The varsity lightweights nosed out Cornell and Navy Saturday to win the EARC Sprint Championships for an unprecedented fourth straight year.

Cornell led the Midshipmen by nearly a length to take second place, only two tenths of a second behind the varsity.

The Crimson covered the 2000 meter course at Lake Quinsigamond in 6:09:2 to retain possession of the Joseph Wright Trophy. Since the trophy was inaugurated in 1938 Harvard has won nine times.

The Middie eight led for most of the race, but the big break came for the Crimson when Navy went into their sprint too soon. As the Middies tired, first the Crimson, then Cornell sprinted past to edge them at the finish.

In the J.V. race the Crimson finished fourth behind Navy, Princeton, and Cornell. All four shells were tightly bunched at the finish, with only a length separating Navy and the Crimson.

The Freshman race was the big disappointment of the day for Harvard fans. After leading the field for the first half of the 2000 meter course, one of the freshman eight caught a bad crab, losing his oar. By the time the boat recovered they had lost more than a length on M.I.T. and could not gain it back by the finish.

Tech finished three-quarters of a length ahead of the Crimson to take first Cornell squeezed in between for second, leaving the freshmen with a heartbreaking third.