K-State Secures One Gold, Two Silver Medals at SIRA Championship

Saturday, April 18

Oak Ridge, Tenn.

Kansas State University

SIRA Championship

K-State Rowing vs. University of Kansas, April 11, 2026. Final: KSU 0, KU 22.

(Photo: Brooke Wagner/K-State Sports)

K-State Secures One Gold, Two Silver Medals at SIRA Championship

Apr 22, 2026 | Rowing

Results (.pdf)

The 3v8+ won gold, the 1v4+ and 2v4+ each earned a silver medal

OAK RIDGE, Tenn. – The K-State women's rowing team had three boats medal at the annual Southern Intercollegiate Rowing Association (SIRA) Championship on April 18-19 at Melton Hill Lake.

"This weekend was a good weekend for the team. Walking away with medals is always exciting, but we're also really proud of the way that each boat attacked their races," head coach Kennedy Felice said. "All boats accomplished our goals of racing hard and continuing to put together the things we have been working on in practice.

"We have made a lot of progress this season and this weekend highlighted that. The team did well and we're going to keep pushing to set ourselves up for the remainder of the season."

In the final races on Sunday all K-State boats competed in the Grand 'A' final as the 3v8+ secured a gold medal while the 1v4+ and 2v4+ secured a silver medal. Throughout the weekend the Wildcats raced multiple times against Louisville, Jacksonville, Duquesne and others.

Competing in two races, the qualifying heat on Saturday and the final on Sunday, the 3v8+ finished their heat with a time of 7:31.38. In the Grand 'A' final they secured a gold medal in 7:18.81.

"This weekend went really well as a boat," freshman Gabbie Forsythe said. "As a boat, I think our connection really started to click- helping us be more effective through the water and leading us to a win. As a team overall, having multiple medals was a huge accomplishment, as it reflects our whole team's efforts in training."

The lineup consisted of freshman coxswain Ally Exline and freshmen Taylin Harthun, Brie Smith, Alexis Brandkamp, Abby Theiss, Jocelyn Lincoln, Mary Jane Britz, Brookelyn Vande Loo and Forsythe.

"Coming into the weekend we knew we wanted to do well coming off our race against KU. I think we attacked our first race hard, but we were a little hesitant," Forsythe added. "Going into Sunday, we knew we had to show up and we did. The first half of the race were close, at the 1,000-meter mark we made a big push, moved ahead of Purdue and Clemson A, and stayed ahead through the finish."

The 1v4+ competed three times over the weekend, also racing in a semifinal on Saturday afternoon. The boat finished their heat at 7:08.48 before winning the semifinal race with a time of 8:05.82.

"I'm really proud of my boats and the whole team's performance this weekend. We knew going into the weekend that competition would be tough, and I'm happy all our boats secured a spot in their respective A finals," junior Regan Ahlers said. "As we head into the final two races of the year, I hope we continue to improve week to week. We know the Big 12 is competitive and tough, but as long as we can perform to the best of our abilities, I believe we can be successful."

During the Grand 'A' final on Sunday, with a lineup of coxswain Ahlers, senior Ellie Erwin, junior Kiersten Playter and sophomores Bryn Pawlik and Karlee Horyna, they claimed second place in 7:34.48 for a silver medal.

"In the semifinals our boat had a really good start, where we jumped out in front of all the other teams. We were able to hold that distance through the whole race and then made another big push with 750 meters left in the race," Ahlers added. "During the semifinals there was a pretty strong headwind, which in past races, has been a challenge, but in this race, we were able to push past and not let it affect us. In the finals, we had another good start and got into that second-place position early and held it until the end of the race."

The 2v4+, with a lineup consisting of freshman coxswain Brynley Chrest and freshmen Kendall Huber, Hanah Thul, Hailey Black and Nora Wehr, competed in finals on Sunday, where they recorded a time of 8:09.13 for a silver medal, finishing 11 seconds ahead of third-place Jacksonville.

"I thought this weekend was overall really good for the whole team," Thul said. "My biggest takeaway from this weekend is that our boat built a strong trust between each other that we would push and every single person was giving their full effort. Throughout the race, we had a few rough patches, but we still managed to have a solid push at the 1,000-meter mark to hold of the other boats and secure second place."

Also racing three times during the weekend, the 1v8+ finished their heat with time of 7:02.75 and clocked a time of 7:20.92 in semifinals. The boat competed with a lineup 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.

"The races this weekend were competitive for all the boats," Ross said. "For our boat, this weekend was a good test to see how much we want it, how we can improve, and how to stay calm and achieve in a more hectic, multilane race."

