K-State Completes Season at Big 12 Championship

AUSTIN, Texas – The Kansas State women's rowing team finished off the 2021-22 season with a solid showing at the 13th Big 12 Championship on Sunday morning (May 15) at Decker Lake.

Highlighted by a third-place finish by the First Varsity Four, K-State tallied 40 points to finish sixth in the team standings, just 7 points behind fourth-place Oklahoma (47) and 5 points behind Kansas (45). No. 2 Texas swept all five races to capture its 11th Big 12 Championship, including its seventh consecutive title dating to 2015. Affiliate members Alabama (73) and Tennessee (68) finished second and third, respectively.

Junior Megan Michaelis of the First Varsity Eight was selected for All-Big 12 accolades.

In addition to the First Varsity Four's third-place finish, the Third Varsity Eight finished fourth, the Second Varsity Eight placed fifth and the First Varsity Eight and Second Varsity Four each secured sixth-place finishes.

The First Varsity Four, which consisted of sophomores Lindsey DeVreugd and Alyssa Buettner, freshmen Anita Eckhardt and Catie Wood as well as sophomore coxswain Sydney Smith, completed an outstanding 2021-22 season with an impressive time of 8:02.905 to earn a third-place finish. They were nearly 6 seconds ahead of fourth-place Oklahoma and nearly 7 seconds ahead of fifth-place West Virginia.

"The most memorable part of the race was when we walked through OU," said DeVreugd. "At that point I knew we were in a good place to medal. Our finish was together, and we kept pushing through them."

The boat placed first at the Creighton Duel and the Sunflower Showdown, while they had a gold-medal performance at the SIRA Championships with a time of 7:44.680 to defeat Wisconsin by nearly 3 seconds on April 16. They also earned the silver medal in the Grand Finals of the Varsity Four race at the Sunshine State Invitational on April 2.

"I'm proud of how this group of girls worked together this season and how much we've grown," said DeVreugd.

"Overall, I've learned to always push for your team no matter what boat you're put in. The medal we got today is reflective of all the hard work the whole team put in this year and I can't wait to see what's to come in the next two years."

The Third Varsity Eight, which included freshmen Neva Roenne, Jordan Girkin, Grace Hendrickson, Kendra Hamman, Symone Simmons, Faith Gates, Chloe Daniels and Halle Fee as well as freshman coxswain Paige Fox, earned fourth place with a time of 7:32.107. The boat out-distanced crews from Tennessee (7:37.174), Oklahoma (7:41.633) and West Virginia (8:18.382) and finished just behind the more experienced Texas, Kansas and Alabama.

The boat had a strong 2021-22 season, earning a silver medal at the Sunshine State Invitational and earning a gold medal in the Novice 8+ A Final at the SIRA Championships on April 16 by pushing past five other teams and defeating Kansas by nearly 6 seconds at the Sunflower Showdown.

The Second Varsity Eight, which included sophomores Lauren Walker and Kaylee Kleinschmidt, freshmen Rachel Harman and Madison Koller, sophomore Patricia Hokanson, freshmen Anna Ryan and Emily Stark, sophomore Jadyn Greisen, as well as sophomore coxswain Kelsey Ladlie, finished less than a second behind fourth-place Kansas in fifth place with a time of 7:16.775. The boat did defeat the sixth-place crew from Oklahoma by more than 6 seconds and the seventh-place crew from West Virginia by more than 9 seconds.

"Early on we pushed past West Virginia and Oklahoma," said Walker. "Then we had another big push around the 1,000-meter mark and gained seats on KU and made contact with Alabama."

The boat swept their races against Sacramento State, Saint Mary's and UC San Diego at the Hornet Invitational on March 19-20 then won their race at the Creighton Duel on April 24.

"This boat (the 2v8) got stronger and faster every practice this year," said Walker of the season. "We may have been young, but we were fit and always ready to learn. We may not have medaled this year, but we did show exponential growth.

"Overall, our team is so resilient. We always come in every morning and put our heads down and put in the work. That's one of the many reasons I love this team."

The First Varsity Eight, which included juniors Ellie Hahn, Elizabeth Mummert, Maya Morrow, and Madison Jensen, sophomore Idallis Shaffer, junior Megan Michaelis, sophomore Jessica Schenk, and junior Kate Odgers as well as sophomore coxswain Lola Plum, finished the competition in sixth place with a time of 7:16.950.

"We had a solid start that helped us build into our race pace," said Jensen. "We were aggressive from the first stroke. Though we were down on other boats, we continued to fight for seats. We didn't let off the entire race and completed the race with one of our best finishes of the year. Unfortunately, we ran out of water and finished in sixth. However, I am so incredibly proud of our boat's adaptability and resilience throughout the whole season. Each race had a different lineup, and we did the best we could to find our rhythm and push as a boat. I'm so happy that for the final race of the season I was surrounded by my best friends. We wanted to push for the seniors, and although the results weren't exactly what we wanted, we pushed for each other."

The boat did enjoy a solid 2021-22 season, earning a gold medal by more than 4 seconds at the SIRA Championships on April 16 and a third-place finish in the Petite Final at the Sunshine State Invitational on April 1-2.

