MANHATTAN, Kan. The Kansas State rowing squad will return to Oak Ridge, Tenn., and Milton Hill Lake for the 2008 Aramark Sprints/Central and South NCAA Region Championships this Sat.-Sun., May 17-18. The Wildcats will race three boats at the event that will begin with preliminary heats on Saturday at 9:30 a.m.

"This is a very competitive and fast event,” head coach Pat Sweeney said. “There are eight crews out of the 22 entries that are ranked in the top 20 in the nation. Our Varsity boats have progressed nicely over this second half of the season. We have been gaining speed and confidence each week, which is great. Now we are looking for them to take the next step and perform well at this high level competition. This is the time to step up and race in that next gear."

K-State opens competition with the Novice 8+ racing versus Michigan, Virginia, Wisconsin, Clemson, North Carolina and Kansas. With two heats, the winner of each heat automatically advances to the A Final, while the remaining boats compete in the Repechages. The first of two Repechages is set for 2:20 as the top two teams advance to the A Final, while teams 3-5 will race in the B Final and the final teams in the C Final.

The Wildcats’ Second Varsity 8+ boat will race at 10:40 a.m. against Kansas, Louisville, Virginia and Clemson. The four-heat event contains 21 total entries. In each heat, the boats will race to finish in the top three to advance to the A/B Semifinals. The fourth through sixth placing teams in each heat will compete in the C/D Semifinals. The semis are set to begin at 3 p.m. on Saturday.

The First Varsity 8+ team will take to the water at 11:10 a.m. for a preliminary run against Wisconsin, Virginia, Clemson and Miami. In similar fashion to the Second Varsity 8+ format, the top three finishers in each heat advance to the A/B Semifinals and the 4-6 boats compete in the C/D Semifinals. The 1V semifinals will begin at 3:40 p.m.

At last year’s event held at Milton Hill Lake, K-State’s Novice 8+ team won the Central Division Championship, edging out Michigan by a mere 2.1 seconds at the line. In 2007, the Second Varsity 8+ finished ninth and the First Varsity 8+ boat took 12^th.

K-State returns to Oak Ridge, Tenn., for the second time this season after competing at the Southern IRA regatta in late April. Three Wildcat boats pushed their way into the A Finals. The Second Varsity 8+ put together a great race and captured the event championship. The First Varsity 8+ and Novice 8+ boats captured the third-place finish in their respective events.

A recap of Saturday’s events will be posted at www.kstatesports.com, while results can be found at www.row2k.com.

Saturday Schedule

In lane assignment order

9:30 a.m.: Novice 8+ Kansas State, Michigan, Virginia, Wisconsin, Clemson, North Carolina, Kansas

10:40 a.m.: Second Varsity 8+ Kansas, Louisville, Virginia, Clemson, Kansas State

11:10 a.m.: First Varsity 8+ Kansas State, Wisconsin, Virginia, Clemson, Miami

2:20 and 2:30 p.m.: Novice 8+ Repechages

3, 3:10, 3:20 and 3:30 p.m.: Second Varsity 8+ Semifinals

3:40, 3:50, 4 and 4:10 p.m.: First Varsity 8+ Semifinals

Sunday Schedule

All finals: 9-11:50 a.m.