One by one each young woman stood up and posed next to their framed uniform as late-afternoon sunlight hit the wall-size window inside the Kansas State Rowing Center, causing them to glow. There were 10 seniors. Most were able to attend. Most hadn't been back in Manhattan in more than a year. Yet for a few hours, they were reunited with their former teammates. They shed tears. They laughed. They traveled back in time.
They were the members of the 2020 K-State rowing senior class. They were back to be formally honored in a delayed senior ceremony on Friday evening. They are unlike any other senior class in program history.
They never completed their senior season.
"It's finally time to bring closure to the year that vanished," K-State assistant rowing coach Hanna Wiltfong said, tears welling up in her eyes. "We celebrate the members of the senior class who worked so very hard and committed so much of themselves to K-State rowing."
Just before the COVID pandemic shut down America, the K-State rowing team was enjoying sunshine and smooth water in March at the Sac State Duel in California. Most teams brought fans. No school had more fans than K-State. Each year the rowing family traveled far and wide to support the program. Coaches and rowers recalled a wall of purple near the edge of the water at Lake Natoma.
It was a familiar sight at every race. Most notably Big 12s every year, where the purple trumped the orange of Texas and Tennessee, and the red of Oklahoma and Alabama.
In its first official head-to-head matchup of the spring campaign, K-State recorded two victories to finish out the Sac State Duel against Sacramento State and posted impressive marks in their other races. Seniors Madison Rebel, Rachel Haskell and Aubrey Gilchrist rowed in the 2v8+ that finished second with a time of 6:55.93. Senior Tessa Davids was in the 3v8+ that won at 7:06.74. Seniors Emily Johnson, Caroline Geither, Mattie Warner and Mikaela Bennett rowed in the 1v8+ that finished second at 6:55.47. Senior Abigail Dressler was in the 1v4+ that posted a victory in 7:36.4. Senior Cathy Leavitt was in the 2v4+ that finished third at 8:21.6.
This would be last race of their collegiate careers.
"I've been in this business a long time," K-State athletic director Gene Taylor said. "There was nothing in my athletic director book that said how to handle this. How do you look a group of athletes in the eyes and say, 'I'm sorry, but you can't compete anymore.' And it's different when you have to face the seniors and tell them their careers are over."
They were on a flight back to Manhattan when they heard the news that their season had been cancelled due to the pandemic.
"It was a killer," K-State head rowing coach Patrick Sweeney said. "It was probably our best year yet and everything was going well. Then everything shut down."
The plane fell silent. The heavy weight of unresolve filled the connector flight to Kansas City International Airport.
"I couldn't fix it, I couldn't save us," Wiltfong said. "We had no idea what was next. The girls were already posting (on social media), 'We'll be ready for Big 12s no matter what. We'll be back.' I'm watching them post and they weren't giving up like it wasn't done. By the time we got home, it was done."
At the senior ceremony, the team captains from the 2019-20 season — Mattie Warner and Mikaela Bennett — stood in front of a podium and addressed their former teammates. They spoke and cried and laughed.
"It's been a year and a half since you've seen us," Warner said. "Although we only raced once in the spring of 2020, our team was special because of the great leadership we had that spread throughout our class. Our class had girls that had the ability to make others feel seen and heard, to provide laughs, to encourage others to work harder, and to provide love and support to everyone. We had our favorite memories."
During the ceremony the seniors shared fond memories of victories and moments that were filled with laughter.
"What was our 'why?'" Warner said. "This was the question Coach H always asked us. At the time, we shrugged it off and provided an answer that she wanted. But our 'why' was for the girls next to us.
"There's no fam like the row fam."
The memory of the 2020 senior class has remained ever present in the K-State Rowing Center.
"For almost two years, we've held onto these plaques," Wiltfong said. "In some ways the plaques continued to remind of us the huge role this class played."
The 2020 senior class rode with their teammates one final time on the bus ride back from Kansas City International Airport to Manhattan. The bus was silent. Then it burst into a dance party. Brittney Spears' hit song "Toxic" became the unofficial pandemic song of a season cut short on the ride back. Yet again the team turned an impossible hardship into a memory of resilience and togetherness.
In a small, simple private reception, the team came together for a long overdue celebration of the athletes and families who left a lasting impression on the program. It was a moment of closure to end the careers of the women who pushed the team forward and helped shape the future of K-State Rowing.
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SE: Eighteen Months Later, Row Fam Celebrates 2020 Class - Kansas State University Athletics - K-StateSports.com
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