GOLD RIVER, Calif. – When the calendar turns to May, that often means it is time for the Western Washington University rowing program to turn it up a notch.
 
And turn it up a notch they did with the Vikings putting together a dominating performance in the featured D2/D3/Club eights Grand Final on Sunday morning on Lake Natoma outside of Sacramento.
 
Western's eight-oared crew covered the 2,000-meter course in a winning (and speedy) time of 6:50.64 to finish a boat length ahead of second-place Cal Poly Humboldt (6:54.171) and third-place Seattle Pacific (6:59.911).
 
The Vikings gained a lead around the 500-meter mark to break away from Cal Poly Humboldt, but the Lumberjacks made their move gaining on the Vikings in the third 500. But WWU held off the charge and extended its lead to the finish for the boat-length margin.
 
This marked the Vikings first V8+ victory at the WIRA Championships since sweeping its three entries during the 2017 event to win the WIRA Team Efficiency Trophy.
 
In the final race for the Vikings at the WIRA Championships, the Varsity 4+ entry placed 5th in a time of 8:31.616. The Washington State University club team took home the first-place trophy with a time of 8:13.167, edging SPU (8:15.054) by a two-seat margin. Cal Poly Humboldt was third in 8:19.081 and the University of Oregon club entry was 4th ahead of the Vikings in 8:22.361.
 
Ranked No. 4 nationally, the Vikings look to move up in the regional polls with the strong showing at the WIRA Championships. WWU is scheduled to be back in action next weekend as part of the Opening Day Regatta during the Windermere Cup on Saturday on Montlake Cut in Seattle.
  Here is a complete look at the results from the races that WWU competed in during the 2022 WIRA Championships, held April 30-May 1 on Lake Natoma in Gold River, California:
 

Saturday, April 30
Varsity Eight DII/DIII/Club (top 3 advance to Grand Final)
Heat I	1. Cal Poly Humboldt (7:03.261), 2. UC Irvine (7:11.253), 3. PLU (7:15.706) 4. UC Davis (7:20.198), 5. Lewis & Clark (7:29.222)
Heat II	1. Western Washington (6:57.535), 2. Seattle Pacific (7:03.107), 3. UC Santa Barbara (7:16.638) 4. UPS (7:29.195), 5. Oregon (7:58.506)
Varsity Four DII/DIII/Club (top 3 advance to Grand Final)
Heat I	1. Washington State (8:12.649), 2. Oregon (8:24.162), 3. Western Washington (8:25.064), 4. PLU (8:43.041)
Heat II	1. Seattle Pacific (8:09.732), 2. Cal Poly Humboldt (8:21.698), 3. UC Santa Barbara (8:31.784), 4. UC Irvine (8:45.438)
Sunday, May 1
Varsity Eight DII/DIII/Club – Petite Final
8:30 am	1. UC Davis (7:14.326), 2. Lewis & Clark (7:19.553), 3. Puget Sound (7:23.261), 4. Oregon (7:49.367)
Varsity Eight DII/DIII/Club – Grand Final
8:40 am	1. Western Washington (6:50.64), 2. Cal Poly Humboldt (6:54.171), 3. Seattle Pacific (6:59.911) 4. UC Irvine (7:07.887), 5. UC Santa Barbara (7:08.176), 6. PLU (7:12.531)
Varsity Four DII/DIII/Club – Petite Final
10:30 am	1. PLU (8:40.08), 2. UC Irvine (9:04.84)
Varsity Four DII/DIII/Club – Grand Final
10:40 am	1. Washington State (8:13.167), 2. Seattle Pacific (8:15.054), 3. Cal Poly Humboldt (8:19.081), 4. Oregon (8:22.361), 5. Western Washington (8:31.616), 6. UC Santa Barbara (8:40.237)

Here are the crew lineups that raced for WWU in Sunday's Grand Finals at the WIRA Championships:
 

Varsity Eight Le Mieux	Varsity Four Mann King
Cox – Adele Houston	Cox – Claudia Webster
Stroke – Haley Moss	Stroke – Emma Clark
7 – Lindsey Froelich	3 – Paige Donner
6 – Morgan MacIntyre	2 – Ella Brinkman
5 – Clarice Ruhlin Hicks	Bow – Madeline Kidd
4 – Maddie Bangasser
3 – Yuki Saburi
2 – Olivia Pells
Bow – Sarah Ernst

  The Western Intercollegiate Rowing Association (WIRA) is a western regional organization with membership comprised of 40 rowing programs at all division levels, and representing colleges and universities in five western states. WIRA includes nearly every rowing program in the West outside of the Pac-12 Conference.
  WWU will next be in action on Saturday, May 7 in the Opening Day Regatta as part of the 36th Annual Windermere Cup on the Montlake Cut in Seattle. The annual regatta hosted by the University of Washington celebrates the opening of boating season in the Northwest. More information on the 2022 Windermere Cup can be found online at windermerecup.withwre.com.
  More information on the WWU Rowing program, including a details schedule, roster and quick facts can be found online at WWUVikings.com/RowViks and via social media on Twitter (@WWU_Rowing), Instagram (@wwuwomensrowing) and Facebook (@WWURowing).
  Led by head coach John Fuchs (24th season), WWU Rowing is one of the elite collegiate rowing programs in the country, having won eight NCAA Division II National Championships. The Vikings won the 2017 NCAA II title, placed 2nd in 2018 and 3rd in 2019. WWU has competed in the NCAA Championships in 18 of the last 21 seasons, taking home the gold (8 times) or silver (4 times) medal 12 times in the 19 years the NCAA Division II team title has been awarded. Western won seven consecutive DII national championships from 2005-2011. In 17 trips to the NCAA Rowing Championships dating back to 2002, WWU has had its Varsity 4+ and Varsity 8+ reach the grand finals every time.