Sophie Schneider
crowned as Miss K-State in 10th annual contest
PAGE 4: ARTS & CULTURE
Alpha Chi Omega and Kansas State’s Bakery Science Club to host bake sale in Lilly Koehn’s honor
PAGE 6: ARTS & CULTURE
Coffee enthusiasts from all over Kansas compete in The Dusty Bookshelf’s Latte Art Throwdown
PAGE 12: SPORTS
Placing second in preliminary rounds help Classy Cats win Pom Nationals for the second straight year
Members of various multicultural student organizations walked out of last week’s Student Governing Association meeting after the resolution approving standing committee chairs and the parliamentarian passed by a vote of 32-8-5.
“We really don’t agree with some of the committee chairs that they have proposed, and now they are in position,” Natalia Rodriguez, former president of the Hispanic American Leadership Organization, said after walking out of the meeting.
Prior to the approval of appointments, former Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging Committee Chair Joseph Pondillo proposed an amendment changing some of the language in the resolution, with the purpose of opening the senate floor for debate. Pondillo said he introduced the amendment to voice concerns about DEIB Committee Chair Payton Lynn.
“With the recent selections of the DEIB chair, some concerns arise,” Pondillo said in his speech in support of the amendment. “DEIB chair elect, Lynn, has tried to stop funding to a diverse group in my committee last year.”
Following Pondillo’s speech, Lynn debated in the negative.
“I’ve dedicated my entire
career in this organization to tackling issues of accessibility, equity and inclusion, both within our organization and across campus,” Lynn said in her speech. “I debated fervently against individuals who sought to take speaking rights away in student senate from the presidents of student organizations because I wholeheartedly believed that there should be no barriers for those that want to interact with this body and talk about the issues that they believe in.”
Members of the Hispanic American Leadership Organization; Black Student Union; Minorities in Agriculture, Natural Resources and Related Sciences; Asian American Student Union; and the Sexuality and Gender Alliance attended the meeting. Among those that debated in the positive were BSU President Christopher Burrell, SAGA President Julia Coverdale and MANRRS Undergraduate Vice President Zenzele Asante.
“When thinking about students who need this position, we need individuals who actually listen to our voices,” Burrell, senior in mechanical engineering, said in his speech. “We need individuals who talk the talk and walk the walk. We need support for our diverse students, and lastly, and most importantly, we need individuals in this role who have our best intentions at heart.”
In a debate in the positive, former Speaker Pro Tempore Juan Pineda Gomez said he encouraged a motion to debate specifically on the DEIB Com-
mittee Chair portion of the resolution.
“I think it’s important that we realize that we all, as student senators, represent the students here at Kansas State University, and maybe we haven’t been doing a great job of that,” Pineda Gomez, junior in biomedical engineering, said in his speech. “Because if you look around, I see a lot of displeased students here today.”
One of Pondillo’s concerns — mentioned in an email he sent prior to the meeting encouraging members of multicultural student organizations to attend — surrounded an idea for an amendment that would require Diversity Program Funding allocations to be approved by the student senate discussed by DEIB Committee Chair Lynn and Speaker of the Student Senate Kate Thomas.
“It was never something that was done; it was never something that was written down,” Thomas said of the amendment. “What the amendment would do is make DPF allocations considered the same way every other allocation is done. Part of this is because DPF money comes from all student tuition dollars, so it makes sense that it would just go through the regular channel that every other allocation does.”
Lynn said she decided not to support the amendment after a conversation with a student in the Muslim Student Association.
“He explained to me that the amendment was going to be
really harmful, that it would put unnecessary burdens and extra steps on these multicultural student organizations and that it wasn’t the best idea,” Lynn said. “It meant a lot to me to get to hear it from someone who the amendment would actually affect. I’m not part of any multicultural student organizations, so I just didn’t have that perspective, and so having that conversation is what really solidified my opinion in that I wasn’t ever going to support that, especially not in front of student senate.”
In a letter sent to Pondillo in February, Thomas wrote, “I agree that this amendment would not be a productive change at this time, nor is this Thursday the time for the legislation.”
“She never outwardly said that she would no longer invest in that,” Pondillo said of the letter. “They didn’t stop it on the basis of diverse students, I think they stopped it because I did make a big issue with that.”
