On Saturday, April 29th, the K-State Women's Rowing team won the Kansas Cup while competing in the Sunflower Showdown at Wyandotte County Lake in Kansas City, Kansas.
“We’re really proud of the way the team raced. We know our athletes are fit and strong, and the races today showed that,” head coach Patrick Sweeney said. “They’re learning how to race hard. The first eight did a good job of attacking their race aggressively and staying on it against KU. The second eight controlled their entire race and the third eight, being made up of all first-year rowers, did well showing they had the maturity to stay confident and row all the way through their race.”
“The fours didn’t click as well as we had hoped, but they fought the entire time. The team overall has done a good job and they have continued to come on as the season has progressed.”
The Wildcat rowing team last won the Sunflower Showdown in back-to-back seasons in 2018 and 2019.
Winning the 1v8+, 2v8+ and 3v8+ races on Saturday, gave the Wildcats 17 points over Kansas, who accumulated 5 points from winning two races.
“It was a beautiful morning for rowing with a fantastic K-State fan base to cheer us on,” freshman Kyla Traub said. “We are so grateful to everyone who showed up to support us.”
Winning the first race, the boat consisted of sophomore coxswain Paige Fox, sophomores Rachel Harman, Jordan Girkin,Anna Ryan, Madison Koller, junior Patricia Hokanson, senior Madison Jensen, freshman Bianca Wollmeister and junior Idallis Shaffer, who finished with a lead of nearly 8 seconds.
“After the start, at about the 250-meter mark, Paige [Fox] told us we were three seats down on KU and a couple seats up on Creighton,” sophomore Anna Ryan said. “I remember thinking we had a lot of time to make those seats up. Next thing I knew, we were at the 500-meter mark and we were three seats up on KU. After the 500, we kept pushing up and gained open water. Once we walked through them, we knew we had to keep the seats we had gained.”
“It was amazing to feel the power and connection in our boat with every stroke. Paige [Fox] was aggressive and intentional with her calls and we responded well every time we needed to push,” Ryan said. “After we finished, all of us knew we gave everything we had, and we were so proud of ourselves.”
In the 2v8+, the team finished more than 5 seconds ahead of Kansas at 6:52.3, with coxswain Lauren Plum, sophomore Grace Hendrickson, freshman Kay Pakkebier, sophomores Gracyn McClain,Symone Simmons, freshman Sylvia Cunningham, sophomores Madelyn Barrett,Jayden Brandt and junior Kaylee Kleinschmit in the lineup.
“In the middle of the race when you start walking on another boat, especially when it’s KU, the power and cohesion that I feel in the boat is something so exciting,” sophomore Gracyn McClain said. “That feeling of everyone working together in unison for one common goal is so empowering and what rowing is all about and the fact that we were able to put it all together and do it today at the Sunflower Showdown is even better.”
“There is no better feeling than coming to the dock with everyone yelling for you, being proud of you and getting to share the win with my teammates and my boat is so special to me,” McClain said. “We finished the race, knowing we had won the cup and even though we were all so exhausted we were so happy and proud of ourselves. Getting to hold the cup knowing our points and our boat helped us get there was so cool.”
RESULTS
Sunflower Showdown
Wyandotte County Lake
Kansas City, Kan.
First Varsity 8+ (1v8+)
1. K-State; 6:45.7, 2. Kansas; 6:53.1, 3. Creighton; 7:04.8
Second Varsity 8+ (2v8+)
1. K-State; 6:52.3, 2. Kansas; 6:57.9, 3. Creighton; 7:14.9
First Varsity 4+ (1v4+)
1. Kansas; 7:31.0, 2. K-State; 7:31.3, 3. Creighton; 8:09.7
Second Varsity 4+ (2v4+)
1. Kansas; 7:39.7, 2. K-State; 7:45.7, 3. Creighton; 8:41.5
Third Varsity 8+ (3v8+)
1. K-State; 7:06.6, 2. Kansas; 7:07.6, 3. Kansas ‘B’; 7:12.1, 4. Creighton; 8:13.8
K-State lineups:
1v8+ lineup: Cox: Paige Fox, Stroke: Rachel Harman, 7. Jordan Girkin, 6. Anna Ryan, 5. Madison Koller, 4. Patricia Hokanson, 3. Madison Jensen, 2. Bianca Wollmeister, Bow: Idallis Shaffer
2v8+ lineup: Cox: Lauren Plum, Stroke: Grace Hendrickson, 7. Kay Pakkebier, 6. Gracyn McClain, 5. Symone Simmons, 4. Sylvia Cunningham, 3. Madelyn Barrett, 2. Jayden Brandt, Bow: Kaylee Kleinschmit
1v4+ lineup: Cox: Kaitlyn Henke, Stroke: Neva Roenne, 3. Halle Fee, 2. Emily Stark, Bow: Jadyn Greisen
2v4+ lineup: Cox: Kiersten Schmalz, Stroke: Lindsey DeVreugd, 3. Kendra Hamman, 2. Catie Wood, Bow: Alyssa Buettner
3v8+ lineup: Cox: Kennedy Loyd, Stroke: Ellie Erwin, 7. Makenzie Storm, 6. Grace Hall, 5. Emma Johnson, 4. Zoey Whorton, 3. McKenna Johnson, 2. Tatum Alexander, Bow: Kyla Traub