Thursday, April 30
Omaha, Neb.
Kansas State University
vs
Creighton Duel
Wildcats Dominate on the Water Against Creighton
May 06, 2026 | Rowing
K-State won four of the five races against the Bluejays
OMAHA, Neb. – The K-State women's rowing team won four out of five races on Thursday (April 30) in the Creighton Duel on Carter Lake. This marks a consecutive season the Wildcats won the majority of races over the Bluejays.
"Today was a good day for us. Each race we've been able to get more efficient and put together the work we've done throughout the season," head coach Kennedy Felice said. "Week to week we've made solid progress and seeing that come through in competition is part of what makes racing season the fun part of the year.
"We had a lot of good racing today and we know what we need to do next to prepare for Big 12s."
The 2v8+ secured the first win of the day with a time of 7:47.9.
"This was a good weekend for us to continue to see our potential grow. I'm excited to see what we can put together for Big 12s, we have two weeks to polish things up to for us to be the fastest possible before Florida," junior Madelyn Navrkal said. "I'm optimistic that we will put on a strong performance there, based on what we did today. We really locked into a rhythm and made some solid pushes, especially at the start and then a solid finish to get us across the line."
The 1v4+ had another successful day, putting down a time of 8:03.2, more than 30 seconds ahead of Creighton.
"This was another successful weekend for our team. It was nice to go out and get some wins whole also having some fun racing," senior Sylvia Cunningham said. "This race was really exciting for us, we built some confidence right off the start to set us up to find a good rhythm for the rest of the race.
"I am really excited for the rest of the season. I think this race was a good source of confidence for the team going into Big 12s and I hope the team carries that into every practice leading up to our last race."
The 2v4+ had the largest margin of victory on the day, with a time of 8:22.0, ahead of Creighton by 50 seconds.
"While the wind was not on our side during this race, the team has been taking steps in past races and practices to try to combat the wind as much as possible," junior Kiersten Playter said. "We felt clean inside our boat, and we were really happy with our performance. The pushes we made in the 1,000 and 1,250 pushed us ahead, and a strong push in the last 500 for the finish helped to solidify the win."
K-State's 3v8+ consisting of all freshmen won with a final time of 7:49.3.
"Overall, this trip I feel like we were able to carry over a lot of what we wanted to work on from Tennessee and put it into racing. We had some goals we wanted to focus on so that was a big thing, we wanted to stay focused on ourselves despite the conditions," freshmen Abby Theiss said. "What's next for us is just making the most of the practice time have left before Big 12s.
"We've been finding some connection as a unit this year and we're ready to compete our best at Big 12s. Heading into the rest of the season I feel like we know what we need to do, it's all about execution now. I'm excited to see what we can do."
The 1v8+ finished behind the Bluejays with a time of 7:37.2.
"The next big thing for our team is to continue to improve both mentally and physically," junior Bailey Williamson said. "We have a good foundation to continue to build on going into Big 12s. I think we are headed in the right direction as a team and are set up to perform the best we can at Big 12s."
K-State will wrap up the season competing in the Big 12 Championship on May 17, back in Sarasota, Fla.
"We want to thank Dan Chipps and his staff for hosting this weekend. We appreciate everything they did to make this race possible," Felice said. "Now as a team, we're focused on our conference championship. We've done a good job building throughout the year and we're excited to see what we can accomplish in Sarasota."
Creighton Duel
Carter Lake
Carter Lake, IA
First Varsity 8+
1. Creighton; 7:16.9, 2. K-State; 7:37.2
Second Varsity 8+
1. K-State; 7:47.9, 2. Creighton; 7:53.7
First Varsity 4+
1. K-State; 8:03.2, 2. Creighton; 8:41.1
Second Varsity 4+
1. K-State; 8:22.0, 2. Creighton; 9:12.6
Third Varsity 8+
1. K-State; 7:49.3, 2. Creighton; 8:16.4
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.
"Today was a good day for us. Each race we've been able to get more efficient and put together the work we've done throughout the season," head coach Kennedy Felice said. "Week to week we've made solid progress and seeing that come through in competition is part of what makes racing season the fun part of the year.
"We had a lot of good racing today and we know what we need to do next to prepare for Big 12s."
The 2v8+ secured the first win of the day with a time of 7:47.9.
"This was a good weekend for us to continue to see our potential grow. I'm excited to see what we can put together for Big 12s, we have two weeks to polish things up to for us to be the fastest possible before Florida," junior Madelyn Navrkal said. "I'm optimistic that we will put on a strong performance there, based on what we did today. We really locked into a rhythm and made some solid pushes, especially at the start and then a solid finish to get us across the line."
The 1v4+ had another successful day, putting down a time of 8:03.2, more than 30 seconds ahead of Creighton.
"This was another successful weekend for our team. It was nice to go out and get some wins whole also having some fun racing," senior Sylvia Cunningham said. "This race was really exciting for us, we built some confidence right off the start to set us up to find a good rhythm for the rest of the race.
"I am really excited for the rest of the season. I think this race was a good source of confidence for the team going into Big 12s and I hope the team carries that into every practice leading up to our last race."
The 2v4+ had the largest margin of victory on the day, with a time of 8:22.0, ahead of Creighton by 50 seconds.
"While the wind was not on our side during this race, the team has been taking steps in past races and practices to try to combat the wind as much as possible," junior Kiersten Playter said. "We felt clean inside our boat, and we were really happy with our performance. The pushes we made in the 1,000 and 1,250 pushed us ahead, and a strong push in the last 500 for the finish helped to solidify the win."
K-State's 3v8+ consisting of all freshmen won with a final time of 7:49.3.
"Overall, this trip I feel like we were able to carry over a lot of what we wanted to work on from Tennessee and put it into racing. We had some goals we wanted to focus on so that was a big thing, we wanted to stay focused on ourselves despite the conditions," freshmen Abby Theiss said. "What's next for us is just making the most of the practice time have left before Big 12s.
"We've been finding some connection as a unit this year and we're ready to compete our best at Big 12s. Heading into the rest of the season I feel like we know what we need to do, it's all about execution now. I'm excited to see what we can do."
The 1v8+ finished behind the Bluejays with a time of 7:37.2.
"The next big thing for our team is to continue to improve both mentally and physically," junior Bailey Williamson said. "We have a good foundation to continue to build on going into Big 12s. I think we are headed in the right direction as a team and are set up to perform the best we can at Big 12s."
K-State will wrap up the season competing in the Big 12 Championship on May 17, back in Sarasota, Fla.
"We want to thank Dan Chipps and his staff for hosting this weekend. We appreciate everything they did to make this race possible," Felice said. "Now as a team, we're focused on our conference championship. We've done a good job building throughout the year and we're excited to see what we can accomplish in Sarasota."
Creighton Duel
Carter Lake
Carter Lake, IA
First Varsity 8+
1. Creighton; 7:16.9, 2. K-State; 7:37.2
Second Varsity 8+
1. K-State; 7:47.9, 2. Creighton; 7:53.7
First Varsity 4+
1. K-State; 8:03.2, 2. Creighton; 8:41.1
Second Varsity 4+
1. K-State; 8:22.0, 2. Creighton; 9:12.6
Third Varsity 8+
1. K-State; 7:49.3, 2. Creighton; 8:16.4
-- 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.
Players Mentioned
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