Rodriguez said the DEIB Committee Chair should attend meetings of multicultural student organizations.
“It’s really disappointing and sad to see somebody that’s supposed to be championing for and fighting for us, when they’re not even in the room with us.” Rodriguez said.
Following the passage of the resolution approving standing committee chairs and the parliamentarian, the positions were sworn into office. Members of multicultural student organi-
In the Wildcat Chamber room at the K-State Student Union, Juan Pineda Gomez speaks in front of the Kansas State student senate in favor of an amendment that would change the wording on legislation. “If we look around, we already have history being recorded here,” Pineda Gomez said in his speech. “We have more engagement with SGA than we’ve had in a very long time, and it’s unfortunate that it has to be under these terms.”
zations gathered outside Wildcat Chamber and discussed the events of the meeting.
“I personally chose to walk out because I was frustrated that there was not going to be an avenue for conversation on the SGA floor after that,” Maria Fernanda Izquierdo Garcia, president of HALO, said. “It’s crazy because we do all of this work, and we’re so passionate about having students and having student representation on campus, and then things like this happen.”
Lynn said she considered resigning or not accepting the position, but ultimately decided against it.
“I ended up not making the decision to step down because I know that this is something I have the ability to do, and it’s my job now to use the place of privilege that I come from to really listen to those students and listen to their concerns and try to do the best work I can with them,” Lynn said.
More information about multicultural student organizations can be found under the Diversity and Multicultural Student Affairs section of Kansas State’s website. Information about SGA can be found on their website or at their meetings, Thursdays at 7 p.m. in Wildcat Chamber.
Aggieville’s paid parking garage has been in operation since January and helps pay for “annual operations and maintenance costs associated with the garage,” according to the Aggieville website. However, some Manhattan residents, like Margaret Haden, are still wondering whether the inconvenience of paid parking is worth visiting Aggieville at all.
“I try to use the parking garage as little as possible,” Haden said. “Usually when I’m [in Aggieville] it’s for enjoyment or going out to eat or something. I would love to do more business down there, but I kind of try to avoid the area at the moment which is unfortunate.”
Haden said her experiences with the parking garage have been frustrating.
“I set up my car in the parking app and I’ve used this app in other cities before with no problem,” Haden said. “I come back and I have a citation on my window that said ‘the registration of this vehicle in the parking system is required.’
When you go on the back of the ticket, it says it’s a $10 fine.”
Haden said the ticket stated that she would have to appear in court to contest it, regardless of having proof that her vehicle was registered in the garage.
“I go in, and I have my proof printed off and everything,” Haden said. “They’re like, ‘Oh, that’s an issue with the system. You have to contact them.’”
Haden also said the ticket was misleading; it seemed like she was fined even though her ticket was just a warning.
“Since the ticket said zero dollars [on the front], I didn’t actually owe anything, but it doesn’t say that anywhere on the back,” Haden said. “All it says is you have to contest it or pay the $10, and if you don’t there’s going to be a warrant out for your arrest. It’s just very
threatening and confusing.”
Besides issues with the parking app, Haden said there are other issues with the garage that Aggieville needs to address.
“I’ve gotten confused on when I actually pay,” Haden said. “What if I wanted to not pay in an app? Where do I go to do that? Is that clearly labeled? Is that even an option? It’s just kind of a guess-andcheck method, it seems.”
Dennis Cook, Aggieville executive director, said he agrees that the parking garage isn’t always easy to figure out.
“Once you know how to use the app or kiosk it does seem very simple, but it’s not intuitive,” Cook said. “Without a little bit of guidance, it’s not the easiest to navigate. There’s people that walk in there everyday and say ‘I just parked, now I’m not sure what to do.’”
Haden said another issue she feels strongly about is parking for employees who work in Aggieville. She said she believes requiring employees to pay for parking in the garage is unfair.
“I lived in Dallas for three years, and this seems like a very big-city-no-feeling kind of thing,” Haden said. “Manhattan is still a community and we’re not treating Aggieville employees as part of that community, and it makes me sad.”
