Cats Give Strong Performances in Annual Sunflower Showdown

Saturday, April 11

Kansas City, Kan.

Kansas State University

Sunflower Showdown

Cats Give Strong Performances in Annual Sunflower Showdown

Apr 16, 2026 | Rowing

Results (.pdf)

The Wildcats will continue racing in a consecutive race this weekend at the SIRA Championship

KANSAS CITY, Kan. – The K-State women's rowing team competed in the annual Sunflower Showdown on Saturday (April 11) against in-state rival Kansas at the Wyandotte County Lake.

The Wildcats finished behind Kansas in all five races, while also going up against Creighton, who did not race for points. The Jayhawks claimed the Kansas Cup with all 22 points.

"This weekend was an opportunity to go against some solid competition and continue building on what we have been working on from week to week," head coach Kennedy Felice said. "We made progress as a team this weekend.

"We're a young team, and this spring hasn't had a lot of water time for training, but our athletes have done a good job staying focused and showing how gritty of a group we are. Looking across all of our races, there were a lot of good moments and we're going to keep building off of that as we work our way through the rest of the season."

The smallest margin of the day behind Kansas was the 1v4+, consisting of junior coxswain Regan Ahlers, senior Ellie Erwin, junior Kiersten Playter and sophomores Bryn Pawlik and Karlee Horyna, with a time of 7:31.19.

"I felt strong going into the weekend. This is always a nerve-racking race, and I was excited to compete," Horyna said. "The boat learned a lot from the race this weekend, getting to compete is always exciting. We focused on staying calm and blasting it through the race. We were soundly connected throughout, and I felt like we put on a solid performance."

The fastest time of the day was from the 1v8+ at 7:01.43, with a boat consisting of senior coxswain Kiersten Schmalz, seniors Grace Hall and Sylvia Cunningham, juniors Regan Reker and Harmony Leiker, sophomores Kendall Lane, Bailey Williamson and Abby Farr and junior Izzy Ross.

"This weekend was a great learning experience for the team. We had some high-quality competition, and it showed our strengths, while also highlighting some things we can clean up before Big 12s," Reker said. "As a boat we made a big step forward to where we want to be by the end of the season and I'm excited to see this boat piece together our potential."

Starting off the day against KU was the 3v8+ finishing with a time of 7:17.89, the lineup consisting of freshman coxswain Ally Exline and freshmen Taylin Harthun, Gabbie Forsythe, Alexis Brandkamp, Abby Theiss, Jocelyn Lincoln, Lauren Schmidt, Brookelyn Vande Loo and Mary Jane Britz.

"I feel like the team made a lot of solid progress this weekend," sophomore Delaney Goshorn said. "We have been steadily improving throughout the first half of the season and I think that we are going to keep building on that with each racing opportunity. This weekend was a great opportunity to race against another Big 12 opponent- I think if we continue to improve our technique with more water time, we are headed in the right direction to be successful at Big 12s."

The 2v8+ had a final time of 7:08.53 with a lineup of junior coxswain Leah Roane, junior Emily Northcutt, sophomore Annika Janss, junior Lorelei Harris, sophomores Goshorn and Katelyn Colwell, freshman Erica Ward, junior Madelyn Navrkal and freshman Brie Smith.

"Our goal this race was to focus on ourselves and executing our race plan. We came together as a unit and made our moves together when we were called into them by Roane," Goshorn added. "Our connection has come a long way and I'm excited to see what we accomplish in the next half of the season. We are fit and strong and we have shown that, now we just have to continue to focus on rhythm, connection, and technique to keep improving our times."

The 2v4+ competed with a lineup of sophomore coxswain Mia Starnes and freshmen Hanah Thul, Kendall Huber, Alexis Rutherford and Nora Wehr.

"We have a strong foundation- I think the next big push is for the team is to fine tune the details and technique," Horyna said. "We are all pushing each other, working together as a team, and finding success in our day-to-day goals. Racing close to home is always so special to me and a lot of the team. The number of families, friends and alumni that come to this race is surreal- you can really feel how proud they are of the team."

"I'm looking forward for the rest of the season, our next few races should push us past our comfort zone to gain some more experience," Reker said. "We have SIRAs this upcoming weekend which is always fun with different competition to help challenge us. I'm excited to see what we can do and how we can learn from this past weekend. I'm looking forward to improving every race as we get closer to Big 12s."

K-State prepares for a consecutive weekend of racing in the SIRA Championships on April 18-19 in Oak Ridge, Tenn., at Melton Hill Lake.

"We want to say thank you to Andy Derrick and his staff for hosting this weekend. We appreciate everything they did to make this race possible," Felice said. "We also want to say a huge thank you to our families, friends, and alumni who came out to support us this weekend. Every year, each of you plays a part in making what we do possible. We're grateful for the people that have helped build our program in what we are today and we're looking forward to the rest of the season."

Sunflower Showdown
Wyandotte County Lake
Kansas City, Kan.

Third Varsity 8+
1. Kansas; 6:51.46, 2. K-State; 7:17.89

Second Varsity 4+
1. Kansas; 7:32.10, 2. K-State; 7:47.90, 3. Creighton; 8:34.70, 4. Creighton 3V4; 8:36.70

First Varsity 4+
1. Kansas; 7:24.64, 2. K-State; 7:31.19, 4. Creighton; 8:23.50

Second Varsity 8+
1. Kansas; 6:50.27, 2. K-State; 7:08.53, 3. Creighton; 7:41.36

First Varsity 8+
1. Kansas; 6:47.07, 2. K-State; 7:01.43, 3. Creighton; 7:08.86

K-State lineups
3v8+ lineup:
Coxswain: Ally Exline, Stroke: Taylin Harthun, 7. Gabbie Forsythe, 6. Alexis Brandkamp, 5. Abby Theiss, 4. Jocelyn Lincoln, 3. Lauren Schmidt, 2. Brookelyn Vande Loo, 1. Mary Jane Britz

2v4+ lineup:
Coxswain: Mia Starnes, Stroke: Hanah Thul, 3. Kendall Huber, 2. Alexis Rutherford, 1. Nora Wehr

1v4+ lineup:
Coxswain: Regan Ahlers, Stroke: Ellie Erwin, 3. Kiersten Playter, 2. Bryn Pawlik, 1. Karlee Horyna

2v8+ lineup:
Coxswain: Leah Roane, Stroke: Emily Northcutt, 7. Annika Janss, 6. Lorelei Harris, 5. Delaney Goshorn, 4. Katelyn Colwell, 3. Erica Ward, 2. Madelyn Navrkal, 1. Brie Smith

1v8+ lineup:
Coxswain: Kiersten Schmalz, Stroke: Grace Hall, 7. Sylvia Cunningham, 6. Regan Reker, 5. Harmony Leiker, 4. Kendall Lane, 3. Bailey Williamson, 2. Abby Farr, 1. Izzy Ross

-- k-statesports.com --

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), Instagram and Facebook.