K-State Wraps Up Spring Season in Big 12 Championship

SARASOTA, Fla. – The K-State women's rowing team wrapped up the season on Sunday (May 19) with the Big 12 Championship at Nathan Benderson Park in Sarasota, Fla.

"The team did a good job this season of working hard and using each race to build confidence and gain more experience. We had a young team, but they were ready to work and learn this year," head coach Patrick Sweeney said. "This weekend, several of our boats put down strong performances. We accomplished a lot throughout the season and our athletes should be proud of what they were able to do this year."

"I felt like this was a really good weekend for the team. A lot of our boats put down personal bests for the season and it felt like a really strong finishing point," senior Lindsey DeVreugd said. "My big takeaway from this weekend is to trust the process and the trust the training that we do all season."

The team finished seventh overall and fifth among Big 12 schools. The Wildcats recorded 34 points from five races, with the highest finish from the 3v8+ in 4^th place. K-State finished just one point behind sixth place Kansas and 13 points ahead of eighth place West Virginia. Texas won their ninth consecutive title with 112 points.

"With the way that more and more schools have shifted their recruiting focus internationally, we know that we have an uphill battle to be competitive," said Sweeney. "Our athletes did not back down from that challenge, and they were able to compete against some of the best. We have work to do, but this season laid a great foundation for next year and we're excited to see how our team continues to build from here."

"My boat, and I think our team overall, went into the competition with a really positive attitude. We knew the competition was going to be fierce, but we went in prepared to give our all and we did that," freshman Anna Guhr said. "Even though we didn't get the results we wanted, we were able to end the season knowing we had given our best."

Junior Rachel Harman was named to the All-Big 12 Team along with 19 other women representing each school competing.

"All Big 12 team has been something I've been working towards for a long time. It's such an honor and I'm really thankful that the coaches think that highly of me," junior Rachel Harman said. "I wish we had more spots because there are so many girls on this team that also deserve that honor."

In the first race of the day, the 3v8+ came in 4^th place with a time of 6:46.52, two seconds behind third place Alabama.

"Ahlers does a great job of communicating our race plan beforehand but still being adaptable and making changes based on where we were on other boats," DeVreugd said. "She was able to call the finish early and we started taking seats on UCF and OU. Our final push at the finish was probably the best push we've had all season and it felt like we were flying."

"Our race started with a rough start due to the high winds. We had a hard time getting pointed down the course, but we didn't let that rattle us too much. We knew that we would most likely be down off the start, but this boat loves to build speed and make a comeback," sophomore Ellie Erwin said. "The halfway point is where we really shine and started to take seats on the other boats. We knew going into this race that we would have to start our finish early and this boat was more than prepared to do so. Our finish started with about 750m left and in that time, we took out UCF and Oklahoma and made up a significant length on Alabama."

The boat consisted of freshman coxswain Regan Ahlers, DeVreugd, Erwin, freshmen Izzy Ross and Regan Reker, sophomores Ava Werner and Emma Johnson and freshmen Harmony Leiker and Lorelei Harris.

"This last race was a great way to walk away from the season. Everyone gave it their all and we beat two fast schools that had beaten us by pretty big margins earlier in the season," DeVreugd said. "Overall, I'm really proud of the work we put in and how we performed this season."

The 2v4+, with freshman coxswain Leah Roane, junior Jayden Brandt, sophomore Makenzie Storm and juniors Emily Stark and Halle Fee, finished with a time of 7:32.36, overturning the results of the Sunflower Showdown by a margin of more than 20 seconds.

"Our race was good. We were strong off the start and were able to stay in it for the first 1000," Fee said. "Things got a bit rough later through the race; water was getting choppy, winds picking up, and strong fatigue was hitting us. But I think that we were able to put up a great time and we knew that we gave it our all.

"I feel like it was a good weekend and it tested us with boat changes, weather, and tough competition that required us to come together quickly to be successful."

The 1v4+ had a final time of 7:12.28 coming in fifth place overall, 21 seconds ahead of sixth place Kansas. The boat consisted of sophomore coxswain Kiersten Schmalz, juniors Neva Roenne and Jordan Girkin, Guhr and junior Catie Wood.

"We had one of the best starts of our season, which was really exciting because we had been focusing a lot on that," Guhr said. "We had to deal with some adverse water conditions throughout. Even though that wasn't ideal we kept pushing through and never let off our power. We fought it out the whole way."

The 2v8+ also recorded a 6^th place finish at 6:53.16, five seconds ahead of Kansas, also overturning the results of the Sunflower Showdown.

"My race was super exciting and nerve-racking at the same time. We had never raced in this lineup before. We were very excited to see what we could do," freshmen Emily Northcutt said. "At about the thousand-meter marker, a girl from West Virginia caught an ejector crab. We were neck and neck with KU and West Virginia. Once that happened, we made a big push and passed West Virginia and KU."

The boat competed with a lineup of coxswain Kennedy Loyd, junior Grace Hendrickson, sophomore Bianca Wollmeister, Northcutt, junior Madelyn Barrett, freshmen Sienna Pargiter-Walker and Madelyn Navrkal, sophomore Kyla Traub and freshman Kiersten Player.

"In our race we didn't have the start that we wanted but we didn't let that affect the rest of the race. We found each other in the rhythm and were able to start making our pushes. It was around the 500-meter mark we made our first big push on KU and that helped keep us going," Barrett said. "Our boat did well at staying in our boat and not letting what others were doing affect us and we were proud of the way we finished."

In the final race of the day, the 1v8+ finished with a time of 6:50.25. That boat consisted of junior coxswain Paige Fox, junior Gracyn McClain, sophomore Kay Pakkebier, juniors Rachel Harman and Madison Koller, sophomore Grace Hall, juniors Anna Ryan and Symone Simmons and sophomore Sylvia Cunningham.

