CATOOSA, Okla. – Kansas State’s Varsity 8+ boat won the team’s first race of the season as the Wildcats closed out its second competition of the season against Tulsa on the Verdigris River in Catoosa, Oklahoma on Saturday.
“The conditions were difficult with a strong head wind,” head coach Patrick Sweeney said. “The first boat, with all of the experience in it, handled the conditions well. The other boats with the less-experienced girls in them raced hard but did not race as well as I would have hoped.”
In the second race of the day, the Wildcats’ A boat in the V8+ race finished in first place with a time of 8:03.5, just under five seconds faster than Tulsa’s B boat, which took second in the race with a time of 8:08.1. The Wildcats’ B boat took fourth in the race with a time of 8:20.8.
“I thought they did a really solid job,” Sweeney said about the V8A boat. “They raced as planned. Looking at their times, they had no dips in their speed. They did everything right to win the race. They did a good job, especially under the difficult conditions.”
K-State took second place in each of the other three races during the competition. The 3V8 finished behind Tulsa’s experienced lightweight boat with a time of 8:27.8 to finish in second place but ahead of Tulsa 3V8 boat.
The 2V4+ also recorded a second-place finish with a time of 9:51.1. In the final race of the day, the Wildcats’ 1V4+ took second with a time of 9:38.1.
With some spotty weather moving through Manhattan over the next two weeks, Sweeney will have to change up his practice plans to prepare the team for its next race.
“I have been looking at the weather for the next couple of weeks before we leave and it does not look good,” Sweeney added. “What we would hope to do is get on the water and perfect the speeds. The boats did not look awful, but they do not look solid enough yet. They each made mistakes at different points of the race. I would want to do is consolidate the lineup a little more, but with the weather coming up that does not look good.”
K-State returns to action on April 2nd and 3rd as the Wildcats travel to San Diego, California to compete in the San Diego Crew Classic.
Josh Brunner – Graduate Assistant – Athletics Communications