CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — Guided expertly by sophomore coxswain Kate Traquina of Wayland, Mass., the Bates women’s varsity eight claimed first place among 30 boats in the Women’s Collegiate Eights event on Sunday at the 50th Head of the Charles Regatta.

The Bobcats navigated the serpentine 4,800-meter course on the Charles River in 17:25.60, outpacing rival and runner-up Trinity by 1.77 seconds. Wellesley was a distant third in 17:27.37.

Bates’ second varsity eight placed higher than any other W2V8 in 11th place, covering the course in 18:11.53, with senior Emma-Kate Lindsay (Harrison, N.Y.) at coxswain. The Bates W2V8 only trailed Ithaca’s WV8 by 0.34 seconds for 10th place.

Bates competes in the CBB Chase next Saturday, in a fall season-concluding regatta hosted by Colby in Sidney.

The varsity eight lineup was Elise Emil, Elizabeth Sangree, Jenna Armstrong, Mallory Ward, Rebecca O’Neill, Savannah Stockly, Eliza Barkan, Alison Simmons and Katherine Traquina.

Comprising the second eight were Molly Pritz, Emma Conover, Olivia Stockly, Caroline Caldwell, Elizabeth Scholle, Rosemary Kyne, Sophia Merelas, Emilie Muller, and coxswain Emma Lindsay.

The Bates men’s varsity eight placed 17th out of 44 boats.

The Bobcats finished in 15:59.29, 44.57 seconds behind overall leader Michigan and 1.15 seconds ahead of 18th-place Marist.

Bates lineup was Nicholas Flynn, Dan Boyle, William Lehrer, Daniel Sparks, William Nelson, Roderick Pratt, Matthew Silverman, Erik Divan, and coxswain Connor Cahill.