Cook said he wants people to remember that paying to park is not a new concept in Aggieville.
park in the garage because the system makes it more difficult to evade a ticket.
“Over time, people fig-
Cook said one solution for Aggieville employees is to purchase a monthly parking pass.
“If you’re a part-time employee of Aggieville, you can have your employer notify the parking garage people and they can make it effective that day,” Cook said. “That’s $25 a month for part-time employees. If you’re a full time employee where you’re working closer to 40 hours a week, you can get that for $40 a month.”
The biggest benefit of having the parking garage in Aggieville is the increase in parking spaces, Cook said.
“I’ve been around K-State and Manhattan since the 70s, and I can tell you that there’s never been enough parking in Aggieville,” Cook said. “You could say that in any decade. To go from 80 spots to 450 is very important for Aggieville.”
Elena Heinbach, freshman in communications and management, said she thinks people are frustrated with the paid parking garage because it’s a big change.
“I think since people were used to another way, we just have to get used to it,” Heinbach said. “I think it’s great how [Aggieville] is setting up new things, and the way they’re setting it up will be really nice and new for sure. I think it’s just an adjustment to switch up the ways we have to park.”
to be great for the city of Manhattan, but it is important the Aggieville staff address the issues the garage has and listens
Reminiscence and purple fluorescent light engulfed Kaitlyn Dewell as she revisited McCain Auditorium, the same stage where she received the Miss K-State crown 10 years ago.
“It was really nostalgic to be back on the stage, which is essentially where I got my performance start as an entertainer,” Dewell said. “I did not study music but it was my outlet. … So being back here with the Miss K-State organization and being able to perform on stage at McCain again was a full circle moment for me. It was really just super fun.
The Miss K-State competition is an annual philanthropy event hosted by Delta Upsilon fraternity to benefit underdeveloped communities abroad through the Delta Upsilon Global Service Initiative. Seventeen women from different K-State organizations compete in four rounds for the title of Miss K-State. The winner receives $200 for a philanthropy of their choice, a $500 scholarship and a platform to spread their mission, Kade Kaufman, Delta Upsilon philanthropy chair, said.
“It is a great way to represent your organization, especially for non-greek contestants because some people may not have heard of their organization,” Kaufman, junior in biology, said. “So, this gives them a platform to talk about their organization and what they are passionate about. For the greek community, it is great for all the sororities to talk about how much their sorority impacts them and their passions.”
Sophie Schneider, Miss K-State 2023, said she was proud to represent Chi Omega.
“Another amazing part of the Miss K-State pageant is the support you receive from your organization,” Schneider said. “It was such a neat opportunity to represent Chi Omega and feel their love along the way. It allowed me to grow closer to the
Although she never participated in a pageant, Sophie Schneider took the stage on Tuesday in the Miss K-State competition to represent her sorority, Chi Omega.
Schneider, freshman in chemical engineering, took home not only the title of Miss K-State but also Miss Congeniality.
“Miss Congeniality is the biggest honor,” Schneider said. “It meant so much to me to be named Miss Congeniality because it was voted on by my fellow contestants. I am proud because it is a true testament to character both on and off stage. For the girls to recognize me for that, it means a lot and feels like a big compliment.”
girls of not only my own sorority but also the women of all the other organizations represented tonight.”
Schneider said she will use her platform to bring awareness to food insecurity.
“I volunteered with Cats Cupboard last year and it opened my eyes to a need to advocate for the hungry students here within our own campus,” Schneider, freshman in chemical engineering, said. “I am excited to use my platform as Miss K-State to be an advocate for student-led change and spreading the word about things I am passionate about.”
Kaufman said this year’s event focused on highlighting the past ten years.
“Other years we try to get K-State officials out there as judges … but this year we wanted to make the focus on the history of the event and appreciating the women who have given their time and effort to the event as a whole,” Kaufman said. “So, we invited back all of our winners and we were able to get six of the last ten here as judges and last year’s winner as an emcee.”
Schneider said it was special to have the previous winners
back for the competition.
“I think that all of them are very unique examples of what it means to be a woman of K-State,” Schneider said. “I could just feel their strength from the stage.”
Schneider said the event embodied K-State pride.
