GOLD RIVER, Calif. – As the stakes get higher, the women seated in Seattle Pacific's varsity 8+ rowing shell keep elevating their own performances.
They and coach
Kenzie Waltar are all convinced they can keep right on rising.
For the second consecutive regatta, the Falcons broke the seven-minute mark, clocking 6 minutes, 58.898 seconds for their 2000 meters on Saturday morning in the preliminary heats of the Western Intercollegiate Rowing Association (WIRA) Championships at the Sacramento State Aquatic Center on Lake Natoma.
That earned SPU a lane in Sunday morning's six-boat Grand Final.
That will be one of three Falcon boats in grand final races. The novice 4+ also made it out of Saturday's heats. The second varsity 4+ was one of just six entries in that category, so no heats were required. All six will be in the grand final.
At the Florida D2 Spring Invite on April 3 and 4 in Clermont, Seattle Pacific's V8+ bettered seven minutes for the first time this season, clocking 6:54.30 in the first of two races on the second day.
SPEAKING OF THE FALCONS: COACH KENZIE WALTAR
"We ran a solid race and executed our race plan really well," Waltar said of the V8s. "I'm excited because after talking with the crew, they've got more to give. It's not that we held back, but we definitely have more in the tank for Sunday. I'm excited to see that we get another rematch against Western Washington. All season, it has been up in the air between us and Western and Humboldt. I know they're fit enough, and I know they have more to give."
Waltar was delighted to see the novice 4+ reach the grand final.
"That was really awesome. You never know what's going to happen with novice crews," she said. "It's pretty cool to see us qualify for grand finals. Since I've been here, I don't think we've done that before. It was definitely within the realm of possibility. It's cool because these athletes have so much potential, but they're all just so new."
She is hoping for some better results on Sunday from the varsity 4+.
"Honestly, it was a pretty fast heat and a fast event," Waltar said. "It's a bummer to be in the petite (instead of the grand), but at the same time, it's how you bounce back. This boat is not done for the season. We still have quite a few more races, so we're hoping to find a little more speed."
HOW IT HAPPENED
--SPU was racing right alongside Western Washington in their varsity 8+ heat. The Vikings got to the line first in 6:51.912, followed by SPU's 6:58.898.
--They will be joined in the grand final by Great Northwest Athletic Conference stablemate Cal Poly Humboldt, which won its heat in 7:00.122.
--Based on Saturday's heats, those are the fastest three boats in the grand. The next closest is Puget Sound, which went 7:02.187.
--The novice 4+ was second in its prelim heat, getting to the finish line in 9:06.488.
--That makes Seattle Pacific the fifth-fastest time among the six grand finalists.
--The varsity 4+ clocked 8:31.22 to take fourth in its heat. The Falcons posted the third-fastest time among the six boats bound for the petite final.
BEYOND THE RESULTS
--At last year's WIRAs, the varsity 8+ was third in the grand final in 6:58.807 and the novice 4+ was second in the petite final in 8:23.15. The varsity 4+ made the grand and was fifth.
--Novice 4 coxswain Freya Meyers-Arnoult, a sophomore, was a novice rower for the Falcons in the 2025 WIRAs. She was in the No. 3 seat of the second varsity 8+ boat that placed fourth in the grand finals.
UP NEXT
The WIRAs conclude on Sunday. For the Falcons, the varsity 8+ grand final is at 8:50 a.m., the varsity 4+ petite final is at 10:30, the second varsity 4+ grand final is at 11:00, and the novice 4+ grand final is set for 12:20 p.m. The link for live results is available at the top of this story.
NCAA WOMEN'S ROWING
WESTERN INTERCOLLEGIATE ROWING ASSOCIATION (WIRA) CHAMPIONSHIPS
Saturday, April 25, 2026
Sacramento State Aquatic Center / Gold River, Calif.
DIVISION 2 / 3 / CLUB RESULTS
Varsity 8+
Top 3 each heat to Grand Final
Heat 1 – 1, Western Washington 6:51.912;
2, Seattle Pacific 6:58.898; 3, Pacific Lutheran 7:05.085; 4, Oregon 7:12.135; 5 Orange Coast College 7:18.789; 6 Long Beach State 7:19.824; 7, UC Davis 7:22.181.
Heat 2 – 1, Humboldt 7:00.122; 2, Puget Sound 7:02.187; 3, UC Santa Barbara 7:09.225; 4, Cal Lightweights 7:15.644; 5, UC Irvine 7:16.604; 6, Lewis & Clark College 7:29.997; 7, San Diego State 7:48.014.
Varsity4+
Top 2 each heat to Grand Final. 3rd-4th each heat to Petite Final
Heat 1 – 1, Western Washington 8:12.324; 2, San Diego State 8:21.695; 3, Cal Lightweights 8:26.666; 4, Cal Poly SLO 8:39.827; 5 UC Davis 9:04.035; 6, Arizona State 9:13.603.
Heat 2 – 1, Loyola Marymount 8:04.219; 2, Humbodt 8:14.451; 3, UC Santa Barbara 'B' 8:34.44; 4, Lewis & Clark College 8:51.935; 5 Sacramento State Rowing Club 9:20.288; 6, Seattle U 9:32.018.
Heat 3 – 1, UC Santa Barbara 'A' 8:03.444; 2, Oregon 8:09.841 3, UC Irvine 8:26.234;
4, Seattle Pacific 8:31.22; 5, Pacific University-Oregon 8:47.768; 6, Chico State 9:06.769.
Novice 4+
Top 3 each heat to Grand Final
Heat 1 – 1, Puget Sound 8:22.286; 2, Santa Clara 8:25.079; 3, Orange Coast College 8:28.881; 4, Lewis & Clark College 8:30.379; 5, Loyola Marymount 9:03.485; 6, UC Davis 10:08.2
Heat 2 – 1, San Diego State 8:57.208;
2, Seattle Pacific 9:06.488; 3, Long Beach State 9:18.501; 4, UC Santa Barbara 9:27.765; 5, UC Irvine 9:41.873; 6, Arizona State 10:07.631.
SPU LINEUPS
Varsity 8+ - c:
Lexi Roybal, 8:
Solanes Capps-Mace, 7:
Amelia Pape, 6:
Emma Jones, 5:
Miriam Dykstra, 4:
Bella Lisenby, 3:
Emmerson Spencer, 2:
Grace Combs, 1:
Gem Gatmaytan.
Varsity 4+ - c:
Aleksia Haugen, 4:
Kaitlin Hollebeek, 3:
Elizabeth Chapman, 2: Rocky Wesley, 1:
Brittan Dalberg.
Novice 4+ - c: Freya Meyers-Arnoult, 4:
Kaitlin Hollebeek, 3:
Joy Hill, 2:
Lexi Shrock, 1:
Angelina Termure.
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