The first heat kicked off just after 1 p.m., with canoes racing from the Farm Lane bridge to the Bogue Street bridge and back.

Smith, paired with his Lyman Briggs colleague John Waller, associate professor of history, won his heat by several canoe lengths to open the day. This started a positive trend for the college that eventually ended in a 19-9 win for Lyman Briggs.

The race between the two residential learning programs began in the 1970s, becoming an annual fall tradition until 1999, when the event was canceled because of the river’s water quality, Smith said.

Kent Workman, assistant director of student affairs for Lyman Briggs, said the two programs switched to an Olympic showdown event when they couldn’t do the canoe race anymore – an event they will continue this spring.

Both Workman and Smith noted the programs wanted to restart the event two years ago, when the water levels of the river improved, but were rained out.

“We’ve wanted to bring it back for some time,” Smith said.

James Madison sophomores Ashley Porter and Daryl Lederle said initially they were going to take it easy — until the day of the race.

Though their team didn’t come out on top, they won their heat by a wide margin.

Lederle said it’s hard not to compete to win when an opportunity presents itself.

“We’re both competitive,” she said. “If there’s ever a race or something, it’s just like, push, push, push.”