SEATTLE – The junior men and the fifth-year women won the featured races Saturday at Washington Rowing's 124^th annual Class Day Regatta, on Montlake Cut.
 
Class Day, first established in 1901, pits a crew from each class (freshmen, sophomores, juniors, etc.) against one another in men's and women's races, and signifies the official start of the spring rowing season each year at UW.
 
The Seattle Times Women's Eight race featured four crews – one from each traditional class, plus another of fifth-year athletes. That crew, led by returning varsity coxswain Grace Murdock, led throughout, but was provided with plenty of competition. 
 
The fifth-years passed the 500-meter buoy just 1.4 seconds ahead of the juniors, and held a similar margin over that same crew at 1,000 meters. By the 1,500-meter mark, the senior crew had moved into second, 2.4 seconds behind the fifth-years.
 
At the finish line, the fifth-year crew, dressed in costumes from "The Wizard of Oz," won in 6:37.983, just under three seconds ahead of the seniors. The juniors finished in third place, with the freshmen and sophomores crossing in fourth and fifth place, respectively.


 
"People asked me yesterday who I thought would win," said ninth-year women's head coach Yasmin Farooq, "and I said that I had absolutely no idea. That was the truth.
 
"I really didn't know," she continued. "I could see strengths in all those boats that could shine through in the race. At the end of the day, there was a lot of overlap all the way to the finish line, and it was the tightest race that we've had here since I've been a coach here."
 
The men's race – the George M. Varnell Men's Eight – which had been won by the seniors the last five times in a row (2019, 2021-24; there was no Class Day in 2020), was also quite competitive.
 
The senior boat looked to make it six in row, taking the lead by about 1.2 seconds at 500 meters. However, by 1,000, the junior crew had moved into the lead. That crew held the advantage through 1,500 and then pulled away very late to win in a time of 5:48.611, about a third of a boat-length of open water in front of the seniors. The freshmen finished a very close third (about three seats and 1.3 seconds back of the seniors), with the sophomores finishing fourth.


 
"What I loved is how competitive it was across the field," said UW men's head coach Michael Callahan. "It's great for preparation into our season next week. It was a great way to start off."
 
"The junior class is one of the deeper classes we have right currently at the moment," Callahan added. "They're going to be the future of our leadership next year, so it bodes well. It's nice to see this competitive racing from start to finish."
 
Two other races were held prior to the two main events as boat comprised of the other members of the men's and women's rosters competed in crew made up of freshmen, or of a "classless" mix of rowers from a variety of classes in a single boat.
 
In the morning's opening race, a "classless" men's crew of upperclassmen beat a freshman eight, winning the race by several lengths of open water. The older crew won with a time of 5:58.698, more than 14 seconds ahead of the freshman crew.
 
The women's classless race featured four entries, and the four were tightly packed through much of the early portion of the 2,000 meters. Eventually, the crews in lanes three and four separated from the pack. At the end, the women in the Kari Osterhaug '93 shell crossed the finish line about four seats ahead of the crew in the Olympia, winning by about 1.8 seconds.


 
Next Up
Both the men and women get their season underway in earnest this coming weekend. The men will travel to Nathan Benderson Park in Sarasota, Fla., for two days of racing. Friday, they'll take on Harvard in a dual for the Bolles Cup, and on Saturday, they will participate in the Sarasota Invitational against a number of top-level programs.
 
The women's team will travel to the San Diego Crew Classic on Mission Bay on Saturday, March 29.
 
As a part of the Class Day weekend, Washington introduced its team captains, winners of awards for top GPA and most inspirational, as well awards for top men's and women's walk-ons. Here are the winners:
 
2025 Team Captains
Women: Olivia Hay
Men: Kieran Joyce


 
Pigott Award Winners (Most Inspirational)
Women: Evan Park
Men: Dimitri Chamitoff


 
Schaller Award Winners (Highest GPA)
Women: Allison Jakeway
Men: Cameron Tasker
 


Katy Wallace Memorial Award (Outstanding Women's Walk-On Rower)
Caroline Law
 


Richard G. Erickson Award (Outstanding Men's Walk-On Rower)
Lyle Donovan


 
Class Day Lineups:
 
Race 1 – Men's Varsity/Freshman Challenge
 
Lane 1: 2028 Freshmen
Motto: Hunting Season
Shell: Husky Clipper
Cox: Anjali Pamurthy (Dallas, Texas)
Stroke: Crosby LaMotte (Seattle, Wash.)
7: Galen Hardy (Pittsburgh, Pa.)
6: Arden Acton (Shawnigan Lake, B.C., Canada)
5: Henry Andren (Greenwich, Conn.)
4: Nate Chase (Mount Holly, N.J.)
3: Jora Grewal (Newcastle, Wash.)
2: Skye Luebbe-Davidson (Seattle, Wash.)
Bow: Colin Seng (Seattle, Wash.)
 
