Bellevue Christian alum Hans Struzyna and his United States men’s 8 rowing squad placed second in heat two today at the Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil at Lagoa Stadium.

Germany took first in 5:38.22 to qualify for Saturday’s A final along with Great Britain, which finished first in heat one in 5:34.23.

According to the University of Washington rowing website, the Americans (5:40.16) fell behind the Germans early and trailed by about five seats headed into the last 500. Germany won by just about that same five-seat margin. The Americans finished ahead of Poland (5:42.32) in heat 2.

The United States will now row in a repchange Wednesday morning to try and earn a spot in the A final. Others in the repchange will be New Zealand, Netherlands, Poland and Italy.

Six boats will compete in the A final. Germany won the gold medal at the 2012 Olympics in London.