons. Stanford also has 20 consecutive top-three conference finishes dating back to 2005.
Stanford also placed third in the second varsity eight Grand Final. Both finals were comprised of the four schools that raced in last year’s Pac-12 Championships.
The difference between 2025 and 2024 for Stanford was its improvement. Over the past two seasons, Stanford has raced essentially without upperclassmen, because of the damage caused by threatened sports cuts during COVID.
Stanford reinstated men’s rowing and has since committed fully to a sport that goes back 121 years on campus and that commitment is illustrated by a now fully-endowed coaching staff – under Ted Sobolewski, the Farwell Family Director of Men’s Rowing -- and strong fundraising.
Stanford’s emergence as a rowing power is evident by its improvement even with underclassmen-dominated lineups.
At the Pac-12 Championships last year, the Stanford 1V8+ finished 13.76 seconds behind Washington and 11.96 seconds behind Cal. In the 2V8+, Stanford was 16.65 seconds behind Washington and 14.19 seconds behind Cal.
On Sunday, the Cardinal cut the 1V8+ deficit in half – trailing Washington by 5.48 seconds and first-place Cal by 6.72. In the 2V8+, the deficit was 9.02 to first-place Washington and 8.29 to Cal.
The Stanford 1V8+ boat, including coxswain, had two freshmen, three sophomores, one junior, one senior, and two graduate transfers on Sunday.
The Cardinal 2V8+ boat had eight freshmen or sophomores (four of each) and one junior.
Of the 18 on both boats, 13 were underclassmen and there was only one senior. Stanford is closing the gap on boats ranked Nos. 1 and 2 in the nation, and doing so with young lineups that are only going to get better and become more experienced.
Racing into a headwind, the Stanford 1V8+ clocked 5:44.697 over the 2,000-meter course at Lake Natoma, which is a dammed section of the American River, and home of the Sacramento State Aquatic Center, where the course is based. The Cardinal 2V8+ was timed in 5:49.985.
The MPSF consists of eight programs, all four from last year’s Pac-12 Conference – current No. 7 Stanford, No. 1 Washington, No. 2 California, and No. 19 Oregon State. Also in the MPSF are Gonzaga, San Diego, Santa Clara, and UC San Diego. Washington is the defending IRA national champion.
MPSF Championships
At Lake Natoma
Grand Finals
1V8+ -- 1, California 5:37.977; 2, Washington 5:39.219; 3, Stanford 5:44.697; 4, Oregon State 6:02.903.
2V8+ -- 1, Washington 5:40.966; 2, California 5:41.697; 3, Stanford 5:49.985; 4, Oregon State 6:11.395.
Stanford lineups
1V8+
C: Kannan Alford
8: Tom Corbett
7: Elliott Donovan-Davies
6: James Fetter
5: Luke Smith
4: Max Shakespeare
3: Adrien Richez
2: Gabriel George
1: James Pullinger
2V8+
C: Gabrielle Zammit
8: Arthur Scott
7: Hylton Harvey
6: Maxim Ericson
5: Sandro Scalfi
4: Caspar Griffin
3: Philip Wolfensberger
2: Leopold Hainlein
1: Callen Berwick