Bronchos Fare Well In Wichita

11/8/2011 9:38:00 AM

AT A GLANCE: Central Oklahoma ended its fall season at the 20th Annual Frostbite Regatta in Wichita, Kan. Sunday, earning two medals against a tough field.

The Bronchos captured the Novice 8+ title and came in third in the Open 2-.

FIRST GOLD FOR UCO NOVICE: The first race of the day was the Novice 8+, with novice designating athletes have started rowing within the past year.

UCO's new athletes tied for the gold medal with host Wichita State in the time of 9:50. The crew consisted of coxswain Amy Vanbuskirk, Kirsten Clark, Leslie Dixon, Samantha Elliott, Brittany Rawlins, Chelsea Robinette, Michaela Stam, Rachael Baalman and Jenn Lee.

The second Novice 8+ took seventh in 11:52. This crew consisted of first-year rowers Alex Capitol, Shayna Perry, Kim O Dell, Karen Hoke, Emily Hall, Kasey Godwin, Jackie Hines, Alexa Riffe and Erin Roberts.

DUO WINS BRONZE IN TIGHT RACE: The twosome of Michaela Rabenhorst and Rachel Kliewer won UCO's first medal in the women's pair, with the top seven finishers were all within 35 seconds.

Wichita State won with a time of 11:09, Grand Valley was eight seconds behind in second and the Bronchos took the bronze in 11:19. Sisters Kristn Philhower and Kelsey Philhower competed in the event as well, finishing sixth with a time of 11:47.

CLOSE COMPETITION: The Varsity fours came close to a medal finish, coming within 16 seconds of taking home hardware in a field of 18 boats.

The Varsity four "B" of Amy Van Buskirk, Michaela Stam, Michaela Rabenhorst, Jenna Goodner and Kirsten Clark came in with a sixth-place finish, 16 seconds away from third.

The Varsity four "A" of Jasmine Espino, Jessica Lawson, Kristin Philhower, Rachel Kliewer and Katerina Gabrovska were eight seconds behind the "B" boat in seventh.

REMATCH: The Varsity 8 of Amy Van Buskirk, Jessica Lawson, Kristin Philhower, Michaela Rabenhorst, Brittany Rawlins, Kelsey Philhower, Kirsten Clark, Rachel Kliewer and Katerina Gabrovska raced hard in a deep field, but missed out on a medal by one spot, taking fourth.

Wichita State used their home course to edge out UCO but it was not enough to real in an established and seasoned Grand Valley State team that took home both gold and silver with their "A" and "B" boat entries.

DEPTH OF PROGRAM: The Second Varsity 8 of Jasmine Espino, Rachel Baalman, Leslie Dixon, Samantha Elliott, Jenna Goodner, Chelsea Robinette, Courtney Craig, Vanessa Torres, and Jenn Lee beat out Wichita State's second varsity 8 by 30 seconds, showing the depth of the UCO program.

The Broncho "B" boat placed ninth overall with 10:06 time in the Varsity 8.

The Third Varsity 8 of Alexandra Capitol, Shayna Perry, Kim O Dell, Karen Hoke, Emily Hall, Kasey Godwin, Jackie Hines, Alexa Riffe and Erin Roberts though designated the third boat of rowers for UCO, placed ahead of Kansas' second boat indicating the strength of the Bronchos team. The Third Varsity 8 placed 12th with a time of 11:45, almost a minute ahead of KU.

COACH ANDREW DERRICK SAYS: “With the performances from today, we really hate to move off the water for the winter season. I think we had some great things happening today and some very interesting things still to figure out. We have a senior class that has provided some great leadership for years, but we have some underclassmen that are showing tremendous potential. I'd love a chance let them battle it out for seats a bit more on the water. That being said it has been a very solid fall season for the program and I think with a good winter of training we are going to be ready to surprise some people this spring.”

LOOK FORWARD: The Bronchos will begin preparing for their championship season, which starts in March.

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