"Overall, this weekend we pushed hard in each boat and left what we had on the water. A big takeaway from this race is that we can build from this going into next year now that the team has more experience and confidence with racing," Barrett said.

"We've been a younger team so to get stronger and more experience this year was important for building into next year."

"Our underclassmen showed that they have a real dedication to this team and sport. They have a winning attitude and know how to enjoy the sport. This kind of attitude has spread throughout the team, and I hope it continues to grow in our incoming class," Erwin said. "I think that after this year we are coming into next year with even more determination for a Big 12 medal."

This season was highlighted by multiple medal performances, including two silver medals for the 1v8+ and 3v8+, as well as a gold medal for 1v4+ at the SIRA Championship regatta. The 3v8+ also earned a bronze medal at the Sunshine State Invitational. All crews had dominant performances at the Creighton Duel, recording a clean sweep with first place finishes in all races. The team also recorded multiple first place finishes at the Hornet Invitational to open the season.

"I'm really excited for next year because we have so many returning. It will make practices more competitive, and we can really push each other. With the conference changing next year, it will be exciting to race new teams and hopefully get some medals." Harman said.

"Our team knows how to work hard, and we have continued to build a program of strong, competitive athletes, that want to make the most of this opportunity," Sweeney said. "It's not easy learning a new sport and competing at the highest level, but every year our athletes find a way to push our program forward.

"Every year is different, but this program continues to be something special because of the athletes, the coaches, the families, who are all part of it. We want to say thank you to everyone that has helped shape our program into what it is today. It was a good season, and we are looking forward to seeing what our team is able to accomplish next year."

Big 12 Championship
Nathan Benderson Park
Sarasota, Fla.

Team Results
1. Texas; 112 points, 2. Tennessee; 98, 3. Alabama; 76, 4. UCF; 72, 5. Oklahoma; 56, 6. Kansas; 35, 7. K-State; 34,
8. West Virginia; 21

Third Varsity 8+
1. Texas; 6:29.14, 2. Tennessee; 6:35.26, 3. Alabama; 6:44.39, 4. K-State; 6:46.52, 5. Oklahoma; 6:48.64,
6. UCF; 6:49.97, 7. Kansas; 7:04.64, 8. West Virginia; 7:19.75

Second Varsity 4+
1. Texas; 7:00.79, 2. Tennessee; 7:05.40, 3. Alabama; 7:23.08, 4. UCF; 7:26.12, 5. Oklahoma; 7:30.08,
6. K-State; 7:32.36, 7. West Virginia; 7:42.20, 8. Kansas; 7:55.92

First Varsity 4+
1. Texas; 6:50.30, 2. Tennessee; 6:56.41, 3. Alabama; 7:05.60, 4. UCF; 7:06.91, 5. K-State; 7:12.28,
6. Kansas; 7:33.79, 7. Oklahoma; 7:35.70, 8. West Virginia; 7:40.53

Second Varsity 8+
1. Texas; 6:08.88, 2. Tennessee; 6:10.99, 3. UCF; 6:26.07, 4. Oklahoma; 6:37.29, 5. Alabama; 6:38.86,
6. K-State; 6:53.16, 7. Kansas; 6:58.66, 8. West Virginia; 6:59.24

First Varsity 8+
1. Texas; 6:08.71, 2. Tennessee; 6:15.33, 3. Alabama; 6:28.32, 4. UCF; 6:37.47, 5. Oklahoma; 6:41.47,
6. Kansas; 6:45.76, 7. West Virginia; 6:49.97, 8. K-State; 6:50.25

K-State lineups:
3v8+ lineup:
Coxswain: Regan Ahlers, Stroke: Lindsey DeVreugd, 7. Ellie Erwin, 6. Izzy Ross, 5. Regan Reker, 4. Ava Werner, 3. Emma Johnson, 2. Harmony Leiker, 1. Lorelei Harris

2v4+ lineup:
Coxswain: Leah Roane, Stroke: Jayden Brandt, 3. Makenzie Storm, 2. Emily Stark, 1. Halle Fee

1v4+ lineup:
Coxswain: Kiersten Schmalz, Stroke: Neva Roenne, 3. Jordan Girkin, 2. Anna Guhr, 1. Catie Wood

2v8+ lineup:
Coxswain: Kennedy Loyd, Stroke: Grace Hendrickson, 7. Bianca Wollmeister, 6. Emily Northcutt, 5. Madelyn Barrett, 4. Sienna Pargiter-Walker, 3. Madelyn Navrkal, 2. Kyla Traub, 1. Kiersten Playter

1v8+ lineup:
Coxswain: Paige Fox, Stroke: Gracyn McClain, 7. Kay Pakkebier, 6. Rachel Harman, 5. Madison Koller, 4. Grace Hall, 3. Anna Ryan, 2. Symone Simmons, 1. Sylvia Cunningham

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.

Kansas State University Athletics

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Players Mentioned

Regan Ahlers

Madelyn Barrett

Jayden Brandt

Sylvia Cunningham

Lindsey DeVreugd

Ellie Erwin

Halle Fee

Paige Fox

Jordan Girkin

Anna Guhr

Rachel Harman

Lorelei Harris

Grace Hendrickson

Emma Johnson

Madison Koller

Harmony Leiker

Kennedy Loyd

Gracyn McClain

Madelyn Navrkal

Emily Northcutt

Kay Pakkebier

Sienna Pargiter-Walker

Kiersten Playter

Regan Reker

Leah Roane

Neva Roenne

Izzy Ross

Anna Ryan

Kiersten Schmalz

Symone Simmons

Emily Stark

Makenzie Storm

Kyla Traub

Ava Werner

Bianca Wollmeister

Catie Wood