The Kansas State rowing team competed in the annual Sunflower Showdown against in-state rival Kansas on Saturday at Wyandotte County Lake in Kansas City, Kan.
The Wildcats had dominant performances in the 1v4+ and 3v8+ boats for five points while Kansas claimed the Kansas Cup winning three races in the 1v8+, 2v8+, and 2v4+ for a total of 17 points.
“Coming off the weekend, we want to say well done to KU,” head coach Patrick Sweeney said. “They were just a little more experienced than our homegrown squad. I’m really pleased with how the team has progressed throughout the season and the how they have been gaining speed week to week. They are learning not only the technique of this sport but also how to train hard, then how to perform under pressure.”
The day began with the 2v4+ race, where the boat finished second with a time of 7:54.65. The lineup consisted of freshman coxswain Leah Roane, freshman Emily Northcutt, sophomore Kyla Traub and freshmen Sienna Pargiter-Walker and Kiersten Playter.
The 1v8+ was able to push back up against Kansas but came in second, finishing at 6:54.05. The boat consisted of coxswain Paige Fox, juniors Gracyn McClain, Jordan Girkin, Rachel Harman and Madison Koller, sophomore Grace Hall, sophomore Sylvia Cunningham, sophomore Symone Simmons and sophomore Kay Pakkebier
“Our race was a hard one. We had an okay start but unfortunately in this sport okay is not good enough,” junior Paige Fox said. “We had a great push around the 750–1000-meter mark but we unfortunately were not able to sustain that which was our downfall by the end.”
The 1v4+ highlighted the day with a statement win. The boat finished more than 20 seconds ahead of the Jayhawks with a time of 7:41.50.
“The race, with a wavy start, we got behind for a couple of strokes but with our connection we were able to push back and find a powerful rhythm. That showed our boat how powerful we can be when we work together,” sophomore Bianca Wollmeister said. “We had some good pushes at the thousand and the finish.”
The lineup consisted of sophomore coxswain Kiersten Schmalz, junior Neva Roenne, Bianca Wollmeister, freshman Anna Guhr and junior Catie Wood.
“The big takeaway from the weekend is that you can do more than you think,” Wollmeister said.
The second win for the Wildcats came from the 3v8+ who won by a margin of nine seconds at 7:05.74.
“I felt like this was a good race for this crew to see how hard we could go,” senior Lindsey DeVreugd said. “KU was up for the first 500 meters or so of the race, but once we made a move, we kept taking seats and didn’t stop. A significant push we made was right after we caught their bow ball. By that point I felt confident we could win and just wanted to see how much open water we could get.”
The boat competed with a lineup of freshman coxswain Regan Ahlers, Lindsey DeVreugd, sophomore Ellie Erwin, freshmen Izzy Ross and Regan Reker, sophomore Ava Werner and freshmen Madelyn Navrkal, Harmony Leiker and Lorelei Harris.
Finishing at 7:03.69, the 2v8+ fought to the finish, coming in second place only one second behind the Jayhawks.
The boat consisted of sophomore coxswain Kennedy Loyd, Jayden Brandt, sophomore Makenzie Storm, junior Anna Ryan, sophomore Emma Johnson and juniors Emily Stark, Madelyn Barrett, Grace Hendrickson and Halle Fee.
“I feel good about this weekend. We may not have gotten the cup, but I feel like we put up a good fight and found areas to improve,” Brandt said. “I think this was fire for the team to keep working and to come back stronger as we come into Big 12s.”
K-State will have a weekend off from competition, where they will continue preparing for the Big 12 Championship on May 19 in Sarasota, Fla., at Nathan Benderson Park.
“This week, our athletes have their finals, and then from there, we will regroup and continue preparing,” Sweeney said. “Our team is young, but we’re looking forward to seeing how they wrap up the learning from this year all the way through to Big 12s.”