The Wichita State rowing team won five medals on Saturday, Sept. 29, at Oklahoma City University’s Head of the Oklahoma regatta in Oklahoma City.

The 4,000-meter race was the team’s first racing event of the season and was part of the Oklahoma Regatta Festival that took place Sept. 27-29.

The men’s novice eight team entered three crews in their race. Two of the novice crews placed first and second, securing a fifth-consecutive gold medal in the event, as well as a silver medal.

The novice men had the opportunity to race again in three boats of the men’s open eight event, in which non-collegiate athletes could also compete. One crew won the silver medal with WSU alumnus Lisa Burns as coxswain and graduate student Ryan Hollingshead in the stroke seat.

A WSU women’s novice eight team won bronze in its event.
WSU qualified five boats for the annual 500-meter OGE NightSprints. The men’s varsity four team placed first, winning by two seconds. Four other WSU men’s eight crews, both varsity and novice, competed in the petite finals, finishing first, second and third.

Other WSU crews that competed were women’s varsity eight, finishing 18th out of 21 crews; men’s varsity eight, finishing sixth out of 12 crews; and women’s novice eight, finishing sixth out of nine crews.