K-State rowers work on their craft during practice at Tuttle Creek. The Wildcats look forward to the Sunflower Showdown on Saturday. (Courtesy Photo | K-State Athletics)
The Kansas State rowing team has made waves across the Big 12. The team collected its third Boat of the Week award following a silver medal win at the Southern Intercollegiate Rowing Association Championship April 18-19 at Melton Hill Lake in Tennessee.
Each weekly honor came from a different boat. This time, it was the 2v8+ boat.
“They have done a good job learning week to week and coming together as a unit,” head coach Patrick Sweeney said to K-State Athletics. “We’re seeing each boat learn how to race hard while also rowing technically clean.”
The 2v8+, led by junior coxswain Leah Roane, posted a 7:05.9 finish in the finals at the championship after winning its semifinal race with a time of 7:22.21.
The lineup included seniors Jayden Brandt and Madelyn Barrett, juniors Mackenzie Storm and Emma Johnson, sophomores Regan Reker, Anna Guhr and Harmony Leiker and freshman Bryn Pawlik.
“We especially wanted to practice our finish because, as a boat, we had never had a chance to race a finish together,” Guhr said of their semifinal race. “For our finish, we really focused on staying clean and sharp, and we also tried to get longer with our strokes, which we were able to do, which felt really amazing as a boat. We ended up finishing with boat lengths of water between us and the other boats.”
Earlier this month, the 3v8+ boat earned Big 12 recognition on April 16 after a dominant victory at the Creighton Duel. The Wildcats clocked in at 7:22.6, finishing nearly 30 seconds ahead of Creighton’s 3v8+ and 4v8+ crews.
The novice boat featured six true freshmen and two redshirt freshmen, all new to the sport.
“Our recruiting model has continued to work,” Sweeney said. “Each year, we look for tall, competitive, out-of-sport athletes open to the opportunity of learning something new. Seeing our athletes learn and grow throughout their time at K-State is why we do what we do.”
K-State’s first Boat of the Week accolade came on March 19 by the Wildcats’ 1v4+ group after three dominant wins in the Hornet Invitational over Sacramento State, Humboldt, Saint Mary’s and UCSD.
“We’re starting to find more speed and see what we are capable of as a team,” Sweeney said. “Our athletes have worked hard, and we always appreciate when they get recognition for that work.”
As the season progresses, the team’s strong foundation across novice and veteran boats helps K-State gain confidence on the water.
The Wildcats will take a weekend off before the last regular season on Saturday with the annual Sunflower Showdown against Kansas in Kansas City, Kansas, at Wyandotte County Lake.
“KU is always an exciting and personal race,” junior Bianca Wollmeister said. “We all, as a team, look forward to bringing the cup back and we are ready to give our all again.”