SACRAMENTO – The No. 2 California men's rowing team's varsity eight was the runner-up at the 2026 MPSF Championship behind No. 1 Washington on Sunday morning at Lake Natoma in Sacramento. The Golden Bears' third varsity eight, varsity four and freshmen eight each notched victories, while the second varsity eight finished in second place behind the Huskies in its race.
 
Strong winds on Lake Natoma provided a challenge for the crews in their quest for the conference crown. Six programs featured at the competition, three of which have their varsity eights ranked in the latest weekly IRCA/IRA Coach's Poll: No. 1 Washington, No. 2 Cal and No. 5 Stanford. Oregon State, UC San Diego and British Columbia rounded out the competition field.
 
The freshmen squared off with Washington in a head-to-head race to start the morning. In similar fashion to their performance at The Dual just a few weeks ago, the Bears took control of the race early and handled the Huskies by a solid margin. The F8+ finished the course in 6:05.482, outdistancing Washington by five seconds.
 
Cal's varsity four took on Washington and Oregon State in the second race of the day. The Bears and the Huskies separated from the Beavers early on, with Cal taking about a one-seat lead at the 500-meter mark. The Huskies evened things out at the midway point of the race, but Cal responded well and took back the advantage. Cal maintained a slight lead through the third 500 meters, but it was neck-and-neck as the final stretch of the course approached. The two crews were stroke-for-stroke in the final sprint, but Cal pushed ahead and won the race by a two-second margin with a final time of 6:37.807.
 
In the 3V8+ race, Cal came off the blocks strong, pulling out to the front of the field, which included Washington, Stanford, British Columbia and Oregon State. Cal and Washington began to separate from the pack, but the Bears had a four-seat advantage over the Huskies at the first 500-meter mark. Cal was steady through the next quarter of the race and maintained the lead by about half a boat-length at the 1500-meter mark. Washington charged hard in the final 500 meters and cut the deficit, but the Bears won in a photo-finish with a time of 5:49.578 to Washington's 5:49.938.
 
"The freshmen winning again after a very tumultuous three weeks was impressive. Huge credit goes to Brandon Shald for that success," Cal head coach Scott Frandsen said. "I was also impressed with the really close racing in the four and the 3V8+. I'm proud of how those guys dug in those final meters and were able to hold onto some pretty close victories. It's a great show of our depth to be able to have the quality of those boats, racing so composed to the win."
 
Cal, Washington and British Columbia pulled to the front of the field at the start of the second varsity eight race. Cal had inched ahead at the 500-meter mark, but Washington responded and it was bow ball-to-bow ball as the midway point of the race approached. The Huskies pulled ahead by a couple of seats at the 1000-meter mark, but Cal continued to pace them down the stretch. The Bears put the pressure on in the final sprint and closed the gap to a two-second margin, finishing in second place with a time of 5:47.312 behind Washington's 5:45.416 time.  
 
In the race for the MPSF crown, Cal's varsity eight started off strong, pulling to a two-seat lead over Washington in second place at the first 500-meter mark. The competition was fierce as the top three boats – Cal, Washington and Stanford – maintained contact through the first 1000 meters. Cal held on to its two-seat advantage with halfway to go. Washington began to push in the third 500 meters, leveling with Cal as the two boats broke contact with Stanford. The Bears and the Huskies battled down the final stretch and Washington took a two-seat lead into the final sprint. Cal put the pressure on Washington, but it was not enough to outdistance the Huskies, who finished the course in 5:40.476 ahead of the Bears in 5:42.463 to lift the trophy.
 
"I think we've progressed really well in the last couple of weeks and improved in our top two boats, and we will need to continue to do that as we prepare the IRAs," Frandsen said. "The standard of West Coast rowing is incredibly high, and that's the competitive world we want to live in – and we need – in order to get faster."  
 
Cal will now have two weeks to prepare for the 2026 IRA National Championship which will be held at the same location the weekend of May 29-31.
 
RESULTS
V8+
1. Washington – 5:40.476
2. California – 5:42.463
3. Stanford – 5:47.427
4. British Columbia – 6:03.539
5. UC San Diego – 6:07.307
6. Oregon State – 6:08.296
 
2V8+
1. Washington – 5:45.416
2. California – 5:47.312
3. Stanford – 5:52.411
4. British Columbia – 6:07.599
5. Oregon State – 6:15.454
6. UC San Diego – 6:19.303
 
3V8+
1. California – 5:49.578
2. Washington – 5:49.938
3. Stanford – 6:06.252
4. British Columbia – 6:10.719
5. Oregon State – 6:24.554
 
V4+
1. California – 6:37.807
2. Washington – 6:39.121
3. Oregon State – 7:25.067
 
F8+
1. California – 6:05.482
2. Washington – 6:10.923
 
LINEUPS
V8+
Coxswain: Michael Kain
8. Maximilian Pfautsch
7. Alexander Baroni
6. Nemanja Luledzija
5. Tobias Kristensen
4. Gennaro di Mauro
3. Noah Anger
2. Pablo Moreno
1. Tom O'Sullivan
 
2V8+
Coxswain: Ethan Nghiem
8. Leo Rosenquist
7. Eddie Bayfield
6. Osian James
5. Matthew Waddell
4. Xavier Gagnon
3. Josh Knight
2. Tim Roth
1. Rory Menzies
 
3V8+
Coxswain: Austin Chen
8. Mihajlo Dedic
7. Flynn English
6. Dan Bradbery
5. Nat Gauden
4. Evan Gold
3. Jeremy Beale
2. Thomas Heerding
1. Leo Shetler
 
V4+
Coxswain: Teddy Hibbard
4. Johannes Benien
3. Peter Spira
2. James O'Meara
1. Chris Weiss
 
Freshmen 8+
Coxswain: Mackenzie Fox
8. Lucas Salazar  
7. Alex Monissen
6. Peter Fetter
5. William McClean
4. Max Campbell-Reide
3. Nicolas Leach
2. Forrester Clark IV
1. Jackson Hall
 
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