Kansas State University Athletics
Saturday, May 4
Kansas City, Kan.
Kansas State University
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Sunflower Showdown
K-State Wins Two Races at Sunflower Showdown
May 07, 2024 | Rowing
The 1v4+ and 3v8+ boats both took first place against Kansas
MANHATTAN, Kan. – The K-State women's rowing team competed in the annual Sunflower Showdown against in-state rival Kansas on Saturday (May 4) at Wyandotte County Lake in Kansas City, Kan.
"Coming off the weekend, we want to say well done to KU. They were just a little more experienced than our homegrown squad. I'm really pleased with how the team has progressed throughout the season and the how they have been gaining speed week to week," head coach Patrick Sweeney said. "They are learning not only the technique of this sport but also how to train hard, then how to perform under pressure."
The Wildcats had dominant performances in the 1v4+ and 3v8+ boats for five points while Kansas claimed the Kansas Cup winning three races in the 1v8+, 2v8+, and 2v4+ for a total of 17 points.
"Anytime a boat has a big win like our 3v8+ and our 1v4+ had this weekend it's always a positive weekend in my eyes. The 2v8+ had a really good race and they really fought for that competition," junior Paige Fox said. "In the 1v8+, it was obviously not the outcome we wanted. However, I think we learned from it and are ready to train for our competition in Sarasota Florida in a few weeks."
The day began with the 2v4+ race, where the boat finished second with a time of 7:54.65. The lineup consisted of freshman coxswain Leah Roane, freshman Emily Northcutt, sophomore Kyla Traub and freshmen Sienna Pargiter-Walker and Kiersten Playter.
"Some big take aways from this weekend is how strong our middle 1000 is compared to our competitors. We know where the mistakes were made and how we can fix them during these coming weeks of training," Fox said. "Every race whether we win or lose is always a learning opportunity and we can always be better with our race plan and our race technique."
The 1v8+ was able to push back up against Kansas but came in second, finishing at 6:54.05. The boat consisted of coxswain Paige Fox, juniors Gracyn McClain, Jordan Girkin, Rachel Harman and Madison Koller, sophomore Grace Hall, sophomore Sylvia Cunningham, sophomore Symone Simmons and sophomore Kay Pakkebier
"Our race was a hard one. We had an okay start but unfortunately in this sport okay is not good enough," Fox said. "We had a great push around the 750–1000-meter mark but we unfortunately were not able to sustain that which was our downfall by the end."
The 1v4+ highlighted the day with a statement win. The boat finished more than 20 seconds ahead of the Jayhawks with a time of 7:41.50.
"The race, with a wavy start, we got behind for a couple of strokes but with our connection we were able to push back and find a powerful rhythm. That showed our boat how powerful we can be when we work together," sophomore Bianca Wollmeister said. "We had some good pushes at the thousand and the finish."
The lineup consisted of sophomore coxswain Kiersten Schmalz, junior Neva Roenne, Bianca Wollmeister, freshman Anna Guhr and junior Catie Wood.
"Big takeaway from the weekend is that you can do more than you think," Wollmeister said.
The second win for the Wildcats came from the 3v8+ who won by a margin of nine seconds at 7:05.74.
"I felt like this was a good race for this crew to see how hard we could go. KU was up for the first 500 meters or so of the race, but once we made a move, we kept taking seats and didn't stop," senior Lindsey DeVreugd said. "A significant push we made was right after we caught their bow ball. By that point I felt confident we could win and just wanted to see how much open water we could get."
The boat competed with a lineup of freshman coxswain Regan Ahlers, Lindsey DeVreugd, sophomore Ellie Erwin, freshmen Izzy Ross and Regan Reker, sophomore Ava Werner and freshmen Madelyn Navrkal, Harmony Leiker and Lorelei Harris.
"As a team our goal is to have as many boats medal as possible while having a solid clean race. I feel really confident in this boat's ability to be competitive within our conference," DeVreugd said. "I really hope our next big accomplishment will be walking away with a medal at Big 12s, more than that I hope we feel confident in our ability to lay it all on the line for this last race."
