Wildcats Ready for Sunflower Showdown in Kansas City

MANHATTAN, Kan. – The K-State women's rowing team is set to face in-state rival Kansas in the annual Sunflower Showdown on Saturday (May 4) at Wyandotte County Lake in Kansas City, Kan.

The morning will start at 9 a.m. CT with races going off every 10 to 15 minutes. In the event of inclement weather, race times may be shifted.

Schedule of races:
9:00 a.m. 2v4+
9:15 a.m. 1v8+
9:25 a.m. 2v8+
9:35 a.m. 1v4+
9:50 a.m. 3v8+

"Our athletes have done a good job maintaining their focus as we are headed into the weekend," head coach Patrick Sweeney said. "The team has learned from race to race, and they have continued to make forward progress. This point in the season, the last two races, are what we are working toward throughout the entire year."

"This race continues to be a highlight for our athletes, especially since this is close enough to home for most of our athlete's families to travel and be part of the weekend," Sweeney said. "Their friends and families do a great job of coming out to support the team at every race, but the atmosphere at this race is always something special."

Last season, K-State won the Kansas Cup after winning the 1v8+, 2v8+ and 3v8+ races for a total of 17 points over Kansas' 5 points. The last time the Wildcats won the Sunflower Showdown consecutively was the 2018 and 2019 seasons.

"We're looking forward to some strong competition, and a weekend of good racing," Sweeney said. "We only have two more times down the course before the season wraps up. This is the fun part of the year where we get to really go for it and make the most of all the work that has led to this."

The team most recently competed at the SIRA Championship, on April 20-21 in Oak Ridge, Tenn. While there, the Wildcats earned three medals, a gold for the 1v4+ and silver for 1v8+ and 3v8+. The 1v4+ came in first in a dominant fashion, the 3v8+ competed up in the 2v8+ event, and the 1v8+ came in second place, beating third place Jacksonville by six one hundredths of a second.

K-State also previously competed in a Double Duel against Iowa and Minnesota on April 12-13. The weekend before, the team raced in Omaha, where they swept all five races in the Creighton Duel on April 6.

Prior to that, the Wildcats competed at the Sunshine State Invitational in Sarasota, Fla., where KU also competed. At this regatta, K-State had the 1v4+ and 3v8+ earn spots in the 'A' final. The 3v8+ walked away from the weekend with a bronze medal.

The team opened the season at the Hornet Invitational, where the Cats saw seven first place finishes competing against Sac State, UC San Diego and St. Mary's

"We're ready for this weekend. The team knows what they need to do. They are fit enough and strong enough to do well," Sweeney said. "Our athletes should feel confident in what they are capable of."

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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