Friday, April 24
Raleigh, N.C.
West Virginia University
at
Lake Wheeler Invitational
Rowing Returns from Lake Wheeler Invitational
April 27, 2026 02:16 PM | Rowing
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia University rowing team traveled to Raleigh, North Carolina, on April 24-25 to compete in the Lake Wheeler Invitational.
The regatta was hosted by Duke and North Carolina. It featured a field of Alabama, Boston College, Clemson, Georgetown, George Washington, High Point, Lehigh, Louisville, Miami (Fla.), Navy, Oklahoma, SMU, Villanova and Virginia, as well as Big 12 Conference member Kansas and affiliates Old Dominion and Tulsa.
"For multiple reasons, largely beyond our control, we did not have a good week of training leading into the Lake Wheeler Invite," coach Jimmy King said. "Despite those factors we were pleased with how our team raced through the weekend. The format of this regatta allowed schools to race different lineups in each round, and we took full advantage of those opportunities."
Competition at the Lake Wheeler Invitational consisted of three separate rounds across two days instead of the traditional heats and finals. Rounds 1 and 2 were contested on Friday and Round 3 was on Saturday. This type of format is unique and allowed the team to take advantage of putting out different lineups for each round to test how each lineup rowed in a race situation.
"This is the first time in many years that we've had an opportunity to race Big 12 teams this late in the spring season," King said. "With Big 12's three weeks away, we have a clearer picture than usual of how we match up across all boat categories."
The 3V8 opened racing for the Mountaineers, placing fifth in Heat 2 with a time of 7:39.15. WVU followed with a sixth-place finish in Heat 3 during Round 2 posting a time of 7:41.70 before closing the weekend with a fifth-place result in Round 3, clocking 7:25.54.
WVU's 2V4 and 3V4 competed in the 2V4 category along with other schools who fielded two or more fours. The West Virginia 3V4 placed seventh in Heat 1 with a time of 7:46.94. In Round 2, WVU secured a fifth-place finish in 8:01.05, finishing ahead of Lehigh (8:07.83) and High Point (8:43.30).
WVU's 2V4 placed sixth in Heat 2 during Round 1 with a time of 7:43.82, topping Lehigh by 17 seconds. In Round 2, the Mountaineers finished fifth in Heat 3 with a time of 7:56.27, narrowly edging Tulsa (7:56.65) and Boston College (8:11.57).
In Round 3 of the 2V4 division, West Virginia's 2V4 and 3V4 raced in the same heat, placing fifth (7:46.65) and sixth (7:50.28), respectively, while finishing ahead of Lehigh and High Point.
West Virginia's 1V4 took fifth in Heat 2 of Round 1 with a time of 7:47.30, pacing Lehigh and conference foe Old Dominion. They had a close finish in Round 2, finishing sixth in 7:47.75 between Tulsa (7:47.39) and George Washington (7:48.01) in the third heat. The 1V4 capped the weekend with a fifth-place finish, crossing in 7:40.09, over Lehigh (7:54.54) and High Point (7:59.85) in the third heat of Round 3.
The 2V8 placed seventh in all three rounds, posting times of 7:15.59 (Round 1), 7:11.89 (Round 2) and 7:07.88 (Round 3).
In a tightly contested second heat of the 1V8, WVU pulled out a sixth-place finish with a time of 6:57.98 in Round 1, trailing ODU (6:54.15) by three seconds and overcoming Lehigh (6:58.92) by one second. Round 2 saw the Mountaineers take seventh place with a time of 6:54.27. West Virginia concluded the regatta with a sixth-place finish in the third heat of Round 3, with a team-best time of 6:51.33.
Results from the Lake Wheeler Invitational are available here. Team scoring can be found here.
The Mountaineers return to action on Saturday, May 2, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, for the regular-season finale at the Duquesne Invitational.
The regatta was hosted by Duke and North Carolina. It featured a field of Alabama, Boston College, Clemson, Georgetown, George Washington, High Point, Lehigh, Louisville, Miami (Fla.), Navy, Oklahoma, SMU, Villanova and Virginia, as well as Big 12 Conference member Kansas and affiliates Old Dominion and Tulsa.
"For multiple reasons, largely beyond our control, we did not have a good week of training leading into the Lake Wheeler Invite," coach Jimmy King said. "Despite those factors we were pleased with how our team raced through the weekend. The format of this regatta allowed schools to race different lineups in each round, and we took full advantage of those opportunities."
Competition at the Lake Wheeler Invitational consisted of three separate rounds across two days instead of the traditional heats and finals. Rounds 1 and 2 were contested on Friday and Round 3 was on Saturday. This type of format is unique and allowed the team to take advantage of putting out different lineups for each round to test how each lineup rowed in a race situation.
"This is the first time in many years that we've had an opportunity to race Big 12 teams this late in the spring season," King said. "With Big 12's three weeks away, we have a clearer picture than usual of how we match up across all boat categories."
The 3V8 opened racing for the Mountaineers, placing fifth in Heat 2 with a time of 7:39.15. WVU followed with a sixth-place finish in Heat 3 during Round 2 posting a time of 7:41.70 before closing the weekend with a fifth-place result in Round 3, clocking 7:25.54.
WVU's 2V4 and 3V4 competed in the 2V4 category along with other schools who fielded two or more fours. The West Virginia 3V4 placed seventh in Heat 1 with a time of 7:46.94. In Round 2, WVU secured a fifth-place finish in 8:01.05, finishing ahead of Lehigh (8:07.83) and High Point (8:43.30).
WVU's 2V4 placed sixth in Heat 2 during Round 1 with a time of 7:43.82, topping Lehigh by 17 seconds. In Round 2, the Mountaineers finished fifth in Heat 3 with a time of 7:56.27, narrowly edging Tulsa (7:56.65) and Boston College (8:11.57).
In Round 3 of the 2V4 division, West Virginia's 2V4 and 3V4 raced in the same heat, placing fifth (7:46.65) and sixth (7:50.28), respectively, while finishing ahead of Lehigh and High Point.
West Virginia's 1V4 took fifth in Heat 2 of Round 1 with a time of 7:47.30, pacing Lehigh and conference foe Old Dominion. They had a close finish in Round 2, finishing sixth in 7:47.75 between Tulsa (7:47.39) and George Washington (7:48.01) in the third heat. The 1V4 capped the weekend with a fifth-place finish, crossing in 7:40.09, over Lehigh (7:54.54) and High Point (7:59.85) in the third heat of Round 3.
The 2V8 placed seventh in all three rounds, posting times of 7:15.59 (Round 1), 7:11.89 (Round 2) and 7:07.88 (Round 3).
In a tightly contested second heat of the 1V8, WVU pulled out a sixth-place finish with a time of 6:57.98 in Round 1, trailing ODU (6:54.15) by three seconds and overcoming Lehigh (6:58.92) by one second. Round 2 saw the Mountaineers take seventh place with a time of 6:54.27. West Virginia concluded the regatta with a sixth-place finish in the third heat of Round 3, with a team-best time of 6:51.33.
Results from the Lake Wheeler Invitational are available here. Team scoring can be found here.
The Mountaineers return to action on Saturday, May 2, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, for the regular-season finale at the Duquesne Invitational.
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