“The atmosphere was unlike anything I had ever been a part of,” Schneider said. “I could feel everyone’s support and there was so much K-State pride that I could feel on stage. I feel like it was the perfect opportunity for K-State to be proud of what we are accomplishing. I felt so grateful to be a part of that whole experience.”
Dewell said, “the boys of Delta Upsilon have the event down to a science,” and the competition becomes more refined each year.
“One of the biggest differences is the way the women have prepared,” Dewell said. “My first — well everyone’s first — Miss K-State, no one really knew what to expect. It was a brand new event. … The showmanship has been so elevated over the past few years, and everytime I come back, it truly is another level up.”
Schneider showed the crowd her dedication to health and wellness throughout the competition.
“Ever since I was a little girl I have been very passionate about health and wellness,” Schneider said. “Since then, I have committed myself to finding different organizations and ways that I can continue advocating for food insecurity and access to healthy foods.”
Schneider has worked with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Dairy Council, Centers for Disease Control, GENYOUth, National Football League, Dairy Management Incorporated, the American Center for Pediatrics and Fuel Up to Play 60.
“In middle school I traveled to the USDA building in Washington D.C to speak on a panel about the future of the school meal program,” Schneider said. “This past summer, through my involvement with Fuel Up to Play 60 and GENYOUth, I was asked back to DC to speak to wellness
organizations about the importance physical activity and eating right has on school’s performance and overall well-being. Coming to K-State and being introduced to Cats’ Cupboard has felt like a full circle moment for me, and I look forward to continuing to serve my community throughout my time at K-State.”
Last year, Schneider spoke at the NFL annual meeting about the value of youth wellness programs and how they impact communities.
Schneider said this passion inspired her career
path, which she showed the crowd during the career round of the competition.
“Chemical engineering — there is so much you can do with it,” Schneider said. “For me specifically, I would like to tie that into food sustainability and connecting people to the food we are putting on the table. My major allows me a neat chance to combine service with science, and it is something I am really looking forward to advocating for throughout my time at K-State.”
Kansas State’s Bakery Science Club and Alpha Chi Omega are collaborating to hold a cookie sale in honor of Lillyan Koehn, freshman in bakery science and member of Alpha Chi, who died this past month.
The sale will take place on Monday from 6-9 p.m. at the Alpha Chi house; all proceeds from the sales will go to members of the Koehn family, who are raising money for scholarship funds in Lilly’s honor.
“We’ll be baking and selling brown butter chocolate chip cookies, espresso toffee chocolate chip cookies, hot chocolate cookies and buckeye brownies,” Erin Martin said. “The prices aren’t official yet, but we’re thinking it’ll be roughly $3 for a two-pack and $10 for a dozen.”
Martin, senior in bakery science and the Bakery Science Club’s marketing manager, is working with Alpha Chi to coordinate the bake sale. She said the Bakery Science Club is donating its ingredients, equipment and time to help make the event happen. Any ingredients the Bakery Science Club didn’t have were donated to the cause by the Alpha Chi Mom’s Club. The Bakery Science Club and Alpha Chi plan on baking at least two thousand cookies for the fundraiser the Sunday before the sale.
“I knew Lilly — Alpha Chi Omega and bakery science were two things Lilly loved and was proud to be involved in,” Martin said. “She had a way of making everyone feel loved and welcome, and even now she’s still bringing the organizations together.”
Jamie Cordes, vice president of philanthropy at Alpha Chi, said
it was some of Lilly’s close friends who approached the sorority executive board with the fundraising idea. Owning a bakery was a dream of Lilly’s; the sorority now seeks to bring people together in Lilly’s honor through baking.
“Even though she’s gone, we can still connect with her through the things she was passionate about; we can still honor her by showing the impact she had here,” Cordes said.
Meredith Frahm, sophomore in hospitality management and one of Lilly’s closest friends, said Lilly’s passion for the things she loved was truly inspirational in addition to her caring, loving and compassionate lifestyle.
“We’d love it if everyone could donate, but we understand that it’s the end of the semester and not everyone can afford to buy cookies right now,” Cordes said. “So everyone is welcome to just come hang
out, listen to some of her favorite music with us and honor her that way.”
