Complete results

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - A small crew of San Diego freshman traveled to the WIRA Championships on Sunday to compete in the freshman four event. Simon Finnie, Max O'toole, Sam Jones, Evan Nassar, and coxswain Sarah Goh won their WIRA Championship event after they defeated top crews from across the West Coast.

The men raced against Sonoma State, Sac State, SDSU, Washington State, Southern Oregon, and UC Davis in the preliminary heat on Saturday. They finished first with an easy six second, open water lead between them and the second pace finisher.

Their win qualified them for the Grand Final against Arizona State, Santa Clara, Puget Sound, UC Irvine and Washington Sate on Sunday. The race came down to the wire, but the Torero's bow ball crossed the finish line first, one second ahead of ASU.

"Today was a great race and a great opportunity to learn through tough racing," said Head Coach Brooks Dagman. "We got the desired result but it took every ounce of focus and power to pull it off. I am very proud of these Freshmen, considering most were walk-ons having never rowed or coxed before coming to USD. We are very excited for the future and how these athletes will continue to contribute to the program."

The unexperienced crew, lead by a former rower who only recently jumped into the conxwain seat, posted a time that would have qualified them for the Varsity 4+ Grand Finals at WIRA's. They finished at 6:40.

The entire team travels back to Sacramento in May for their Western Sprints Regatta.