GOLD RIVER, Calif. – The Western Washington University women's rowing team put together a dominating all-around performance capping the 2026 WIRA Championships by bringing a lot of hardware back to Bellingham.

 

WWU sent 24 student-athletes to Lake Natoma for the WIRA Championships – 20 rowers and 4 coxswains – and everyone received at least one medal. The Varsity 8+ and 2nd Varsity 4+ won gold medals, the 2nd Varsity 8+ won silver and the Varsity 4+ won bronze as the highest finishing NCAA II crew.

 

"Today was a great day to be a Viking and we are really proud of how we competed as a team across the board," said WWU head coach Courtney Moeller. "This weekend reflects the work the team has been putting in all winter, and we are starting to see that consistency and commitment translate into speed on the water."

 

At the same time, the level of competition here was excellent, and it pushed us in every race. We'll take this momentum, keep improving, and we're excited to get back down here and race again at the GNAC Championships.

 

The Varsity Eight led off Sunday's showcase events winning the grand final in 6:53.422 for an open-water victory over GNAC rivals Cal Poly Humboldt and Seattle Pacific, and the University of Puget Sound. Western's eight-oared boat has won the gold medal at the WIRA Championships in four of the last five years in 2022, 2024, 2025 and now 2026.

 

WWU led from the start and grew stronger as the 2,000-meter race went on. The only question was who would finish behind the Vikings as a photo finish had Cal Poly Humboldt in 2nd (6:57.781), UPS in 3rd (6:57.825) and SPU in 4th (6:57.973). Western entered the Grand Final as the No. 1 seed after leading all 14 crews with a qualifying time of 6:51.912 in Saturday's heat race.

 

The Varsity Four earned the bronze medal with a time of 7:57.184 claiming the top spot among Division II crews knocking off GNAC foe Cal Poly Humboldt (8:03.372) for the final podium spot. Division I club programs UC Santa Barbara (7:44.352) and Loyola Marymount (7:52.739) took the gold and silver medals in the event.

 

WWU's second Varsity Eight won the silver medal finishing just behind Humboldt with a time of 7:25.951, a great improvement over Saturday's 7:36.071 that was also the second-fastest qualifying time.

 

The Vikings also got the chance to show off their team depth racing a 2nd Varsity Four to cap the weekend of racing, with the crew winning the Grand Final in a time of 8:16.132 for an open-water victory over Cal Poly Humboldt (8:25.986).

 

Entering the weekend ranked No. 2 nationally in the CRCA Coaches Poll and No. 2 in the West Region, WWU has made a strong case to take over the No. 1 spot in the nation and in the tough West Region. The Vikings race next weekend in the Windermere Cup as part of Opening Day festivities as the team gears up for the postseason beginning with the GNAC Championships on May 16 back on Lake Natoma.

  
 
 
 
 
 
 
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Here is a look at results from WWU's races from Saturday and Sunday at the 2026 WIRA Championships.

 

 

Here is a look at the lineups for the Vikings that raced at the 2026 WIRA Championships:

 

 

The Western Intercollegiate Rowing Association (WIRA) is a western regional organization with membership comprised of over 40 rowing programs at all division levels and representing colleges and universities in five western states (and Oklahoma).

 

The first ordered edition of the NCAA Division II Regional Rowing rankings was released this week with WWU listed No. 2. The Vikings Varsity 8+ is ranked No. 2 and the Varsity 4+ is No. 3. Here is a look at the rankings via NCAA.com:

 

 

Here is a look at the current CRCA Coaches Poll with the Vikings checking in at No. 2 in the week seven rankings, with WWU received two first-place votes:

 

 

Following Sunday's final day of the WIRA Championships, the Vikings are back in action next weekend racing in the Windermere Cup as part of Opening Day with the regatta scheduled for Saturday, May 2 on Montlake Cut in Seattle. More information on the 2026 edition of the Windermere Cup can be found at GoHuskies.com. The complete 2026 WWU rowing schedule can be found online at WWUVikings.com.

 

WWU Rowing is one of the elite collegiate rowing programs in the country across all divisions, having won nine NCAA Division II National Championships. The Vikings won the 2024 NCAA II National title, the 2017 title, placed 2nd in 2018, 3rd in 2019 and runner-up in 2022. WWU has competed in the NCAA Championships in 21 of the 23 NCAA Division II national regattas, taking home the gold (9 times), silver (5 times) and bronze (6) medal 20 times in the 23 years the NCAA Division II team title has been awarded, and reached the podium 20 times. Western won seven consecutive DII national championships from 2005-2011.

 

WWU Rowing Inside the Numbers:

21 – NCAA II Rowing Championship Appearances (out of 23)

16 – Individual Championships (Eights-7, Fours-9)

9 – National Championships (2005-11, 2017, 2024)

6 – 3rd Place Finishes at Nationals

5 – National Runner-Up Finishes

2 – GNAC Championships (in 5-year history of event)