Wildcats Competed in Season Opener in Hornet Invitational

Saturday, March 14

Sacramento, Calif.

Kansas State University

Hornet Invitational

K-State Women's Rowing Head of the Kansas, October 26, 2025.

(Photo: Reece Bachta/K-State Sports)

Wildcats Competed in Season Opener in Hornet Invitational

Mar 21, 2026 | Rowing

The Cats raced in three sessions before spending the week in spring training

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – The K-State women's rowing team started the spring season last weekend on March 14-15 in the Hornet Invitational at Lake Natoma, hosted by Sacramento State.

"The team had a solid first weekend of racing," head coach Kennedy Felice said. "We improved race to race, and we are in a good spot to start the season.

"This past weekend was one of our first times back on the water since winter camp and the team did really good job attacking each race. We're looking forward to building off this weekend and seeing what we can accomplish this year."

There were three sessions of races over two days, a morning and afternoon session on Saturday and a morning session on Sunday. Saturday morning the Wildcats raced against the hosting Hornets and Humboldt, before competing in a dual format against St. Mary's in the afternoon. In the final session on Sunday the Cats faced Humboldt again and UC San Diego.

The 1v4+ won two of its three races, starting on Saturday morning with a time of 7:43.7, 11 seconds ahead of second-place Humboldt. While racing against St. Mary's in the afternoon they clocked a time of 8:16.0.

The boat consisted of junior coxswain Regan Ahlers, senior Ellie Erwin, junior Kiersten Playter and sophomores Brynn Pawlik and Karlee Horyna.

"We finished the first race with a good time and tried to improve on our technique race to race," Playter said. "The boat went into each race with a positive mindset, and I think that really set us up for success this weekend. It feels like this unit is in a really good starting point and we're all excited to see how we progress through the season."

On Sunday morning the boat recorded a winning time of 7:39.9, its fastest time of the weekend.

"Our third race went really well, I think that being able to trust each other is key in our boat," Playter added. "Heading into racing and spring camp we had the opportunity to refine our technique, which is exciting as we head into our season. There's a lot of work to be done, but we're a team that will put our heads down and work to have a good racing season."

In their first race on Saturday, the 1v8+ finished in 6:54.1, three seconds ahead of Humboldt. In the afternoon session against St. Mary's, the Cats completed the race in 7:26.5.

"I think this weekend was really positive across all boats," senior Grace Hall said. "It was great to see the effort that we put out and the baseline we have set going forward. Our races were all a really solid performance for my boat. We have a young boat and we are meshing well together and getting better with every practice and race."

The crew competed with a lineup of senior coxswain Kiersten Schmalz, Hall, juniors Harmony Leiker, Regan Reker and Izzy Ross, sophomores Kendall Lane, Delaney Goshorn and Abby Farr and senior Lorelei Harris.

In the third race on Sunday morning, the 1v8+ finished with a time of 6:54.1.

"We made some big moves in our last race against UCSD who historically has been a top competitor for us and came out on top of them," Hall added. "For having such a young team there has already been so much progress- as a senior it's encouraging to see the heart and grit the girls have this year. I look across the team and have full faith that every girl is giving everything they have."

On Saturday morning the 2v8+ finished at 7:30.4. During the afternoon session they clocked a time of 8:03.5.

"Overall, I thought this weekend was a good opportunity for our team to grow and get on the water; we still have work to get done but this is a good starting point," junior Emily Northcutt said. "Our boat is ready to improve and really get after it in the upcoming races."

The boat consisted of junior coxswain Leah Roane, Northcutt, sophomore Annika Janss, freshman Erica Ward, sophomore Bailey Williamson, junior Madelyn Navrkal, freshmen Hailey Black and Hanah Thul and senior Ava Werner.

On Sunday morning the 2v8+ faced UC San Diego, where the Cats finished with a time of 7:30.5.

The 2v4+ finished Saturday morning with a time of 8:16.7, 13 seconds ahead of Sac State's boat. On Saturday afternoon the boat had a final time of 9:11.9.

Throughout the weekend the 2v4+ raced as 'K-State B' in the First Varsity 4+ race. The boat competed with a lineup consisting of sophomore coxswain Mia Starnes, freshmen Alexis Rutherford, Mary Jane Britz, Kendall Huber and Lauren Schmidt in the morning session.

"Our races went well, we learned a lot as a boat," Rutherford said. "I felt like we have a lot of room to grow throughout this season."

In the final race on Sunday morning the 2v4+ competed in its fastest race coming in at 8:06.5.

The 3v8+ competed as 'K-State B' in both sessions on Saturday, racing with the 2v8+. The boat clocked a time of 7:32.9 in the morning session. During the second race on Saturday, they finished at 7:55.9.

The boat consisted of freshman coxswain Ally Exline, freshmen Taylin Harthun, Brie Smith, Alexis Brandkamp, Abby Theiss, Jocelyn Lincoln, Gabbie Forsythe, Brooklyn Vande Loo and Eleanor Wehr.

"This weekend was a great first outing for us, we learned so much from the beginning to the end" Lincoln said. "Our novice boat is really excited to learn more going forward. As the season goes on, we're focusing on improving each day."

The 3v8+ competed as a N8+ on Sunday morning, where the crew finished their raced at 7:32.8.
"During all of our races we were focusing on holding our power through the water," Lincoln added. "As a novice boat we tried to improve race to race to see what we are capable of. I feel excited heading into this season and what we can accomplish."

The team is currently spending the week participating in spring training. The last weekend of March the Wildcats will be ready to compete again, in the Sarasota 2k on March 27-28 in Sarasota, Fla.

"I'd like to thank Mike Connors and his staff for hosting this weekend. This was a great opportunity to come down the course multiple times and face some solid competition," Felice said. "The team is fit and strong. This weekend showed we're ready to compete.

"We're excited to get more water time throughout our spring camp and keep building up the technical side of things so we can get faster. The team has done a good job this year staying focused and we're going to keep pushing the program forward."

Hornet Invitational
Lake Natoma
Sacramento, Calif.

Saturday Morning Session
First Varsity 8+
1. Sac State; 6:47.4, 2. K-State; 6:54.1, 3. Humboldt; 6:57.1

Second Varsity 8+
1. Sac State; 7:04.3, 2. Humboldt 3V8; 7:26.6, 3. K-State; 7:30.4, 4. K-State N8; 7:32.9

First Varsity 4+
1. K-State; 7:43.7, 2. Humboldt; 7:54.9, 3. Sac State; 7:56.6, 4. K-State N4; 8:16.7, 5. Sac State 2V4; 8:29.8

Afternoon Session
First Varsity 8+
1. St Mary's; 7:10.4, 2. K-State; 7:26.5

Second Varsity 8+
1. St Mary's; 7:29.9, 2. St Mary's 3V8; 7:54.8, 3. K-State N8; 7:55.9, 4. K-State; 8:03.5

First Varsity 4+
1. St Mary's; 8:09.4, 2. K-State; 8:16.0, 3. St Mary's 2V4; 8:29.4, 4. K-State N4; 9:11.9

Sunday Morning Session
First Varsity 8+
1. Humboldt; 6:51.1, 2. K-State; 6:54.1, 3. UCSD; 6:56.5

Second Varsity 8+
1. UCSD; 7:12.1, 2. K-State; 7:30.5

First Varsity 4+
1. K-State; 7:39.9, 2. UCSD; 7:46.4, 3. Humboldt; 7:53.9, 4. K-State N4; 8:06.5

Third Varsity 8+
1. UCSD; 7:28.3, 2. Humboldt; 7:31.2, 3. K-State N8; 7:32.8

-- 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.