MARIETTA, Ohio — For the second consecutive season, the Marietta College men's rowing team received an automatic qualifying bid and will compete in the Intercollegiate Rowing Association National Championship on May 29 and 30. The Pioneers qualified after finishing as the top Division III team at the Mid-Atlantic Rowing Conference Championships earlier this month.

Marietta College men's rowing is grateful for the leadership and generosity of alumni Tom Feaster '69, Brent Haney '76, John Foster '74, and Jeff Hugel '77, whose support through The Stewards Foundation includes a $35,000 commitment to assist with travel and related expenses for the upcoming National Championship in California.

Alumni support like this plays a vital role in ensuring our student-athletes can compete at the highest level of Division III rowing without financial barriers, while continuing the program's strong tradition of excellence.

The Pioneers will try to improve on the adventure they experienced last year, falling short of the championship in 2025. "A year ago, we may have been just a bit awe-struck by the whole thing, and I think we left a bit on the table," said Marietta Men's Rowing head coach Greg Myhr. "This year, we're hopeful we'll perform as a slightly more seasoned contender. We want to honor the opportunity by finding every last ounce of speed we can muster. We're hard at work currently to try to make that happen."

Marietta will compete in the first and second varsity eight races. The teams will row in the qualifying heats on Friday, and the race finals will be run on Saturday. Entering the competition as the fifth seed, the Varsity Eight team will be among the first to race on Friday. They face a formidable lineup led by the defending DIII champions from Trinity College. The competitive field also features automatic qualifiers such as second-seeded Wesleyan University, third-seeded Williams College, and eighth-ranked Ithaca College, while at-large bids were awarded to No. 4 Tufts University, No. 6 Colby College, and No. 7 Bates College.

"Although the seeds have not yet been announced, the top four will be Wesleyan, Trinity, Williams, and Tufts," said Myhr. "We've been ranked 5th for most of the spring, but there is very little separation between teams 5-8. As all true competitors want, it will come down to who can lay down a command performance, two days in a row. And who knows? The gap to the top four isn't unbridgeable, but some things would have to break our way."

This year's IRA regatta will the 123rd running, and the fifth consecutive one to host a Division III championship. The races will be held on the Lake Natoma in Gold River, California.

Although Marietta's rowing program in the 10th oldest in the country, they are still relative newcomers to the New England Small College Athletic Conference-heavy Division III field, but Myhr says that Marietta is establishing themselves as "a solid contender, year over year."

"I think we still view ourselves as outsiders, to an extent," concluded Myhr. "But, even as old as we are as a program, Marietta Rowing is starting to be recognized as a legitimate proving ground. This has clear implications for recruiting as more and more talented high school athletes recognize this fact. In my opinion, we're the very best mix of elite, yet accessible fast rowing."

Fans can follow all the Pioneer teams all year long at pioneers.marietta.edu. You can also follow the Pioneers on Facebook at facebook.com/MariettaCollege and @MariettaPioneer on X and Instagram.