Saturday, March 21
Seattle, Wash.
10:00 AM PT
University of Washington
vs
125th Class Day Regatta
Photo by: Scott Eklund / Red Box Pictures
Freshman Women, Senior Men Blaze To Class Day Victories
March 21, 2026 | Men's Rowing, Women's Rowing
SEATTLE – The senior men and freshmen women both recorded top-10 times in course history Saturday, winning the featured races at Washington's 125th annual Class Day Regatta on Montlake Cut. The freshmen won the Seattle Times Women's Trophy for the first time in 36 years.
Class Day, first held in 1901, marks the traditional start of rowing season for the Huskies. The event pits crews made up of classmates against one another along the 2,000-meter race course. Next weekend, both the UW men and women will begin the season in earnest.
Washington's seniors won the George M. Varnell Men's Trophy with its victory in the men's Class Day race. That same class also won in 2025, as juniors. Their time of 5:28.577 was the second-fasted time ever rowed by a men's crew in Montlake Cut history, behind only the 2017 UW varsity eight's time of 5:27.480, set at the 2017 Windermere Cup.
The UW women's freshman crew's time of 6:15.124 was the seventh fastest ever recorded by a women's entry. The record of 6:07.030 was also set at the 2017 Windermere Cup, by the Huskies' varsity eight.
In the men's race, with four crews competing, the seniors lead throughout. The crew, coxed by freshman Connor Eacker (there are no coxswains in the current senior class), crossed the 500-, 1,000- and 1,500-meter buoys in first place and crossed the finish line with just a sliver of open water ahead of the sophomores.
"I feel like this team has been really senior-led this year," said Michael Callahan, now in his 19th year as UW men's head coach. "They're in some of the most important seats in our varsity and 2V. So the fact that they performed well today wasn't surprising. It's nice to see them go out on top. One interesting piece is they had a freshman coxswain, so there was a a lot of pressure for Connor to step into that role and steer them on the course, so congratulations to Connor."
The juniors or seniors have won the George M. Varnell Trophy every year since 2009.
The Seattle Times Women's Race was a five-boat event, with entries from all four traditional classes, as well a fifth-year crew.
The freshmen went out strong, taking the lead by the 500-meter mark, with the sophomores running in second over the first half of the race. By 1,500 meters, the senior crew had moved into second and gave the freshmen a challenge, but the Class of 2029 crew crossed the finish line about 2.4 second in front of the Class of 2026, becoming the first freshman crew to win the women's Class Day race since 1990.
"What an impressive effort by a group that has grown so much since the start of the year!" exclaimed 10th-year UW women's coach Yasmin Farooq. "They won the start straight up, which says something about raw ability, but they really stuck together to fight off every attack that came their way over the race. That says a lot about them as a class, and I am super proud of them."
The morning opened with a women's four race featuring four crews of current athletes and a fifth comprised of UW alumnae. The former Huskies hung in early, rowing second behind the crew in lane two.
But going down the stretch, the underclass crew in lane three moved to the lead and held on, winning the race with a time of 7:32.237.
A men's eight race followed, with three alumni crews vs. an eight of current rowers. The "WOOF" crew, which featured older alumni, was given a 73-second head start, and the "Dawgs" crew started three seconds ahead of the other two.
The "WOOF" crew, which included rowers from as far back as the Class of 1967, held off the others to win, with a time of 7:09.998, a little over three seconds ahead of the "Dawgs" crew in lane three.
Next weekend, the Washington men will travel to Sarasota, Fla., for two days' worth of competition. On Friday, they vie for the Bolles Cup vs. Harvard and the Paup Trophy vs. Stanford. Then on Saturday, those three programs will race a larger field for the Benderson Cup.
"We're excited to start off the season," Callahan said. "I've had veteran groups in the past, but this locker room's been led by these seniors all year. We're going to succeed with them all throughout the season, so it's nice to see them that started off the right way and get ready for Sarasota next weekend."
The UW women will head to San Diego for the annual Crew Classic next Saturday and Sunday. The Huskies will bring four eights and three fours to San Diego to compete against many of the nation's top programs.
"I think the upperclassman leadership in this group this year has been outstanding, going back to the start of the school year" said Farooq, looking ahead to San Diego. "That group in particular has really helped bring these freshman and sophomore classes along. The growth of the overall team thus far is because of them. We'll have a good mix of athletes throughout the boats and I'm excited to see them get after it next weekend."