Lane 2: Classless 
Motto: Beat The Grunties 
Shell: Husky
Cox: Nikita Jacobs '27 (London, England)
Stroke: Ian Burnett '23 (Arlington, Mass.)
7: Husky Legend
6: Logan Ullrich '25 (Auckland, New Zealand)
5: Husky Legend
4: Marc Tennesen '26 (Seattle, Wash.)
3: Kiefer Law '26 (Bellingham, Wash.)
2: Luke Collins '26 (Poulsbo, Wash.)
Bow: Addison Smee '26 (Kalama, Wash.)
 
Race 2 – Women's Classless Race
 
Lane 1: Classless
Shell: Fifi
Cox: Olivia Murdock '26 (Roswell, Ga.)
Stroke: Alex Dessart '26 (Bronxville, CA
7: Carly Lauritzen '25 (Nine Mile Falls, Wash.)
6: Cami Martin '26 (Seattle, Wash.)
5: Jane Cox '25 (Poway, Calif.)
4: Danielle Lohrenz '26 (Excelsior, Minn.)
3: Izzy Peters '26 (Bellingham, Wash.)
2: Maddie Ohm '25 (La Grange, Ill.)
Bow: Cora Madison '26 (Kirkland, Wash.)
 
Lane 2: Classless
Shell: King Kong
Cox: Taylor Inouye '27 (Kailua, Hawai'i)
Stroke: Mina Cook '28 (Seattle, Wash.)
7: Malia Odegaard '28 (Bellevue, Wash.)
6: Liv Ormseth '28 (Vashon Island, Wash.)
5: Fiona Rosales '27 (Oakland, Calif.)
4: Emma Cronin '28 (Roswell, Ga.)
3: Marin Maycotte '28 (Austin, Texas)
2: Julia Dean '28 (Burlington, Conn.)
Bow: Audrey Cronin '28 (Roswell, Ga.)
 
Lane 3: Classless
Shell: Olympia
Cox: Lilly Kurtz '26 (Seattle, Wash.)
Stroke: Abby Carpenter '28 (Weston, Conn.)
7: Samantha Rietbroek '28 (Southlake, Texas)
6: Alyssa Dittoe '28 (Edmonds, Wash.)
5: Kate Elward '28 (Los Angeles, Calif.)
4: Sophia DiBlasi '28 (Maltby, Wash.)
3: Bryce Woodcock '28 (Woodinville, Wash.)
2: Luella Bowersock '26 (Austin, Texas)
Bow: Cassidy McArthur '28 (Lake Forest Park, Wash.)
 
Lane 4: Classless
Shell: Kari Osterhaug '93
Cox: Payton Wold '28 (Arlington, Wash.)
Stroke: Katharina Stromberg '28 (Seattle, Wash.)
7: Emelia Jordan '28 (Rochester, N.Y.)
6: Claire Cunningham '28 (Seattle, Wash.)
5: Bethan Evans '28 (Bothell, Wash.)
4: Maggie Ward '28 (Madison, Wisc.)
3: Savannah Van Scholten-Crawford '28 (Eugene, Ore.)
2: Olivia Howe '27 (Seattle, Wash.)
Bow: Keira Cox '28 (Ladera Ranch, Calif.)
 
Race 3 – George M. Varnell Men's Eight
 
Lane 1: Freshman Class of 2028
Motto: Hunting Season
Shell: Grand Challenger 
Cox: Peter Frost (Wellesley, Mass.)
Stroke: Tobias Bosnes (Holstebro, Denmark)
7: Marley Kingsmith (Queenstown, New Zealand)
6: Jed Grieve (Toronto, Ontario, Canada)
5: Lucas Andersen (Portland, Ore.)
4: Devan Godfrey (Houston, Texas)
3: Will Milne (Hamilton, New Zealand)
2: Oliver Leach (Auckland, New Zealand)
Bow: Colin Phariss (Montclair, N.J.)
 
Lane 2: Senior Class of 2025
Motto: Strong Will Survive '25
Shell: Brett Reisinger 
Cox: Kieran Joyce (Hamilton, New Zealand)
Stroke: Harry Fitzpatrick (Auckland, New Zealand)
7: Marius Ahlsand (Oslo, Norway)
6: Jonathan Wang-Norderud (Oslo, Norway)
5: Quinn Hall (Chester Springs, Pa.)
4: Alex Gonin (Oak Bay, B.C., Canada)
3: Parker Raines (Sammamish, Wash.)
2: Blake Vogel (Pittsburgh, Pa.)
Bow: Connor Shoup (Steilacoom, Wash.)
 
