VANCOUVER, Wash. – The Lewis & Clark Pioneers raced on Vancouver Lake on Saturday morning in the Northwest Conference Championships and the Rainier Cup. The WSquad faced off against Pacific Lutheran, University of Puget Sound, and Pacific University, while the men's squad raced against the University of Oregon. Weather conditions were ideal for racing with flat water, mild wind and temperatures, and sunshine.

THE BASICS
9:30 AM, Men's varsity 8+
9:40 AM, Women's varsity 8+
9:50 AM, Women's second varsity 8+
10:50 AM, Men's novice 4+
11:00 AM, Women's varsity 4+ (A)
11:00 AM, Women's Varsity 4+ (B)
11:10 AM, Men's varsity 4+
11:20 AM, Non-binary 2x
11:30 AM, Women's novice 4+

HOW IT HAPPENED
The men's varsity 8+ kicked off racing for the day, facing off against University of Oregon in a duel-style race. The Pioneers had a strong start with the Ducks, but couldn't hang on to them through the second thousand meters of the race despite a strong sprint. The Pioneers made it down the course in a time of 7:09.63, improving on their time in the eight from the Covered Bridge Regatta. The boat was helmed by Sophie Homolka, with Lewis Grimes in stroke, Devon Hall in seven, Caleb Novotny in six, Paul Kelly in five, Kieran Larrabee in four, Chaszar Waldron in three, Chance Inouye in two, and Alex Skiles in the bow.

The men's 8+ was followed by the women's varsity boats, a four boat race between Northwest Conference competitors. Lewis & Clark was in lane one closest to shore, Puget Sound was in lane two, Pacific Lutheran was in lane three, and Pacific was in lane four. The Loggers finished on top, making it down the course in a time of 7:20.5. They were followed by the Lutes in second place, Pacific in third, and the Pioneers in fourth. The boat was helmed by Morgan Anderson, with Sadie Meredith-Andrews in stroke, Zoe Mitchell in seven, Libby Barrese in six, Clare Kimmel in five, Emma Wind in four, Amber Hayes in three, Meredith Lybbert in two, and Charlie Bastunskiy in the bow.

The second varsity eights were the next boat to come down the course, with Lewis & Clark and Pacific Lutheran facing off in a duel. The Pioneers jumped out early on the Lutes and maintained their lead through the finish line. The Pioneers clocked in 17.7 seconds ahead of Pacific Lutheran in an exact repeat of the time differential from the Pioneer Invite two weeks ago. Lewis & Clark improved by eight seconds on their last time from Vancouver Lake. The boat was helmed by Max Baker, with Sunny Greenblum in stroke, Charlotte Gregson in seven, Mariah Schafhausen in six, Ella Shanava in five, Masha Galzneva in four, Kaia Hirsch in three, Alany Padilla Camacho in two, and Grace MacDonald in the bow.

Small boats raced in the late morning after the conclusion of the eights. The first race after the break was the men's novice four, another duel race between Puget Sound and Lewis & Clark. The Pioneers crossed the line behind the Loggers but had a great final 500 meters and made huge improvements to their time from Covered Bridge. The boat was helmed by Max Baker, with Chance Inouye in stroke, Chaszar Waldron in three, Keith Hipp in two, and Daniel Macha in the bow. 

The women's four race was condensed after a scratch late in the week and ended up as a singular seven-boat flight. The Lewis & Clark A boat raced in lane three, while the B boat raced in lane seven. Pacific Lutheran took the top spot, but was followed by the Pioneers A boat in second and B boat in third. Ella Radvany was in the driver's seat for the A boat, with Meredith-Andrews in stroke, Wind in three, Kimmel in two, and Lybbert in the bow. Anderson helmed the B boat, with Greenblum in stroke, Gregson in three, Schafhausen in two, and Shanava in the bow.

The men's varsity four was the next boat to come down the course, with two Oregon boats facing off against Lewis & Clark. The Pioneers raced in lane two, directly between the Ducks' A and B boats. Oregon's B boat took the top spot, followed by the Pioneers, who made it down the course in a time of 7:33.55. They finished 10 seconds ahead of Oregon's A boat. Homolka was in the driver's seat, with Grimes stroking, Hall in three, Novotny in two, and Kelly in the bow.

Lewis & Clark raced a non-binary double in the small boats race that went five across. The Pioneers placed fourth ahead of Puget Sound's women's pair. They made it through the line in a time of 8:50.37. Barrese was the stroke while Mitchell bowed.

The final race of the day was the women's novice four. Puget Sound again took the top spot, followed by Pacific, Pacific Lutheran, and Lewis & Clark. The Pioneers were disqualified after accidentally encroaching into another lane off the start, but finished the race and went hard. Baker helmed the boat, with Hayes in stroke, Hirsch in three, Padilla Camacho in two, and MacDonald in the bow.

BY THE NUMBERS

• The men's varsity 8+ improved on their race time from Covered Bridge by a full minute
• The Pioneers's second varsity beat Pacific Lutheran by the same exact margin for two weeks in a row

WHAT'S NEXT
The Pioneers head to Sacramento next weekend for the Western Intercollegiate Rowing Association Regatta, their last contest of the 24-25 season.