Justin Stangel was named the sixth head coach in the history of the Ithaca men’s rowing program prior to the 2022–23 season. He will enter his fourth season at the helm, having led the Bombers to back-to-back Liberty League Championships.
The Bombers are coming off a standout 2025 campaign, highlighted by the Varsity Eight (V8+) winning the Liberty League Championship by a commanding 20-second margin with a time of 6:35.028. Ithaca also qualified for the Intercollegiate Rowing Association (IRA) National Championship, where they won the Petite Final against Marietta, crossing the finish line in 6:00.900. Stangel, along with assistant coach Jake Lentz, was named the Liberty League Coaching Staff of the Year.
At the 2024 Liberty League Championship, Ithaca won its first conference title while recording wins in the V8+ and 2V8+ races as well as a runner-up finish in the V4+. Other highlights from the spring season included the V8+ and 2V8+ victories at the New York State Championships and claiming the Knecht Cup with an 11-second V8+ victory over five Division III teams. During his first season the Bombers finished in second place at the 2023 Liberty League Championships, falling to St. Lawrence. Ithaca finished in fifth-place in the 1V petite final at the National Invitational Rowing Championships, finishing ahead of Hamilton College.
Stangel comes to South Hill after spending the 2022 season as the associate head coach at Hobart College in Geneva. During that spring, Stangel helped guide the Statesmen to their 16th straight Liberty League championship, a fifth place showing at the National Invitational Rowing Championships (NIRC) and a 14th place finish at the IRA Championships.
Stangel also spent six seasons at Syracuse University as an associate head coach from 2017-18 and as an assistant coach from 2013-17. During that span, the SU men's team improved significantly on the national stage between 2015-18. The 1V was a 19th place finisher in 2015, compared to eighth place in 2018, while the 2V jumped from 16th to ninth over that same timeframe. All three boats finished within the top 10 at the IRA Championships in 2018. While at Syracuse, Stangel also served as the recruiting coordinator.
Outside of the collegiate ranks, Stangel has worked with the USRowing Olympic Development Program, was the director of rowing and head coach at Greenwich Country Day School, as well as at the Pelham Community Rowing Association.
Affiliated with the USRowing Olympic Development Program, Stangel coached the U20 High Performance athletes who will potentially row for the future US national teams.
Stangel graduated from Syracuse in 2007 with a bachelor's in health and exercise science. He was a four-year member of the men's rowing program and a co-captain his senior year.
He was also a member of the US Junior Team in 2002 and 2003, where he earned a silver medal in the 8+, and rowed for the University of Oxford Boat Club from 2007-09 and for the US Senior National Team from 2010-12 helping to qualify the pair at the 2011 World Championships for the 2012 Olympics.
Stangel earned his Master of Science degree in science and medicine of athletic performance from Oxford in 2009 and has his USRowing Level 3 Coaching Certification.
7/16/2025
