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Credit: SJU Men’s Rowing-Twitter/X
If you looked closely during the 1720s , you might see a young man swimming routinely in the Schulkyll River.
It wasn’t much of a surprise since water has been important to Philadelphia since the very beginning.
Long before the European colonization that led to the creation of William Penn’s Philadelphia between the Delaware and Schuylkill Rivers, Native Americans used the land and rivers for both sustenance and recreation.
Ever since then, Philly has been winning on the water.
In 2026, nothing has changed.
St. Joseph’s University is winning on the water once again, too. At the 2026 IRA National Championships, the Hawks made it to the Final Three. On the peaceful Lake Natoma , St. Joseph’s had a very good showing in the two-thousand-meter.
Credit: SJU Men’s Rowing-Twitter/X
The Hawks finished just a shade behind Brown University, scoring second place with a final clocked time of 6:43.150. Temple would also beat out La Salle in the D-final to become ranked 19th in the nation.
This week, it was announced that 8 of the Saint Joseph’s Women’s Rowing Team have also been recognized as Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association Scholar-Athletes.
One year after St. Joe’s Prep won a National Championship at Sarasota — The Prep won the boys senior eight — at the Ninety-Ninth Stotesbury Cup Regatta in May 2026. In the same month, the Hawks achieved the Varsity Eight Petite Final at the 2026 Jefferson Dad Vail Regatta.
It’s been two years since Drexel men’s rowing dominated the Dad Vail Regatta with a resounding win in 2024. This weekend, that championship mentality prevailed yet again as Drexel captured both the men’s point trophy and the overall trophy with a time of nearly five and a half minutes. Last year’s champion (Temple) placed second in the event.
And that young man who swam the Schulkyll regularly?
A man who would influence swimming programs to this day? It was none other than Dr. Benjamin Franklin.
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Categorized:College More PHL News