In the Grand 'A' final on Sunday the boat finished with a time of 6:56.73.

"This was a really strong weekend for our team, we had solid performances across the board between all five boats," Ross added. "This weekend really showed just how capable we are as team; we have so much grit and determination and I think this weekend showed just an ounce of what we are capable of for the rest of the season."

The 2v8+ finished their heat with a time of 7:08.48, competing with a lineup of junior coxswain Leah Roane, junior Emily Northcutt, sophomore Annika Janss, junior Lorelei Harris, sophomores Delaney Goshorn and Katelyn Colwell, freshman Erica Ward, junior Madelyn Navrkal and senior Ava Werner. During the Grand 'A' final the boat clocked a time of 7:05.25.

"I felt like as a team and as a boat we took a huge step forward and we all saw that we are capable of being successful against competitive teams," Ward said. "In the finals, we made some big pushes at the 1,000- and 1,500-meter marks. 1750 is where we really started to push and pass some other crews and stay in contact with some of the medaling boats.

"My biggest takeaways from the races this weekend is that no matter what we need to stay up."

The Wildcats take a weekend off before racing in the Creighton Duel on Thursday, April 30, in Omaha, Neb., on Carter Lake.

"We tell the team that when one crew medals, it's a medal for every person on our team. They all train hard and push each other to reach the next level," Felice said. "We're proud of the work we've done to get to where we are now.

"We know there is still work to do to put ourselves in the best position possible by the time we get to Big 12s. We're excited to see what we can accomplish over the next few weeks."

SIRA Championship
Oak Ridge, Tenn.
Melton Hill Lake

Saturday Heats
Novice 8+
1. Clemson; 7:24.09, 2. K-State; 7:31.38, 3. Georgia Tech; 7:59.38, 4. Clemson B; 8:17.01

Second Varsity 8+
1. Jacksonville; 6:50.27, 2. Stetson; 7:05.91, 3. K-State; 7:08.48, 4. Florida; 7:41.43, 5. Dayton; 7:45.26, 6. Tulane; 8:07.25

First Varsity 4+
1. Duquesne; 7:43.80, 2. Jacksonville; 7:44.36, 3. K-State; 8:00.54, 4. Tampa; 8:12.90, 5. Rollins B; 8:16.09

First Varsity 8+
1. Vanderbilt; 6:58.72, 2. K-State; 7:02.75, 3. Duquesne; 7:05.11, 4. Dayton; 7:17.52, 5. Rollins; 7:28.87

Saturday Semifinals
First Varsity 4+
1. K-State; 8:05.82, 2. Duquesne; 8:09.65, 3. Jacksonville C; 8:15.90, 4. Louisville B; 8:17.67, 5. Barry; 8:18.96, 6. Rollins; 8:19.78, 7. Tampa; 9:24.71

First Varsity 8+
1. Louisville; 6:52.39, 2. Duquesne; 7:15.27, 3. K-State; 7:20.92, 4. Dayton; 7:25.74, 5. Toledo; 7:25.75, 6. Drake; 7:55.58

Sunday Finals- Grand 'A'
Second Varsity 4+
1. Louisville; 7:42.15, 2. K-State; 8:09.13, 3. Jacksonville; 8:20.16, 4. Tampa; 8:39.67, 5. Toledo; 8:40.38, 6. Drake; 8:40.41, 7. Dayton; 9:29.33

Novice 8+
1. K-State; 7:18.81, 2. Purdue; 7:23.33, 3. Clemson; 7:24.98, 4. Liberty; 7:43.48, 5. Georgia Tech; 7:47.56, 6. Clemson B; 8:14.84

First Varsity 4+
1. Louisville; 7:28.87, 2. K-State; 7:34.48, 3. Jacksonville; 7:36.41, 4. Duquesne; 7:42.68, 5. Louisville B; 7:47.98, 6. Jacksonville C; 7:52.84, 7. Barry; 7:58.06

Second Varsity 8+
1. Louisville; 6:40.33, 2. Jacksonville; 6:47.08, 3. Louisville B; 6:55.52, 4. Duquesne; 7:00.68, 5. K-State; 7:05.25, 6. Stetson; 7:10.86

First Varsity 8+
1. Louisville; 6:35.26, 2. Jacksonville; 6:45.81, 3. Vanderbilt; 6:48.86, 4. Purdue; 6:50.33, 5. Duquesne; 6:54.59, 6. K-State; 6:56.73

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

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. Ava Werner

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

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

2v4+ lineup:
Coxswain: Brynley Chrest, Stroke: Kendall Huber, 3. Hanah Thul, 2. Hailey Black, 1. Nora Wehr

-- 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.