Finishing at 7:03.69, the 2v8+ fought to the finish, coming in second place only one second behind the Jayhawks.
"During our race we started down but fought all the way back. The second 1000 was pure heart and fight and we managed to comeback," junior Jayden Brandt said. "Both boats were giving all they had, and it was a photo finish for sure."
The boat consisted of sophomore coxswain Kennedy Loyd, Jayden Brandt, sophomore Makenzie Storm, junior Anna Ryan, sophomore Emma Johnson and juniors Emily Stark, Madelyn Barrett, Grace Hendrickson and Halle Fee.
"I feel good about this weekend. We may not have gotten the cup, but I feel like we put up a good fight and found areas to improve," Brandt said. "I think this was fire for the team to keep working and to come back stronger as we come into Big 12s."
K-State will have a weekend off from competition, where they will continue preparing for the Big 12 Championship.
"At this point in the season as a graduating senior, I am honestly feeling so sentimental. Trying to take every moment and every meter in. I am constantly pushing my girls to be sharper, stronger, and better," Fox said. "This season has absolutely flown by, and I feel like two days ago we were in California preparing for our races out there. I am definitely looking forward to competing in Sarasota and watching my teammates come home with medals that they all deserve."
The important thing is we get to do this together and one stroke at a time."
"At this point in the season I'm feeling really excited to see what we can do next. This team is so young, and we came such a long way this year," DeVreugd said. "As a senior it makes me excited for the future of the team and I can't wait to see what the younger girls in my boat do in the future."
But for now, I'm looking forward to seeing how all the hard work we did this year pays off."
The final race of the season, the Big 12 Championship, will be on May 19 in Sarasota, Fla., at Nathan Benderson Park.
"We want to thank Carrie Cook-Callen and her staff for hosting the race this weekend. It was a good weekend with some solid competition," Sweeney said. "This week, our athletes have their finals then from there we will regroup and continue preparing. Our team is young, but we're looking forward to seeing how they wrap up the learning from this year all the way through to Big 12s."
Sunflower Showdown
Wyandotte County Lake
Kansas City, Kan.
Second Varsity 4+
1. Kansas; 7:42.14, 2. K-State; 7:54.65, 3. Creighton; 8:20.21
First Varsity 8+
1. Kansas; 6:49.54, 2. K-State; 6:54.05, 3. Creighton; 7:02.02
Second Varsity 8+
1. Kansas; 7:02.64, 2. K-State; 7:03.69, 3. Creighton; 7:29.71
First Varsity 4+
1. K-State; 7:41.50, 2. Kansas; 8:04.09, 3. Creighton; 8:31.77
Third Varsity 8+
1. K-State; 7:05.74, 2. Kansas; 7:14.27
K-State lineups:
1v8+ lineup:
Coxswain: Paige Fox, Stroke: Gracyn McClain, 7. Jordan Girkin, 6. Rachel Harman, 5. Madison Koller, 4. Grace Hall, 3. Sylvia Cunningham, 2. Symone Simmons, 1. Kay Pakkebier
2v8+ lineup:
Coxswain: Kennedy Loyd, Stroke: Jayden Brandt, 7. Makenzie Storm, 6. Anna Ryan, 5. Emma Johnson, 4. Emily Stark, 3. Madelyn Barrett, 2. Grace Hendrickson, 1. Halle Fee
3v8+ lineup:
Coxswain: Regan Ahlers, Stroke: Lindsey DeVreugd, 7. Ellie Erwin, 6. Izzy Ross, 5. Regan Reker, 4. Ava Werner, 3. Madelyn Navrkal, 2. Harmony Leiker, 1. Lorelei Harris
1v4+ lineup:
Coxswain: Kiersten Schmalz, Stroke: Neva Roenne, 3. Bianca Wollmeister, 2. Anna Guhr, 1. Catie Wood
2v4+ lineup:
Coxswain: Leah Roane, Stroke: Emily Northcutt, 3. Kyla Traub, 2. Sienna Pargiter-Walker, 1. Kiersten Playter
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.
