The Harvard crew edged out the US Heavyweights boat by 0.152 seconds, finishing the fast-paced 500-meter race in 1:19.357. An OCU boat finished in third with a time of 1:20.787.

“It was so short—by the time we had time to catch our breaths, David Fuller, our coxswain, was yelling out that there was 100 meters to go, which is nothing,” Hicks said. “It was just really good coming up with a win. It [was] something we hoped for, not something we expected going in.”

For the Crimson, the trip down south was also a reunion trip for Harvard’s veteran rowers.

“The crew that traveled to Oklahoma isn’t a set varsity boat.… It’s a sort of ‘thank you for sticking with the program for four years’ kind of trip for the seniors on our team,” Hicks said.

Harvard men’s heavyweight crew will stay in Cambridge for its remaining two fall regattas: the Head of the Charles and the Tail of the Charles.

The Crimson will attempt to repeat its 2011 win at the Head of the Charles, which takes place Oct. 20 to 21 on Harvard’s home course.

“Being the defending champs [of the Head of the Charles], there’s certainly a lot of energy around the squad,” Hicks said. “People are really excited [to] see if we can go out and impress ourselves with the results.”

After nearly a month without competiton, the Crimson will take the water for the Tail of the Charles on Nov. 17.