 The K-State women’s rowing team earned medals in three events at the Southern Intercollegiate Rowing Association (SIRA) Championship, held April 18-19 on Melton Hill Lake.
Head coach Kennedy Felice reflected positively on the team’s performance: “This weekend was a good weekend for the team. Walking away with medals is always exciting, but we’re also really proud of the way that each boat attacked their races. All boats accomplished our goals of racing hard and continuing to put together the things we have been working on in practice. We have made a lot of progress this season and this weekend highlighted that. The team did well and we’re going to keep pushing to set ourselves up for the remainder of the season.”
In Sunday’s finals, every K-State boat raced in the Grand ‘A’ final. The 3v8+ claimed gold, while the 1v4+ and 2v4+ each took silver. Over the weekend, the Wildcats faced multiple opponents including Louisville, Jacksonville, and Duquesne.
The 3v8+ competed in a qualifying heat on Saturday (7:31.38) and the final on Sunday, where they won gold with a time of 7:18.81.
Freshman Gabbie Forsythe said, “This weekend went really well as a boat. As a boat, I think our connection really started to click helping us be more effective through the water and leading us to a win. As a team overall, having multiple medals was a huge accomplishment, as it reflects our whole team’s efforts in training.”
The lineup featured freshman coxswain Ally Exline and freshmen Taylin Harthun, Brie Smith, Alexis Brandkamp, Abby Theiss, Jocelyn Lincoln, Mary Jane Britz, Brookelyn Vande Loo, and Forsythe.
Forsythe added, “Coming into the weekend we knew we wanted to do well coming off our race against KU. I think we attacked our first race hard, but we were a little hesitant. Going into Sunday, we knew we had to show up and we did. The first half of the race was close, at the 1,000-meter mark we made a big push, moved ahead of Purdue and Clemson A, and stayed ahead through the finish.”
The 1v4+ raced three times, including a semifinal on Saturday afternoon. They finished their heat in 7:08.48 and won the semifinal in 8:05.82.
Junior Regan Ahlers said, “I’m really proud of my boats and the whole team’s performance this weekend. We knew going into the weekend that competition would be tough, and I’m happy all our boats secured a spot in their respective A finals. As we head into the final two races of the year, I hope we continue to improve week to week. We know the Big 12 is competitive and tough, but as long as we can perform to the best of our abilities, I believe we can be successful.”
In Sunday’s Grand ‘A’ final, the 1v4+ coxswain Ahlers, senior Ellie Erwin, junior Kiersten Playter, and sophomores Bryn Pawlik and Karlee Horyna took second place (7:34.48) for silver.
Ahlers noted, “In the semifinals our boat had a really good start, where we jumped out in front of all the other teams. We were able to hold that distance through the whole race and then made another big push with 750 meters left in the race. During the semifinals there was a pretty strong headwind, which in past races has been a challenge, but in this race, we were able to push past and not let it affect us. In the finals, we had another good start and got into that second-place position early and held it until the end of the race.”
The 2v4+ freshman coxswain Brynley Chrest and freshmen Kendall Huber, Hanah Thul, Hailey Black, and Nora Wehr competed in Sunday’s finals, posting 8:09.13 for silver, finishing 11 seconds ahead of third-place Jacksonville.
Thul commented, “I thought this weekend was overall really good for the whole team. My biggest takeaway from this weekend is that our boat built a strong trust between each other that we would push and every single person was giving their full effort. Throughout the race, we had a few rough patches, but we still managed to have a solid push at the 1,000-meter mark to hold off the other boats and secure second place.”
The 1v8+ also raced three times, finishing their heat in 7:02.75 and the semifinal in 7:20.92. The lineup included senior coxswain Kiersten Schmalz, seniors Grace Hall and Sylvia Cunningham, juniors Regan Reker and Harmony Leiker, sophomores Kendall Lane, Bailey Williamson, and Abby Farr, and junior Izzy Ross.
Ross said, “The races this weekend were competitive for all the boats. For our boat, this weekend was a good test to see how much we want it, how we can improve, and how to stay calm and achieve in a more hectic, multilane race.”
In Sunday’s Grand ‘A’ final, the boat finished in 6:56.73.
Ross added, “This was a really strong weekend for our team, we had solid performances across the board between all five boats. This weekend really showed just how capable we are as a team; we have so much grit and determination and I think this weekend showed just an ounce of what we are capable of for the rest of the season.”
The 2v8+ finished their heat in 7:08.48, with a lineup of junior coxswain Leah Roane, junior Emily Northcutt, sophomore Annika Janss, junior Lorelei Harris, sophomores Delaney Goshorn and Katelyn Colwell, freshman Erica Ward, junior Madelyn Navrkal, and senior Ava Werner. In the Grand ‘A’ final, they recorded 7:05.25.
Ward said, “I felt like as a team and as a boat we took a huge step forward and we all saw that we are capable of being successful against competitive teams. In the finals, we made some big pushes at the 1,000- and 1,500-meter marks. 1750 is where we really started to push and pass some other crews and stay in contact with some of the medaling boats. My biggest takeaway from the races this weekend is that no matter what we need to stay up.”
The Wildcats will have a weekend off before competing in the Creighton Duel on Thursday, April 30, on Carter Lake in Omaha, Neb.
Felice concluded, “We tell the team that when one crew medals, it’s a medal for every person on our team. They all train hard and push each other to reach the next level. We’re proud of the work we’ve done to get to where we are now. We know there is still work to do to put ourselves in the best position possible by the time we get to Big 12s. We’re excited to see what we can accomplish over the next few weeks.”