Alpha Chi also plans to host a soccer competition in Lilly’s honor at the end of April as soccer was another passion of Lilly’s. Further information can be found in the future on the sorority’s social media.
“She’s important to us, and it means so much for us to be able to raise money for her family doing something that she loved,” Cordes said. “We are all so proud to call her our sister.”
Anyone who can’t attend the bake sale and is interested in donating can direct their payments to @jamie-cordes on Venmo.
Lilly’s family is creating a scholarship fund in Lilly’s honor for the Maize Career Academy. Donations to the fund can be made here.
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As warm weather arrives, the excitement of summer is fresh in the air and new entertainment is on the horizon. Arts in the Park, a longstanding Manhattan Department of Parks and Recreation program, is partnering with The Press to bring nine performances to City Park this summer.
Chris Curtis, recreation superintendent for parks and recreation, said Arts in the Park has been around for 40 years.
“It is a summer concert series intended to bring people and families out to City Park in the summer to enjoy free music,” Curtis said. “This year, we are hoping to bring food vendors to add to the overall experience.”
The Press is Manhattan’s newest up-and-coming concert venue, and the owners, Derek Richards and Eric Kleiner, are excited about the opportunity to partner with the city for Arts in the Park 2023.
“Arts in the Park is probably going to be a little bit different,” Kleiner said. “We are trying to make it more … of like real acts that are touring right now that would attract more demographics to Arts in the Park. We are looking at bringing different entertainment things like a bar out there, just doing things that haven’t happened with the program. It has usually been pretty low key.”
Kleiner said the Arts in the Park events will run from the first weekend of June to the last weekend in July.
“For Juneteenth they are bringing in a national act,” One of the Arts in the Parks weekends will be incorporated with Mid Fest. The full lineup for Arts in the Park will be released re-
ally soon.”
Curtis said parks and recreation saw this year’s Arts in the Park program as a chance to collaborate with an experienced and connected external organization, such as Richards and Kleiner.
“Eric … he has the tieins, and he is in a band,” Curtis said. “He has got the contacts. The other side of it, sometimes the city staff isn’t as effective at securing sponsorships. Sometimes, being the city, people are reluctant to give money to the city, give money to the government, so we thought that may be another area where somebody that is in the industry and has those connections might be more successful.”
In addition to their connections, Richards and Kleiner intend to infuse the event with a renewed energy and draw a larger crowd to the area.
“A lot of times in Manhattan it is either country or rock,” Kleiner said. “We are trying to bring everything in, even like hip-hop. Just trying to … bring more events to the student population; we are just trying to bring people out for events.”
Natassja Norwood, junior at Kansas State and year-round resident of Manhattan said she would be interested in attending some of the events.
“I think this is a cool move, because for a lot of the students that do stay, they wouldn’t [normally]
want to go,” Norwood said. “When it comes to the culture of art and music here in Manhattan, we are so behind. It would offer a fresh, new perspective to people here.”
Curtis thinks the partnership will ultimately bring growth to the program.
“If we can create that buzz that maybe had not been present in other years, then I think the citizens of Manhattan will benefit by having something bigger and better and making it more of a festival setting without taking away from the family-oriented feel of the event,” Curtis said. “I do see it growing. By having this partnership, I think that is very possible.”
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The Latte Art Throwdown was a tournament-style competition hosted at The Dusty Bookshelf on Tuesday. Competitors from Manhattan, Lawrence, Topeka and the Kansas City area traveled to compete for prizes and bragging rights.
Judging criteria included symmetry of design, use of space in the mug, contrast between milk and coffee and overall impression. The six rounds were as follows:
the competition alongside Ben Motley and Rachel Motley from Arrow Coffee Co. and Nat Bjerke-Harvey and Alison Bjerke-Harvey from Piccalilli Farm. While Tang said he didn’t know what to expect from the competitors, he was thoroughly impressed by everyone’s performance.
“It was incredible,” Tang said. “I learned so much about lattes and the skill you have to have with the pour and the science of the milk and the difference between oat milk and whole milk. It was just incredible to see the talent level of everybody here today.”
Prizes for winners of the competition included various coffee makers, such as a pourover machine and an AeroPress. Additionally, Acme shirts, Intelligentsia coffee and more were raffled off to community members.