Lane 3: Juniors Class of 2026
Motto: Zero26ixty
Shell: ShoeDawg
Cox: Nick Dunlop (Sydney, Australia)
Stroke: Ryan Martin (Newport Beach, Calif.)
7: Sam Ford (Bath, England)
6: Ben Shortt (Auckland, New Zealand)
5: Povilas Juskevicius (Kaunas, Lithuania)
4: Ewan Morrow (Seattle, Wash.)
3: Lyle Donovan (Milton, Ga.)
2: Ryan Smith (Hannover, Germany)
Bow: Finn Griskauskas (Chesterfield, Mo.)
 
Lane 4: Sophomores Class of 2027
Motto: Be The Engine '27
Shell: Carl Lovsted II
Cox: Maggie Gibbons (Washington, D.C.)
Stroke: Giuseppe Bellomo (Bitritto, Italy)
7: Hector Guimet (Lyon, France)
6: Rory McDonnell (Rugby, England)
5: Klas Ole Lass (Niepars, Germany)
4: Billy Osborne (Maffra, Australia
3: Lucas Woodruff (Costa Mesa, Calif.)
2: Dimitri Chamitoff (Austin, Texas)
Bow: Matteo Belgeri (Bellagio, Italy)
 
Race 4 – The Seattle Times Women's Eight
 
Lane 1: Freshmen, Class of 2028
Shell: Jenni Vesnaver Hogan
Cox: Isabel Michaelson (Mukilteo, Wash.)
Stroke: Ella Bayer (Olympia, Wash.)
7: Grace Worthington (Grand Haven, Mich.)
6: Caroline Law (Bellingham, Wash.)
5: Chloe Sheppard (Tewkesbury, England, U.K.)
4: Annelise Hahl (Cary, N.C.)
3: Sami Tyler (Camas, Wash.)
2: Emily Myers (Oxford, England, U.K.)
Bow: Violet Holbrow Brooksbank (Monmouth, Wales, U.K.)
 
Lane 2: Sophomores, Class of 2027
Shell: Title IX Sisterhood
Cox: Perry McLoughlin (Port Washington, N.Y.)
Stroke: Carmel Bollag (Seattle, Wash.)
7: Jess Weir (London, England, U.K.)
6: Madeleine Parker (Napier, New Zealand)
5: Zola Kemp (Wellington, New Zealand)
4: Victoria Trentin (Melbourne, Australia)
3: Niamh Comerford (London, England, U.K.)
2: Kate Russ (Plano, Texas)
Bow: Megan Romesberg (Satellite Beach, Fla.)
 
Lane 3: Juniors, Class of 2026
Shell: USA Filippi
Shell: Dottie Simpson
Cox: Camille Randall (Seattle, Wash.)
Stroke: Margaret Young (San Anselmo, Calif.)
7: Sofie Sand (Rochester, Wash.)
6: Cillian Mullen (Tacoma, Wash.)
5: Sofia Suhinin (Adelaide, Australia)
4: Mira Calder (Victoria, B.C. Canada)
3: Allison Jakeway (Maple Ridge, B.C., Canada)
2: Cait Whittard (St. Catherine's, Ont., Canada)
Bow Scout Wilson (San Antonio, Texas)
 
Lane 4: Seniors, Class of 2025
Shell: Kit Green
Cox: Elisabeth Wu (Seattle, Wash.)
Stroke: Jordan Freer (Lotus, Calif.)
7: Ava Meuleman (Seattle, Wash.)
6: Olivia Hay (Auckland, New Zealand)
5: Aisha Rocek (Como, Italy)
4: Leah Nash (Chatham, Mass.)
3: Ellen Koselka (Ann Arbor, Mich.)
2: Paris Burbine (Alpharetta, Ga.)
Bow: Shakira Mirfin (Invercargill, New Zealand)
 
Lane 5: Fifth Years, Class of 2024
Shell: Title IX Legacy
Cox: Grace Murdock (Roswell, Ga.)
Stroke: Megan Lee (Natick, Mass.)
7: Sophie Houston (Sydney, Australia)
6: Marilou Duvernay-Tardif (St. Jean-Baptiste, Que., Canada)
5: Sally Jones (Victoria, B.C., Canada)
4: Emma Waters (Galway, Ireland)
3: Evan Park (Bend, Ore.)
2: Brianna Hoffman (Poulsbo, Wash.)
Bow: Helen Latting (Atlanta, Ga.)