"This season was special knowing that it was my last," said Michaelis, who earned All-Big 12 honors for the first time in her career upon completion of the Championships. "I just tried to give everything my all-knowing that it was the last time that I would do a lot of the workouts. The boat was full of a lot of seniors which made this last race special. We knew this was our last race ever and we wanted to make the best of it.

"I learned so much about myself in my time at K-State. I learned that I am so much stronger than I thought both physically and mentally. Pushing myself in school and at practice every day was a challenge, but it made me realize how much I am capable of."

The Second Varsity Four, which consisted of only freshmen in Gracyn McClain, Madelyn Barrett, Jayden Brandt, Annika Senn, as well as coxswain Sarah Schrage, finished in sixth place with a time of 8:26.162. The crew finished more than 3 seconds ahead of seventh-place Tennessee.

The boat performed well throughout the 2021-22 season, winning their race at the Sunflower Showdown by more than 7 seconds over Kansas and finishing second to Wisconsin by 1 second during the A Final of the Novice 4+ race at the SIRA Championships on April 16.

With the conclusion of the Big 12 Championships, the 2021-22 season is now complete.

"My experience as a K-State athlete has taught me to take every opportunity to improve and to cherish the time spent with the team. We work for each other, every day," said Jensen. "Thank you to the seniors and your commitment to our team. You have led this team to success on and off the water. Your presence will be remembered and missed."

"Our program is in a good spot. We're rebuilding our depth and we are headed in the right direction," said head coach Patrick Sweeney. "With more water time and continuing to learn from the experience we gained this year, we're looking forward to the future of the team."

Big 12 Championship
Decker Lake [Austin, Texas]

Final Scores

Texas – 98
Alabama – 73
Tennessee – 68
Oklahoma – 47
Kansas – 45
K-State – 40
West Virginia – 21

First Varsity Eight (1v8+)

Texas – 6:29.543
Tennessee – 6:53.612
Alabama – 6:52.892
Oklahoma – 6:59.665
Kansas – 7:03.654
K-State – 7:16.950
West Virginia – 7:31.163

Second Varsity Eight (2v8+)

Texas – 6:43.714
Tennessee – 7:06.389
Alabama – 7:10.106
Kansas – 7:15.247
K-State – 7:16.775
Oklahoma – 7:22.931
West Virginia – 7:25.843

Third Varsity Eight (3v8+)

Texas – 6:54.670
Kansas – 7:17.774
Alabama – 7:20.881
K-State – 7:32.107
Tennessee – 7:37.174
Oklahoma – 7:41.637
West Virginia – 8:18.382

First Varsity Four (1v4+)

Texas – 7:26.914
Alabama – 7:54.922
K-State – 8:02.905
Oklahoma – 8:08.840
West Virginia – 8:09.664
Kansas – 8:10.773
Tennessee – 8:20.201

Second Varsity Four (2v4+)

Texas – 7:29.734
Alabama – 8:04.063
Oklahoma – 8:10.047
West Virginia – 8:14.505
Kansas – 8:21.447
K-State – 8:26.162
Tennessee – 8:30.716

K-State Lineups:
First Varsity Eight (7:16.950/6th)
Cox: Lola Plum, Stroke: Ellie Hahn, 7. Elizabeth Mummert, 6. Maya Morrow, 5. Madison Jensen, 4. Idallis Shaffer, 3. Megan Michaelis, 2. Jessica Schenk, Bow: Kate Odgers.

Second Varsity Eight (7:16.775/5th)
Cox: Kelsey Ladlie, Stroke: Lauren Walker, 7. Kaylee Kleinschmit, 6. Rachel Harman, 5. Madison Koller, 4. Patricia Hokanson, 3. Anna Ryan, 2. Emily Stark, Bow: Jadyn Greisen.

Third Varsity Eight (7:32.107/4th)
Cox: Paige Fox, Stroke: Neva Roenne, 7. Jordan Girkin, 6. Grace Hendrickson, 5. Kendra Hamman, 4. Symone Simmons, 3. Faith Gates, 2. Chloe Daniels, Bow: Halle Fee.

First Varsity Four (8:02.905/3rd)
Cox: Sydney Smith, Stroke: Lindsey Devreugd, 3. Alyssa Buettner, 2. Anita Eckhardt, Bow: Catie Wood.

Second Varsity Four (8:26.162/6th)
Cox: Sarah Schrage, Stroke: Gracyn McClain, 3. Madelyn Barrett, 2. Jayden Brandt, Bow: Annika Senn.

For the latest on K-State Rowing, follow @kstatesports and @KStateROW on Twitter or on the team's Facebook page.

Kansas State University Athletics

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Players Mentioned

Madelyn Barrett

Jayden Brandt

Alyssa Buettner

Chloe Daniels

Lindsey DeVreugd

Anita Eckhardt

Halle Fee

Paige Fox

Faith Gates

Jordan Girkin

Jadyn Greisen

Ellie Hahn

Kendra Hamman

Rachel Harman

Grace Hendrickson

Patricia Hokanson

Madison Jensen

Kaylee Kleinschmit

Madison Koller

Kelsey Ladlie

Gracyn McClain

Megan Michaelis

Maya Morrow

Elizabeth Mummert

Kate Odgers

Neva Roenne

Anna Ryan

Jessica Schenk

Sarah Schrage

Annika Senn

Idallis Shaffer

Symone Simmons

Sydney Smith

Emily Stark

Lauren Walker

Catie Wood