"Coming off the weekend, we want to say well done to KU. They were just a little more experienced than our homegrown squad. I'm really pleased with how the team has progressed throughout the season and the how they have been gaining speed week to week," head coach Patrick Sweeney said. "They are learning not only the technique of this sport but also how to train hard, then how to perform under pressure."
The Wildcats had dominant performances in the 1v4+ and 3v8+ boats for five points while Kansas claimed the Kansas Cup winning three races in the 1v8+, 2v8+, and 2v4+ for a total of 17 points.
"Anytime a boat has a big win like our 3v8+ and our 1v4+ had this weekend it's always a positive weekend in my eyes. The 2v8+ had a really good race and they really fought for that competition," junior Paige Fox said. "In the 1v8+, it was obviously not the outcome we wanted. However, I think we learned from it and are ready to train for our competition in Sarasota Florida in a few weeks."
The day began with the 2v4+ race, where the boat finished second with a time of 7:54.65. The lineup consisted of freshman coxswain Leah Roane, freshman Emily Northcutt, sophomore Kyla Traub and freshmen Sienna Pargiter-Walker and Kiersten Playter.
"Some big take aways from this weekend is how strong our middle 1000 is compared to our competitors. We know where the mistakes were made and how we can fix them during these coming weeks of training," Fox said. "Every race whether we win or lose is always a learning opportunity and we can always be better with our race plan and our race technique."
The 1v8+ was able to push back up against Kansas but came in second, finishing at 6:54.05. The boat consisted of coxswain Paige Fox, juniors Gracyn McClain, Jordan Girkin, Rachel Harman and Madison Koller, sophomore Grace Hall, sophomore Sylvia Cunningham, sophomore Symone Simmons and sophomore Kay Pakkebier
"Our race was a hard one. We had an okay start but unfortunately in this sport okay is not good enough," Fox said. "We had a great push around the 750–1000-meter mark but we unfortunately were not able to sustain that which was our downfall by the end."
The 1v4+ highlighted the day with a statement win. The boat finished more than 20 seconds ahead of the Jayhawks with a time of 7:41.50.
"The race, with a wavy start, we got behind for a couple of strokes but with our connection we were able to push back and find a powerful rhythm. That showed our boat how powerful we can be when we work together," sophomore Bianca Wollmeister said. "We had some good pushes at the thousand and the finish."
The lineup consisted of sophomore coxswain Kiersten Schmalz, junior Neva Roenne, Bianca Wollmeister, freshman Anna Guhr and junior Catie Wood.
"Big takeaway from the weekend is that you can do more than you think," Wollmeister said.
The second win for the Wildcats came from the 3v8+ who won by a margin of nine seconds at 7:05.74.
"I felt like this was a good race for this crew to see how hard we could go. KU was up for the first 500 meters or so of the race, but once we made a move, we kept taking seats and didn't stop," senior Lindsey DeVreugd said. "A significant push we made was right after we caught their bow ball. By that point I felt confident we could win and just wanted to see how much open water we could get."
The boat competed with a lineup of freshman coxswain Regan Ahlers, Lindsey DeVreugd, sophomore Ellie Erwin, freshmen Izzy Ross and Regan Reker, sophomore Ava Werner and freshmen Madelyn Navrkal, Harmony Leiker and Lorelei Harris.
"As a team our goal is to have as many boats medal as possible while having a solid clean race. I feel really confident in this boat's ability to be competitive within our conference," DeVreugd said. "I really hope our next big accomplishment will be walking away with a medal at Big 12s, more than that I hope we feel confident in our ability to lay it all on the line for this last race."
Finishing at 7:03.69, the 2v8+ fought to the finish, coming in second place only one second behind the Jayhawks.
