Wildcats Earn Four Medals in Jayhawk Jamboree

MANHATTAN, Kan. – The K-State rowing team competed in their final head race of the fall season at the Jayhawk Jamboree on Saturday (Nov. 4) in Lawrence, Kan., at Burcham Park. The day was divided into a morning and an afternoon session, with the Wildcats racing boats in four races including the: Novice 8+, Varsity 4+, Novice 4+ and Varsity 8+.

"The team did well this weekend, especially considering the lack of water time we have had in the last month," head coach Patrick Sweeney said. "We look at fall races as a chance to continue pushing our training. Our athletes used today to continue learning and keep building as we prepare for the spring."

The morning session began with the Novice 8+ race where the Wildcats came in second place to earn a silver medal, finishing with a time of 15:16.15.

"We had great conditions for racing today with low winds and cool temps," junior Madison Koller said. "The team was excited going into the race and it was good to get another fall race in, especially as our water time comes to a close for winter."

The 'Cats raced four boats in the Varsity 4+, with K-State 'A' securing a bronze medal at 15:54.76. K-State 'B' finished fifth with a time of 16:11.75, with K-State 'C' and 'D' following at 16:43.22 and 16:46.68.

"Every unit competed to the best of their abilities, not only with the other team but against our own boats as well," junior Rachel Harman said. "Being able to do that is going to be key while we prepare for our season."

In the afternoon session, the Wildcats walked away with a gold medal in the Novice 4+ race. The boat finished first at 17:19.26, 30 seconds ahead of second place Kansas.

"Overall, the boats performed well with a good number of medals all around. It was fun to see some of the first-time racers get some hardware," Koller said.

The last race of the day was the Varsity 8+ where K-State walked away another silver medal as K-State 'A' came in second with a time of 14:26.42. K-State 'B' finished fourth with a time of 14:58.31, and K-State 'C' came in seventh at 15:37.79.

"Over the next few months, we're planning to train hard to prepare for the spring racing season. We're excited to utilize the new Olympic Training Center to do so," Koller said. "A team goal is to keep the Sunflower Showdown cup and given our performance against KU today, I think we have a better idea of what we need to do to prepare for when we face them in the spring."

"Now that we finished up our fall season, we are looking to prepare for winter camp in Waco to really get some mileage on the water," Harman said. "We have a really solid team this year that can definitely move some boats, so it will be exciting to see growth in technique throughout the year and put it all together for races."

While the team has continued to maintain the focus on training and competition, the weekend also highlighted the support that friends, families, and fans have continued to provide.

"It was amazing to finish the races today and look at the riverbank to see a sea of purple," Harman said. "Our fans are truly the best support we could ever ask for and the whole team is so thankful to the people that travel to watch us race."

As the fall season concludes, the Wildcats are looking ahead to prepare for racing in March.

"We would like to thank Carrie Cook-Callen and her staff for hosting the race this weekend," Sweeney said. "After some good racing, we know what we have to do. This is the time to start preparing for the season, not the time to back off. This isn't the end of fall training; this is the start of the spring."

Jayhawk Jamboree
Burcham Park
Lawrence, Kan.

Novice 8+
1. Kansas A: 15:16.045, 2. K-State A: 15:16.151, 3. Kansas B: 15:51.097

Varsity 4+
1. Kansas A: 15:29.040, 2. Kansas C: 15.47.513, 3. K-State A: 15.54.764, 4. Kansas B: 15:59.537, 5. K-State B: 16:11.754, 6. Kansas D: 16:15.355, 7. K-State C: 16:43.227, 8. K-State D: 16:46.683

Novice 4+
1. K-State A: 17:19.267, 2. Kansas A: 17:49.123, 3. Kansas B: 18:58.124

Varsity 8+
1. Kansas A: 14:14.603, 2. K-State A: 14.26.429, 3. Kansas B: 14:42.029, 4. K-State B: 14:58.310, 5. Kansas C: 14:58.577, 6. Kansas D: 15:35.816, 7. K-State C: 15:37.798

How to follow the 'Cats: For complete information on the K-State Women's Rowing Team, visit www.kstatesports.com and follow the team's social media channels on X (formerly Twitter), Threads, Facebook and Instagram.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Rachel Harman

Madison Koller

Players Mentioned

Rachel Harman

Madison Koller

Kansas State University Athletics