Kansas Rowing Adds Two New Staff Hires

LAWRENCE, Kan. – Kansas Head Coach Carrie Cook-Callen announced two new hires to the rowing program Monday. Riane Soash will serve as an assistant coach, and Justin Perry will be the program's Boathouse Director.

Soash, a native of Manhattan, returns to her home state after spending the last two months working with USRowing as a RowFest Operations Intern. While at USRowing, Soash managed on-water management, learning and development sessions, vendor and community activations, land operations and award ceremonies.

As a former rower, Soash was a member of the Riversport OKC Rowing Team before making her way to row for Old Dominion, where she graduated with a degree in Sports Management. During her time as an athlete, Soash earned a spot on the C-USA Commissioner's Honor Roll and the American Athletic Conference All-Academic Team in 2021. Soash returned to her alma mater for the 2022-23 school year as a student-athlete academic services assistant, managing over 150 student-athletes.

"I am delighted to be joining the Jayhawk community in this new chapter as an assistant rowing coach," said Soash. "The rowing team has been on an exciting trajectory in their competitiveness and culture. I can't wait to build on that momentum with this incredible team. Thank you to the staff at OKC Riversport and USRowing for the connections and encouragement. They have been a powerful force in my journey. Here's to new beginnings and achieving great things together on the water."

In addition to her experience as a rower, Soash has been involved in the sport from a coaching position as an assistant rowing coach of the OKC Boathouse Foundation from 2018 to 2019.

"Adding another full-time position to the coaching staff is such a great testament to the continued investment of Kansas Athletics into its rowing program," said Coach Cook-Callen. "Riane is going to fit in great here and we will draw upon her previous experiences at Oklahoma City Riversport, Old Dominion Athletics and USRowing to better our program. I'm excited to see Riane lead some of our newest Jayhawk rowers as they embark on the beginning of their Kansas Rowing journey this fall."

Perry comes to Kansas after spending the last three seasons as the Boatwright and Rowing Operations Assistant at the University of Iowa. During his time at Iowa, Perry managed all rowing equipment, travel gear, spare parts and inventory.

"I am thrilled to be adding Justin to our staff," said Cook-Callen. "His years of experience in and around the sport will be great resources for our team in all of our endeavors in training and competition home and away."

Perry has worked in operational roles for over 20 years and has spent eight of the last 11 years in athletic-related positions.

Perry worked as the Director of Operations at Junipero Serra High School from the fall of 2013 to the spring of 2018 and as a Crew Operations Assistant at NorCal from the spring of 2017 until the fall of 2021.

While at Junipero Serra High, he was involved with all campus operations and the athletic office. Perry's duties within athletics included pre- and post-event setup and take down, directing the opposing team to their locker rooms, helping local TV crews get settled, and ensuring security was scheduled for the event.

At NorCal, he managed equipment repair, the transportation of racing shells, and boathouse management.

A native of San Mateo, California, Perry earned a degree in Recreation and Hospitality Management from California State University, Fresno, in 2005.

"I am excited to be joining the rowing staff and look forward to supporting the coaches and athletes in managing a great facility and upkeep of the equipment to its highest level," said Perry.

University of Kansas Athletics

Kansas Rowing Adds Two New Staff Hires

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