RANCHO CORDOVA, Calif. – Oklahoma City University took the men's varsity four third level final in the Intercollegiate Rowing Association Championships on Sunday at Lake Natoma.
OCU turned in a time of 6 minutes, 36.26 seconds to finish 13th in the event during the 117th edition of the IRA Championships. The Stars posted their best finish ever in the IRA Championships.
In the final, the Stars finished ahead of Jacksonville by 1.06 seconds. OCU worked its way through the repechage to advance to the third final. The Stars' crew of James Francis, Craig Oldiges, Boris Dimitrijevic, Vladislav Izda and Sarah Tyree recorded their best time of the weekend Sunday.
"This historic weekend for the program is a clear result of the hard work and dedication that the team has put in this year," OCU coach Hadzo Habibovic said. "I am extremely proud of this team and excited to see what the future will bring with the strong freshman class that we have coming in the fall."
In the repechange race Friday, OCU qualified for the third final by taking third place. The Stars clocked a time of 6:43.340.
In the heat races, the Stars completed the race in 6:55.682. OCU finished ahead of Harvard to earn a spot in the repechage.
Oklahoma City qualified for the IRA Championships by winning the Thomas A. Curran Cup, the heavyweight four, in the Dad Vail Regatta on May 11 in Philadelphia. OCU established the course record with a time of 6:14.50.