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:
2026 Team Captains
Women: Margaret Young
Men: Lyle Donovan & Ben Shortt
Pigott Award Winners (Most Inspirational)
Women: Jane Doyle
Men: Luke Collins
Schaller Award Winners (Highest GPA)
Women: Cillian Mullen
Men: Cameron Tasker
Katy Wallace Memorial Award (Outstanding Women's Walk-On Rower)
Camille Hutton
Richard G. Erickson Award (Outstanding Men's Walk-On Rower)
Lazlo Davis-Rubin
For news, scores, highlights and more, download the Go Huskies app on your mobile device. Follow @washingtrowing on Instagram, Threads, Facebook and TikTok; and @UW_Rowing on X, and subscribe to UW Athletics on YouTube for the latest on the Dawgs.
2026 Class Day Lineups
Race 1 – Women's Unclassified Race
Lane 1: Unclassified 4+
Shell: Folklore
Stroke: Marin Maycotte
3: Camille Hutton
2: Lucy Forest
Bow: Claire Rogge
Cox: Ella Ryter
Lane 2: Unclassified 4+
Shell: Evermore
Stroke: Riley Barringer
3: Makenna Garrett
2: Finley Stockstad
Bow: Charlotte Park
Cox: Sloane Roth
Lane 3: Unclassified 4+
Shell: EOC
Stroke: Claire Cunningham
3: Emelia Jordan
2: Sophia Thompson
Bow: Lykka Spiekerkoetter
Cox: Layla Mohanna
Lane 4: Unclassified 4+
Shell: Allegra
Stroke: Grace Sisett
3: Sadie Schultz
2: Lauren Miller
Bow: Hannah Kress
Cox: Ava Hedin
Lane 5: Alumni 4+
Shell: Sam & Raz
Stroke: Laurel Safranek '21
3: Haley Stoker '23
2: Jeri Rhodes '23
Bow: Victoria Park '23
Cox: Abby Putnam '29
Race 2 – Men's Unclassified/Alumni Challenge
Lane 1: Unclassified
Shell: John N. Nordstrom
Cox: Avery Lowe '29
Stroke: Jed Grieve '28
7: Galen Hardy '28
6: Marc Tennesen '26
5: Dylan West '29
4: Ewan Morrow '26
3: Kiefer Law '26
2: Will Singleton '29
Bow: Luke Collins '26
Lane 2: Alumni "Huskies"
Shell: WAC
Cox: Zach Casler '22
Stroke: Darcy McCluskey '24
7: Max Heid '23
6: Arne Landboe '18
5: Stephen Connolly '09
4: Hans Struzyna '11
3: Sam Dommer '13
2: Ian Engstrom '21
Bow: George Esau '20
Lane 3: Alumni "Dawgs"
Shell: Chuck Holtz
Cox: Tessa Adams '29
Stroke: Will Crothers '09
7: Jake Zier '17
6: Samuel Halbert '19
5: Dave Calder '00
4: Conlin McCabe '12
3: Blake Vogel '25
2: Hans Hurn '01
Bow: Drew Butler '22
Lane 4: Alumni "WOOF"
Shell: Husky
Cox: Maggie Gibbons
Stroke: Ed Ives '81
7: Michael "Majik" Fountain '78
6: Kevin Hansen '82
5: Bill Pitlick '67
4: Jeff Laband '76
3: Bill Byrd '77
2: William (Bill) Jackman '93
Bow: Dee Walker '70
Race 3 – Seattle Times Women's Eight
Lane 1: Fifth-Year, Class of 2025
Shell: Title IX Legacy
Cox: Taylor Inouye
Stroke: Aisha Rocek
7: Nienke Overgoor
6: Jane Doyle
5: Jordan Freer
4: Emma Cronin
3: Audrey Cronin
2: Ellen Koselka
Bow: Carly Lauritzen
Lane 2: Seniors, Class of 2026
Shell: Jan Harville
Cox: Camille Randall
Stroke: Sofia Suhinin
7: Cillian Mullen
6: Sofie Sand
5: Cait Whittard
4: Mira Calder
3: Margaret Young
2: Cora Madison
Bow: Cami Martin
Lane 3: Freshmen, Class of 2029
Shell: Jenni Hogan
Cox: Morgan Bradley
Stroke: Issy Melville
7: Katie Gardner
6: Jayna Palmer
5: Amelia Westbrook
4: Emily Downing
3: Zoe Keenan
2: Caitlin Woods
Bow: Elena Guevara
Lane 4: Juniors, Class of 2027
Shell: Dottie Simpson
Cox: Perry McLoughlin
Stroke: Jess Weir
7: Carmel Bollag
6: Zola Kemp
5: Kalee Verd
4: Scarlett Shelton
3: Ava Rothmeyer
2: Katharina Stromberg
Bow: Victoria Trentin
Lane 5: Sophomores, Class of 2028
Shell: Title IX Sisterhood
Cox: Izzy Michaelson
Stroke: Chloe Sheppard
