Mercer, NJ - The Stetson men's 4+ finished in 12th place overall with a 6th place finish in Final 2 at the 120th IRA National Championship on Saturday morning.

The team of Bennett Rossell, William Hubbard, Matthew Franks, Lukasz Bajorek and Sacha Roiena finished the 4+ with a time of 7:19.477 to finish in 6th place in Final 2 and 12th overall. The 6th place finish was less than a second behind Brown in fifth place who finished with a time of 7:18.751 and less than 8.5 seconds behind the University of Washington who were the winners of the race. 

"I am disappointed with the way in which we progressed to the B final, however, the guys had a great race in the B final to finish within seconds of national powerhouse programs. I hope this will springboard the team into the upcoming fall and spring seasons," Stetson head coach Jamie Francis.

Stetson qualified in 12th place and were originally scheduled to race in the semifinals on Friday afternoon, however due to weather the semifinals were canceled. With the semifinals canceled due to time constraints the Hatters were placed in the petite final on Saturday morning. 

The IRA National Championship concludes the spring season for the Hatters.

About Stetson University Athletics: Stetson University's Athletics Program is driven by a shared purpose. It is what inspires, motivates and binds us together. More than a task, a reason for being. THE HATTER PURPOSE is to create and provide an experience of a lifetime through teamwork and relationships to achieve excellence. This purpose is achieved through five Core Values: Communication, Integrity, Excellence, Value People and Commitment. To learn more about the HATS program and our Core Values, visit GoHatters.com/HATS.

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