There's this poster in Patrick Sweeney's office.
It was a gift from his daughter and says "To Victory" in big, bold letters, which is exactly the kind of thing you would expect to find next to the desk of a college rowing coach.
Except below those words is a Dalek, the murderous alien cyborg from the long-running BBC show Doctor Who. This is not an inspirational poster.
"The Daleks are ruthless killers," Sweeney laughed. "I guess she thinks I'm a ruthless killer too."
The head coach of the Wildcats is preparing his team for two meets, 16 days apart, that represent the twin peaks of every K-State Rowing season. The 'Cats will race in the Sunflower Showdown against Kansas on Saturday, before heading to Austin for the Big 12 Championship.
If that isn't enough to bring out the Dalek in Sweeney, then the Wildcats don't have much to worry about at the Intercollegiate Rowing Center. In fact, their coach couldn't be prouder.
"They've done a really good job this semester," he said. "We've tried to get the racers in a situation where they're almost in a bubble. Don't see their family, don't do this, don't do that, otherwise we could lose the whole season again. They bought in."
On Saturday, K-State will head to Kansas City looking for their third-straight win over the Jayhawks in the annual dual between the schools. The Wildcats have beaten Kansas in six of the last nine races, missing out on their shot at a threepeat in 2020 when the season was canceled.
"The whole team is really pumped," redshirt junior Taylor Hartman said. "I think it will be a close race, hopefully we get ahead of them and it's a breeze, but realistically, the last 500 are going to be the most intense part of the race. I think our boat is willing to fight and push it."
While every team in Manhattan competes in the Sunflower Showdown, not many can match the rowing team when it comes to student-athletes from Kansas who grew up along the fault lines of this Big 12 grudge match.
Spend some time around the Intercollegiate Rowing Center and it's clear the Sunflower Showdown is about more than just the Jayhawks. It's both a milestone and a mile marker.
"The rivalry has been going on forever," senior Natasha Johnson said. "But only one of the other girls in my boat has ever raced before, so I'm just trying to help them as much as I can. I think they're doing really well with it. But they didn't know what a start line looked like at the beginning or how to scull. All these little things that I'm so used to. It's fun introducing them to racing season."
"I've grown a lot as a person throughout this experience"
🎙 Natasha Johnson#KStateROW x Find A Way pic.twitter.com/UtqTST6b5y
— K-State Rowing (@KStateROW) April 22, 2021
Nothing was promised to the Wildcats during this COVID-19 season and just getting to Kansas City for the annual meet is an accomplishment. For every practice the rowing team has endured together, there have been decisions made away from the boat to stay COVID-19 safe.
At the end of a morning practice this week, Sweeney reminded his team that while the rest of campus enjoys some time off before finals, K-State Rowing can't afford to let their guard down. It just takes one positive test to derail something the whole team has been working towards.
Johnson is one of two seniors on the team who decided to return after the 2020 season was canceled due to COVID-19.
"I wasn't expecting to get tested so frequently and to have to wear masks the entire time," she said. "I've been here for so long that it's been very consistent in what you expect. All that was kind of thrown out the door. It's new but I think that we've adapted really well."
Her perspective has been invaluable this season, as Johnson's final race against the Jayhawks on Saturday will be the first for many of the other rowers in her boat.
For someone like Hartman, there's a technical challenge to balance alongside the excitement of racing against a rival.
"We know that we're right there with them and we know that we can beat them," she said. "We've been focused on making sure that our blades are quick, just getting faster, smoother and more together."
Gearing up for the Sunflower Showdown this weekend! 🌻💪 pic.twitter.com/UvwmHSAUBa
— K-State Rowing (@KStateROW) April 28, 2021
That work takes place every morning at the rowing center and on Tuttle Creek Lake. Once Saturday arrives, Sweeney is focused on the logistics of race day and making sure every single K-State boat gets on the water.
Once he pushes the Wildcats off from the dock, someone like redshirt freshman coxswain Kelsey Ladlie takes over.
"That's a really important part of my job: I think for them," she said. "What I put out is what they absorb. So, if I feel panicked or rushed and I put that out there, then they're going to feel panicked. I just make sure that I keep my composure and tell them, 'This is the goal, and this is how we're going to do it. Let's go.' Then they don't have to think about it."
Ladlie will race in her first Sunflower Showdown this weekend, guiding her boat through their dual with the Jayhawks. She isn't from Kansas, but the Missouri native doesn't need any extra motivation.
"It's been a while since we've had a race that was just us," she said. "When it's KU, we really want to work through them, so I can just look over and tell everyone where we're at…I know we're all itching to get out there and show them what we've got."
Her head coach has a simple philosophy on the race day mindset: this is supposed to be fun.
Sweeney said the opportunity to compete against their rival is what all those early mornings at the Intercollegiate Rowing Center are about.
When that first boat hits the water in Kansas City, the Wildcats don't have to worry about COVID-19 or getting to class or making sure their alarm clock goes off for a pre-dawn practice.
"I'm confident that our staff does it as well as we can in this place and that's it. KU recruits kids who have rowed before and we don't. But it doesn't make them better than us. Why follow them when we're beating them?" Sweeney said. "We do it our way."
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