7: Emily Myers
6: Violet Holbrow Brooksbank
5: Ella Bayer
4: Grace Worthington
3: Caroline Law
2: Sami Tyler
Bow: Liv Ormseth
Race 4 – The George M. Varnell Men's Eight
Lane 1: Juniors, Class of 2027
Class Motto: Be The Engine '27
Shell: Austin J. Regier
Cox: Nikita Jacobs
Str: Rory McDonnell
7: Klas Ole Lass
6: Giuseppe Bellomo
5: Finn Griskauskas
4: Billy Osborne
3: Matteo Belgeri
2: Dimitri Chamitoff
Bow: Hector Guimet
Lane 2: Seniors, Class of 2026
Class Motto: ZERO26TY
Shell: ShoeDaWg
Cox: Connor Eacker
Stroke: Ryan Smith
7: Lyle Donovan
6: Ben Shortt
5: Povilas Juskevicius
4: Cameron Tasker
3: Sam Ford
2: Ryan Martin
Bow: Ethan Walsh
Lane 3: Rookies, Class of 2028
Class Motto: Storm The Gate '28
Shell: Brett Reisinger '98
Cox: Anjali Pamurthy
Stroke: Tobias Bosnes
7: Lucas Andersen
6: Devan Godfrey
5: Marley King Smith
4: Crosby LaMotte
3: Colin Seng
2: Oliver Leach
Bow: Colin Phariss
Lane 4: Freshmen, Class of 2029
Class Motto: Red Line '29
Shell: Carl Lovsted
Cox: Victor Bocquet
Stroke: Zach Brownlee
7: Thomas Fiorito
6: Boden Chapek
5: Byron Richards
4: Monte Wood
3: Lazlo Davis-Rudin
2: Callan Ogilvie
Bow: Jerry Anderson
Class Day, first held in 1901, marks the traditional start of rowing season for the Huskies. The event pits crews made up of classmates against one another along the 2,000-meter race course. Next weekend, both the UW men and women will begin the season in earnest.
Washington's seniors won the George M. Varnell Men's Trophy with its victory in the men's Class Day race. That same class also won in 2025, as juniors. Their time of 5:28.577 was the second-fasted time ever rowed by a men's crew in Montlake Cut history, behind only the 2017 UW varsity eight's time of 5:27.480, set at the 2017 Windermere Cup.
The UW women's freshman crew's time of 6:15.124 was the seventh fastest ever recorded by a women's entry. The record of 6:07.030 was also set at the 2017 Windermere Cup, by the Huskies' varsity eight.
In the men's race, with four crews competing, the seniors lead throughout. The crew, coxed by freshman Connor Eacker (there are no coxswains in the current senior class), crossed the 500-, 1,000- and 1,500-meter buoys in first place and crossed the finish line with just a sliver of open water ahead of the sophomores.
"I feel like this team has been really senior-led this year," said Michael Callahan, now in his 19th year as UW men's head coach. "They're in some of the most important seats in our varsity and 2V. So the fact that they performed well today wasn't surprising. It's nice to see them go out on top. One interesting piece is they had a freshman coxswain, so there was a a lot of pressure for Connor to step into that role and steer them on the course, so congratulations to Connor."
The juniors or seniors have won the George M. Varnell Trophy every year since 2009.
The Seattle Times Women's Race was a five-boat event, with entries from all four traditional classes, as well a fifth-year crew.
The freshmen went out strong, taking the lead by the 500-meter mark, with the sophomores running in second over the first half of the race. By 1,500 meters, the senior crew had moved into second and gave the freshmen a challenge, but the Class of 2029 crew crossed the finish line about 2.4 second in front of the Class of 2026, becoming the first freshman crew to win the women's Class Day race since 1990.
