The Dinos rowing team was in San Diego this past weekend for the annual Crew Classic. The Dinos brought a large contingent to the regatta, racing in multiple men's and women's events. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, this was the first Crew Classic since 2019, which meant that it was the first time attending this regatta for the majority of the team.

Having qualified for the A Finals in each event entered, the Dinos had a very busy Sunday of racing. The day started with the Dinos varsity women's eight racing toe-to-toe with Purdue in the DII Varsity Women's 8+ final. After Purdue and Calgary finished 2nd and 3rd respectively in the preliminary race behind University of California-Santa Barbara (UCSB), both crews found an extra gear to lead the entire race. UCSB won this event the last time it was raced, but they were never in the hunt with the Dinos or Purdue. In the final stretch, Purdue pulled away from the Dinos, who finished in 2nd well clear of UCSB and Colorado. Team co-captain Eliza Dawson, in her first trip to San Diego, said "the weekend as a whole was incredible. The course was definitely the most turbulent one I've ever been on but it made for a memorable experience. Before our two final races, our coach gave a pre-race speech that really boosted our confidence and reminded us that we have exactly what it takes- we just needed to unleash!"

The second Dinos race of the day belonged to the Novice Men's 8+. Despite half of the crew only having been in a boat for a total of two months, and not once since October 31, the Dinos men qualified for the A Final by finishing in the top-3 of their Saturday heat. On Sunday, the Dinos raced from the unfavourable lane 6 in some very challenging conditions. Early in the race, the Dinos gave up nearly a full boat length to the entire field, as they came through the 500m mark of the 2000m race in 6th place. At the 750m mark, the Dinos passed UC Santa Barbara, but remained over a length behind Loyola Marymount for 4th place. The third quarter of the race, however, belonged to the Dinos as they slowly drew Loyola Marymount back to them. There were mere inches between the two crews as they raced the final 500m. In the end Calgary finished ahead of Loyala Marymount by 0.4s, 4th overall.

The Dinos varsity women's 8+ raced again in the Open Women's 8+, with Shannon Miller substituting in for Alissa Webster. Racing against some of the top schools in the US, the Dinos competed hard to display their growth as a team. With the placings unchanged throughout the race, Calgary finished 6th behind the winners from Texas, California, Washington, Baja, and USC, and ahead of Bates College. The Open Women's 8+ was the final race for three of the Dinos women. Veteran Courtney Kruschel said "these were honestly some of the most fun races I've ever had. I am so happy to have ended my career as a Dino feeling satisfied we gave it our all when we crossed the finish line." Dawson echoed Kruschel's sentiments, saying "I think that knowing this was the last race for three of our teammates and having such a strong connection to each other was what pushed all of us to give 110% for every stroke."

For the Open Men's 8+, coach Mark Laidlaw was a last-minute substitute to cox for the crew after one of the athletes was unable to travel. With an untested lineup that included some out-of-town additions, the crew used their Saturday preliminary race to find a rhythm and gain confidence together. They finished fourth in that race in a back-and-forth test with Long Beach State. On Sunday, the Dinos came out determined and strong. Baja State, comprising members of the Mexican national team, and Harvard alumni racing as "Butte" pulled away from the field, but Calgary took an early advantage over Long Beach which they would not relinquish. In a very mature, gutsy race, the Dinos pushed to an open-water lead over Long Beach. At the front of the race, Butte also flipped the script on Baja Sate. The final finish order was Butte, Baja State, Calgary, then Long Beach.

The final race for the Dinos was the DII Novice Women's 8+. Again, this crew was made up of athletes who have very little rowing experience and the crew was also hampered by a number of injuries this winter. With only one race to get it right, the Dinos women executed beautifully, hanging right in the middle of the pack off the start. At the 500m mark, the Dinos women were in 3rd place with overlap to the race leaders from Orange Coast. Through the middle of the race, Orange Coast firmly established themselves as the race leaders, but the Dinos continued to tussle with UC Santa Barbara for second and third place. Near the 1000m mark, the Dinos inched themselves into second place, but it remained extremely tight with UCSB for the entire race course. Orange Coast continued to lead comfortably, but the final sprint had Colorado make a spirited charge to try to catch UCSB and Calgary. The Dinos responded and pulled away, finishing in a very strong 2nd place ahead of UCSB's A boat, Colorado, and then UCSB's B boat. 

At the end of the day, the Dinos had accomplished a number of historical results with their best-ever finish in the DII Women's 8+, Open Men's 8+, Novice Men's 8+, and DII Novice Women's 8+.  Shannon Miller, who rowed in both the Novice Women's 8+ and Open 8+ events, said "San Diego was a great opportunity to bring the team together and show off how hard we worked all winter. All those meters on the erg showed when our boats placed in the top few teams despite only having a day or two of on water practice since October."

This regatta was the final event for Head Coach Mark Laidlaw, who is stepping away to take time with his family. Laidlaw reflected on his time with the Dinos, "leading this team has been the most meaningful experience in my rowing career and one of the most meaningful in my whole life. Seeing how far this team has come in 8 years is remarkable and if there is one thing that I hope to have left them with, it is belief in themselves. I've had the privilege to work with incredibly determined, funny, gritty, compassionate, strong, smart, tenacious student-athletes now for almost a decade. I hope my kids grow up to be like them."