OKLAHOMA CITY – Central Oklahoma wrapped up a busy weekend of rowing Saturday with the Bronchos coming away with a handful of victories in the two-day event.
UCO hosted Kansas, Wichita State, Oklahoma State, Oklahoma City University, and Texas' club team for two days of sprint racing on the Oklahoma River. The Bronchos raced KU head to head Friday evening before taking on the rest of the bunch Saturday.
"We knew that Kansas would be tough and test our limits on Friday," first-year UCO head rowing coach Jen Gilbert said. "But we had a great day Saturday. We started off the day by hosting alumni, faculty and supporters of the team for breakfast to show our appreciation for their continued support of the team both on and off the water. And we got to put multiple boats in the races too, which helps give more team members the chance to row in real races in the Spring as we continue to grow and get better on the water."
Friday, Central Oklahoma took third in both the Varsity 8+ and Varsity 4+ races against Kansas, with the Jayhawks' A & B boats crossing the finish line before the Bronchos. UCO's eights finished Friday in 7:38.32 while the fours finished in 8:13.42.
Saturday, the Bronchos started the day off with a big win in the Varisty 8+ boat. Central Oklahoma put two boats in the first race of the day and both of them finished before Wichita State and Oklahoma State. UCO's A boat crossed the finish line in 7:22.01 while the B boat finished in 7:46.98, both in front of the Division I competition.
Central Oklahoma took a different take on Varsity 4+ racing Saturday, putting four boats – sorted nearly by class – on the water to race the Texas club team. All four finished before Texas in the race. UCO's juniors finished in 8:20.80, three seconds before the grad student/senior boat in 8:23.82. The freshmen/novice boat took third in 8:34.49 while the sophomores finished fourth at 8:43.33. All were in front of Texas, which crossed the finish line in 8:53.28.
UCO hosted 18 total races Friday and Saturday, including an afternoon of racing singles and pairs on a shortened 1250-meter course.
Central Oklahoma will take the next two weeks off before making its first road trip of the 2023 season at the end of the month. In April, UCO is competing in the FIRA Championships in Florida, the Knecht Cup Regatta in New Jersey, and the WIRA Championships in California all before its conference championships in Oregon in May.
The 2023 Great Northwest Athletic Conference Rowing Championships will be held on Dexter Lake in Clackamas, Oregon May 13. The 2023 NCAA Division II Rowing Championships are scheduled for May 26-27 in Pennsauken, New Jersey.