"What an impressive effort by a group that has grown so much since the start of the year!" exclaimed 10th-year UW women's coach Yasmin Farooq. "They won the start straight up, which says something about raw ability, but they really stuck together to fight off every attack that came their way over the race. That says a lot about them as a class, and I am super proud of them."
The morning opened with a women's four race featuring four crews of current athletes and a fifth comprised of UW alumnae. The former Huskies hung in early, rowing second behind the crew in lane two.
But going down the stretch, the underclass crew in lane three moved to the lead and held on, winning the race with a time of 7:32.237.
A men's eight race followed, with three alumni crews vs. an eight of current rowers. The "WOOF" crew, which featured older alumni, was given a 73-second head start, and the "Dawgs" crew started three seconds ahead of the other two.
The "WOOF" crew, which included rowers from as far back as the Class of 1967, held off the others to win, with a time of 7:09.998, a little over three seconds ahead of the "Dawgs" crew in lane three.
Next weekend, the Washington men will travel to Sarasota, Fla., for two days' worth of competition. On Friday, they vie for the Bolles Cup vs. Harvard and the Paup Trophy vs. Stanford. Then on Saturday, those three programs will race a larger field for the Benderson Cup.
"We're excited to start off the season," Callahan said. "I've had veteran groups in the past, but this locker room's been led by these seniors all year. We're going to succeed with them all throughout the season, so it's nice to see them that started off the right way and get ready for Sarasota next weekend."
The UW women will head to San Diego for the annual Crew Classic next Saturday and Sunday. The Huskies will bring four eights and three fours to San Diego to compete against many of the nation's top programs.
"I think the upperclassman leadership in this group this year has been outstanding, going back to the start of the school year" said Farooq, looking ahead to San Diego. "That group in particular has really helped bring these freshman and sophomore classes along. The growth of the overall team thus far is because of them. We'll have a good mix of athletes throughout the boats and I'm excited to see them get after it next weekend."
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:
2026 Team Captains
Women: Margaret Young
Men: Lyle Donovan & Ben Shortt
Pigott Award Winners (Most Inspirational)
Women: Jane Doyle
Men: Luke Collins
Schaller Award Winners (Highest GPA)
Women: Cillian Mullen
Men: Cameron Tasker
Katy Wallace Memorial Award (Outstanding Women's Walk-On Rower)
Camille Hutton
Richard G. Erickson Award (Outstanding Men's Walk-On Rower)
Lazlo Davis-Rubin
For news, scores, highlights and more, download the Go Huskies app on your mobile device. Follow @washingtrowing on Instagram, Threads, Facebook and TikTok; and @UW_Rowing on X, and subscribe to UW Athletics on YouTube for the latest on the Dawgs.
2026 Class Day Lineups
Race 1 – Women's Unclassified Race
Lane 1: Unclassified 4+
Shell: Folklore
Stroke: Marin Maycotte
3: Camille Hutton
2: Lucy Forest
Bow: Claire Rogge
Cox: Ella Ryter
Lane 2: Unclassified 4+
Shell: Evermore
Stroke: Riley Barringer
3: Makenna Garrett
2: Finley Stockstad
Bow: Charlotte Park
Cox: Sloane Roth
Lane 3: Unclassified 4+
Shell: EOC
Stroke: Claire Cunningham
3: Emelia Jordan
2: Sophia Thompson
Bow: Lykka Spiekerkoetter
Cox: Layla Mohanna
Lane 4: Unclassified 4+
Shell: Allegra
Stroke: Grace Sisett
3: Sadie Schultz
2: Lauren Miller
Bow: Hannah Kress
