Five Kansas boats advance to Big 12 Grand Finals

OAK RIDGE, Tenn. – With the sun shining on its back and driving into a head wind, Kansas rowing advanced all five of its shells to the 2018 Big 12 Championship Grand Finals after the first day of racing on Melton Lake in Oak Ridge, Tennessee.

The Jayhawks did what was needed on the first day of racing at the Big 12 Championship to position KU with a chance to head to the podium on Sunday. Kansas placed third in all five events during the preliminary heats on the opening day of the league championship. With the top-three finish, KU will race in all five grand finals on Sunday.

“We’re excited to have every boat headed to the grand finals tomorrow,” said interim head coach Carrie Cook-Callen. “We saw some things come together for a few boats today, but we also have some adjustments to make in order to have our best races of the season tomorrow.”

The First Varsity Eight paced the Jayhawks on Saturday as the first race of the day. Setting the tone, Wave the Wheat crossed the finish line in 7:00.9 ahead of West Virginia and just a second behind Alabama to advance. The Second Varsity Eight clocked in a time of 7:12.7, finishing behind Oklahoma and Tennessee in the second heat of the 2V8 event.

With the First and Second Eights headed in the right direction, The First Varsity Four launched for its preliminary heat. The Oread reached the finish line ahead of Old Dominion with a time of 8:03.5, becoming the third boat to advance to the grand finals. The Second Varsity Four recorded a time of 8:04.06 on the 2,000-meter course, outracing West Virginia in the second heat of the event.

The Third Varsity raced in the second heat of the final event of the day. Jayhawk Nation registered a time of 7:30.2, becoming the fifth and final boat to advance to the Big 12 Championship Grand Finals.

UP NEXT
The Jayhawks race in the 2018 Big 12 Championship Grand Finals on Sunday, May 13, starting at 8 a.m. CT at Melton Lake in Oak Ridge, Tennessee.

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