WORCESTER, MASS. ? Seven years ago, Jason Valenstein was a key member of the varsity lightweight eight that gave Columbia its only Eastern Sprints varsity championship crown.

Sunday, the freshman lightweight four which he has coached this year demonstrated how much his influence has meant when it won the Grand Final for Freshman Lightweight Fours, defeating two Ivy League schools in the process.

The four was one of four Columbia lightweight boats to do well in the 2007 Eastern Sprints on Lake Quinsigamond. The varsity and second varsity eights both matched their seeds with strong rowing under tough conditions, and the freshman eight actually beat it by one.

But it was the four that caught everyone's eye. Comprised of four "walk-ons" and a semi-recruited coxswain, the four had gone 4-6 this season, with victories over Princeton and Georgetown, but losses to Cornell, Dartmouth and two Navy boats. Few expected much, except Valenstein.

Lightweight freshman coach Vaclav Kacir wasn't surprised.

"Jason is great guy," he said. "The kids look up to him. He is the best asset to that team."

Valenstein, a two-time All-Ivy League rower, has been assisting the Lions while in his final year at Columbia Business School. He was on hand to see Columbia, competing in a combined Third Varsity/Second Freshman Grand Final, row a 6:54.54 to beat Penn, 7:01.355, Harvard, 7:07.192, and MIT, 7:21.535.

"They're a bunch of guys who dedicated themselves to finding the time to make the boat go," head coach Marc DeRose said. "They are great athletes."

Kacir's freshman eight showed its strength in the first heat of the day, rowing a strong 5:59.727, second only to Yale and better than Dartmouth, Georgetown, Penn and Delaware. In the Grand Final, the Lions made a valiant effort to earn their third consecutive medal, but fell just a length short. The Lions topped Cornell and Dartmouth, while trailing Yale, Princeton and Navy.

"They rowed a very good race," the coach said. "It was their best race of the year. They were seeded fifth and beat their seed," He paused. "They are going to be a big help to the varsity eight next year,. They're going to help the varsity gain more speed."

The second varsity also matched its seed in reaching the Grand Final and finishing sixth. The Lions missed upsetting Harvard by a scant 14/100 of a second.

Columbia's varsity had experienced an up-and-down season. It took another dip in the morning heat, when the Lions were fifth of six in their heat.

"We had a bad heat," DeRose said. "But I told them, ?Don't feel sorry for yourselves, show what you're made of.' We did!"

Columbia took the lead in the first half of the Petite Final, opening up a good lead on Yale and larger leads on Penn, Delaware, Rutgers and MIT. The Lions still had a lead over Yale with 500 meters to go, but the Bulldogs walked right through and past Columbia in the finals 500 to win by 2.4 seconds.

"We are very good in the first 1000, but we don't finish too well in the last 500," DeRose observed. "I plan to work on that in the next two weeks." That would bring Columbia up to the National Championship June 2 on the Cooper River in Camden County, N.J. His goal? "This is a young team, with only four juniors and four sophomores. I'd like to make the Grand Final."

The results:

EARC Sprints
May 13, 2007
Lake Quinsigamond, Worcester, Mass.

Varsity Eight - Petite Final
1. Yale, 5:46.304
2. COLUMBIA, 5:48.790
3. Penn, 5:50.759
4. Delaware, 5:51.527
5. Rutgers, 5:53.953
6. MIT, 5:59.448

Second Varsity Eight - Grand Final
1. Navy, 5:43.760
2. Cornell, 5:43.918
3. Yale, 5:45.740
4. Princeton, 5:46.173
5. Harvard, 5:49.612
6. COLUMBIA, 5:49.756

Freshman Eight - Grand Final
1. Yale, 5:47.949
2. Princeton, 5:49.743
3. Navy, 5:54.582
4. COLUMBIA, 5:59.640
5. Cornell, 6:02.804
6. Dartmouth, 6:05.557

Third Varsity Four/Second Freshman Four - Grand Finals

Third Varsity Fours
1. Delaware, 6:42.960
2. Dartmouth, 6:47.502
3. COLUMBIA, 6:50.245

Second Freshman Fours
1. COLUMBIA, 6:54.540
(Stroke, Joey Goldberg; 3, Chris McGrath; 2, Daniel Edley; Bow, Ted Griswold; Cox, Chiara Arcidy)
2. Penn, 7:01.355
3. Harvard, 7:07.192
4. MIT, 7:21.535