Cox: Ava Hedin
Lane 5: Alumni 4+
Shell: Sam & Raz
Stroke: Laurel Safranek '21
3: Haley Stoker '23
2: Jeri Rhodes '23
Bow: Victoria Park '23
Cox: Abby Putnam '29
Race 2 – Men's Unclassified/Alumni Challenge
Lane 1: Unclassified
Shell: John N. Nordstrom
Cox: Avery Lowe '29
Stroke: Jed Grieve '28
7: Galen Hardy '28
6: Marc Tennesen '26
5: Dylan West '29
4: Ewan Morrow '26
3: Kiefer Law '26
2: Will Singleton '29
Bow: Luke Collins '26
Lane 2: Alumni "Huskies"
Shell: WAC
Cox: Zach Casler '22
Stroke: Darcy McCluskey '24
7: Max Heid '23
6: Arne Landboe '18
5: Stephen Connolly '09
4: Hans Struzyna '11
3: Sam Dommer '13
2: Ian Engstrom '21
Bow: George Esau '20
Lane 3: Alumni "Dawgs"
Shell: Chuck Holtz
Cox: Tessa Adams '29
Stroke: Will Crothers '09
7: Jake Zier '17
6: Samuel Halbert '19
5: Dave Calder '00
4: Conlin McCabe '12
3: Blake Vogel '25
2: Hans Hurn '01
Bow: Drew Butler '22
Lane 4: Alumni "WOOF"
Shell: Husky
Cox: Maggie Gibbons
Stroke: Ed Ives '81
7: Michael "Majik" Fountain '78
6: Kevin Hansen '82
5: Bill Pitlick '67
4: Jeff Laband '76
3: Bill Byrd '77
2: William (Bill) Jackman '93
Bow: Dee Walker '70
Race 3 – Seattle Times Women's Eight
Lane 1: Fifth-Year, Class of 2025
Shell: Title IX Legacy
Cox: Taylor Inouye
Stroke: Aisha Rocek
7: Nienke Overgoor
6: Jane Doyle
5: Jordan Freer
4: Emma Cronin
3: Audrey Cronin
2: Ellen Koselka
Bow: Carly Lauritzen
Lane 2: Seniors, Class of 2026
Shell: Jan Harville
Cox: Camille Randall
Stroke: Sofia Suhinin
7: Cillian Mullen
6: Sofie Sand
5: Cait Whittard
4: Mira Calder
3: Margaret Young
2: Cora Madison
Bow: Cami Martin
Lane 3: Freshmen, Class of 2029
Shell: Jenni Hogan
Cox: Morgan Bradley
Stroke: Issy Melville
7: Katie Gardner
6: Jayna Palmer
5: Amelia Westbrook
4: Emily Downing
3: Zoe Keenan
2: Caitlin Woods
Bow: Elena Guevara
Lane 4: Juniors, Class of 2027
Shell: Dottie Simpson
Cox: Perry McLoughlin
Stroke: Jess Weir
7: Carmel Bollag
6: Zola Kemp
5: Kalee Verd
4: Scarlett Shelton
3: Ava Rothmeyer
2: Katharina Stromberg
Bow: Victoria Trentin
Lane 5: Sophomores, Class of 2028
Shell: Title IX Sisterhood
Cox: Izzy Michaelson
Stroke: Chloe Sheppard
7: Emily Myers
6: Violet Holbrow Brooksbank
5: Ella Bayer
4: Grace Worthington
3: Caroline Law
2: Sami Tyler
Bow: Liv Ormseth
Race 4 – The George M. Varnell Men's Eight
Lane 1: Juniors, Class of 2027
Class Motto: Be The Engine '27
Shell: Austin J. Regier
Cox: Nikita Jacobs
Str: Rory McDonnell
7: Klas Ole Lass
6: Giuseppe Bellomo
5: Finn Griskauskas
4: Billy Osborne
3: Matteo Belgeri
2: Dimitri Chamitoff
Bow: Hector Guimet
Lane 2: Seniors, Class of 2026
Class Motto: ZERO26TY
Shell: ShoeDaWg
Cox: Connor Eacker
Stroke: Ryan Smith
7: Lyle Donovan
6: Ben Shortt
5: Povilas Juskevicius
4: Cameron Tasker
3: Sam Ford
2: Ryan Martin
Bow: Ethan Walsh
Lane 3: Rookies, Class of 2028
Class Motto: Storm The Gate '28
Shell: Brett Reisinger '98
Cox: Anjali Pamurthy
Stroke: Tobias Bosnes
7: Lucas Andersen
6: Devan Godfrey
5: Marley King Smith
4: Crosby LaMotte
3: Colin Seng
2: Oliver Leach
Bow: Colin Phariss
Lane 4: Freshmen, Class of 2029
Class Motto: Red Line '29
Shell: Carl Lovsted
Cox: Victor Bocquet
Stroke: Zach Brownlee
7: Thomas Fiorito
6: Boden Chapek
5: Byron Richards
4: Monte Wood
3: Lazlo Davis-Rudin
2: Callan Ogilvie
Bow: Jerry Anderson
Players Mentioned
COX
/ Men's Rowing
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COX
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COX
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COX
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/ Men's Rowing
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COX
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