"During our race we started down but fought all the way back. The second 1000 was pure heart and fight and we managed to comeback," junior Jayden Brandt said. "Both boats were giving all they had, and it was a photo finish for sure."
The boat consisted of sophomore coxswain Kennedy Loyd, Jayden Brandt, sophomore Makenzie Storm, junior Anna Ryan, sophomore Emma Johnson and juniors Emily Stark, Madelyn Barrett, Grace Hendrickson and Halle Fee.
"I feel good about this weekend. We may not have gotten the cup, but I feel like we put up a good fight and found areas to improve," Brandt said. "I think this was fire for the team to keep working and to come back stronger as we come into Big 12s."
K-State will have a weekend off from competition, where they will continue preparing for the Big 12 Championship.
"At this point in the season as a graduating senior, I am honestly feeling so sentimental. Trying to take every moment and every meter in. I am constantly pushing my girls to be sharper, stronger, and better," Fox said. "This season has absolutely flown by, and I feel like two days ago we were in California preparing for our races out there. I am definitely looking forward to competing in Sarasota and watching my teammates come home with medals that they all deserve."
The important thing is we get to do this together and one stroke at a time."
"At this point in the season I'm feeling really excited to see what we can do next. This team is so young, and we came such a long way this year," DeVreugd said. "As a senior it makes me excited for the future of the team and I can't wait to see what the younger girls in my boat do in the future."
But for now, I'm looking forward to seeing how all the hard work we did this year pays off."
The final race of the season, the Big 12 Championship, will be on May 19 in Sarasota, Fla., at Nathan Benderson Park.
"We want to thank Carrie Cook-Callen and her staff for hosting the race this weekend. It was a good weekend with some solid competition," Sweeney said. "This week, our athletes have their finals then from there we will regroup and continue preparing. Our team is young, but we're looking forward to seeing how they wrap up the learning from this year all the way through to Big 12s."
Sunflower Showdown
Wyandotte County Lake
Kansas City, Kan.
Second Varsity 4+
1. Kansas; 7:42.14, 2. K-State; 7:54.65, 3. Creighton; 8:20.21
First Varsity 8+
1. Kansas; 6:49.54, 2. K-State; 6:54.05, 3. Creighton; 7:02.02
Second Varsity 8+
1. Kansas; 7:02.64, 2. K-State; 7:03.69, 3. Creighton; 7:29.71
First Varsity 4+
1. K-State; 7:41.50, 2. Kansas; 8:04.09, 3. Creighton; 8:31.77
Third Varsity 8+
1. K-State; 7:05.74, 2. Kansas; 7:14.27
K-State lineups:
1v8+ lineup:
Coxswain: Paige Fox, Stroke: Gracyn McClain, 7. Jordan Girkin, 6. Rachel Harman, 5. Madison Koller, 4. Grace Hall, 3. Sylvia Cunningham, 2. Symone Simmons, 1. Kay Pakkebier
2v8+ lineup:
Coxswain: Kennedy Loyd, Stroke: Jayden Brandt, 7. Makenzie Storm, 6. Anna Ryan, 5. Emma Johnson, 4. Emily Stark, 3. Madelyn Barrett, 2. Grace Hendrickson, 1. Halle Fee
3v8+ lineup:
Coxswain: Regan Ahlers, Stroke: Lindsey DeVreugd, 7. Ellie Erwin, 6. Izzy Ross, 5. Regan Reker, 4. Ava Werner, 3. Madelyn Navrkal, 2. Harmony Leiker, 1. Lorelei Harris
1v4+ lineup:
Coxswain: Kiersten Schmalz, Stroke: Neva Roenne, 3. Bianca Wollmeister, 2. Anna Guhr, 1. Catie Wood
2v4+ lineup:
Coxswain: Leah Roane, Stroke: Emily Northcutt, 3. Kyla Traub, 2. Sienna Pargiter-Walker, 1. Kiersten Playter
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.
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