“We’re just excited to be here, excited to be a place for the community,” Othick said. “We just want to be a place where people can come. Obviously Aggieville right now, it’s kind of difficult to get here, so it’s great that people are willing to come and show up to see something different.”
on,” Copeland said. “They’ve really done a really great job, and it’s cool that they’re bringing all this to Manhattan. We have a heart in Topeka to show kindness to our community through creative ventures like coffee and fun events. It’s cool that they’re doing it here.”
Ryane Bieker, sophomore in entrepreneurship, said she loved how much of the community supported the event.
excited about the art.”
After six rounds of latte art, David Vincent, owner of Circle Coffee in Topeka, was announced the winner of the Latte Art Throwdown.
Jerome Tang, Kansas State’s men’s basketball head coach, was chosen to judge
Kara Othick, manager of The Dusty Bookshelf, helped put the throwdown together and said she was happy with the number of people interested in the event.
Lyndie Copeland, barista at Circle Coffee in Topeka, said she was happy to see events like the throwdown emerge in Manhattan.
“I’m really proud of everyone who put [the throwdown]
“This is highlighting my favorite thing about Manhattan,” Bieker said. “It’s very communal. What they said about bringing the coffee community together — I really love that.”
Olivia Eby, sophomore in business administration, echoed Bieker.
“It’s a really fun vibe in here,” Eby said. “Everyone’s just
“I feel amazing,” Vincent said. “I was really nervous the entire time and I kept wanting to lose my round so I could just be a spectator, but I kept advancing. It was a lot of fun. I’m really happy that there was such an awesome turnout.”
Vincent said he was impressed with the work The Dusty Bookshelf put into the throwdown.
“It’s an amazing event,” Vincent said. “I love that they’re doing this for the community. This type of stuff should be rewarded with business and dollars.”
The Dusty Bookshelf hosted the Latte Art Throwdown on Tuesday. Special guest Jerome Tang was among the panel of judges. Competitors from Manhattan, Topeka, Lawrence and the Kansas City area competed in six rounds of latte artistry. David Vincent, owner of Circle Coffee in Topeka, won the throwdown.
On Sept. 24, 2022, Tara Gieber, entrepreneurship instructor at Kansas State, and her husband Greg Gieber launched MHK Caravan. Within a week of launching their business, MHK Caravan was booked; the business has had great success ever since.
MHK Caravan provides unique and interactive event experiences through vintage trailer rentals. The company is located in Manhattan. Its caravans are perfect for graduation parties, private parties, weddings and corporate functions. Each caravan has a different theme and function.
Wanda is a 1965 Nomad travel trailer and a full-service bar. Wanda has a variety of beverages stocked, ranging from Busch Light to signature cocktails, offering the same selection found at any standard bar. Gieber said both mocktails and cocktails are available on tap, in addition to a frozen drink machine. Customers can choose between an open bar, host bar or cash bar.
BOOTH: PHOTO BOOTH
Bella is a 1954 Bellwood vintage camper photo booth
that allows guests to step inside and take fun photos with family and friends. The booth prints 2x6 strips and offers unlimited prints. Photostrips are customizable. The photobooth itself is also customizable and portable. After the event is over, MHK Caravan will send the customer a digital file with all the pictures taken at the party.
Bessie is MHK Caravan’s newest addition — a party bus. Bessie is a classic vintage school bus renovated to be an event venue on wheels. It offers a three-hour ride for the customer’s party. Each guest gets three drinks and music is played
throughout the ride. Bessie has a capacity of 40 people and is planning to host themed popup events on the bus with live music, drinks and fun. Besie will also be available for private rentals perfect for Greek life, weddings and corporate functions.
PHOEBE THE FAB
PHONE: AUDIO GUEST BOOK
Guests have the option to leave personal messages on a rotary phone at each event. The messages are recorded and emailed to the customer at the to have a company that brings gest reasons I love this business.”
4/14: Student Diversity Summit, Staley Town Hall, 3 p.m.
4/17: Kansas State University Saxophone Studio Concert, All Faiths Chapel, 7:30 p.m.
4/21: Food Truck Friday: Lunch with the Lintons, President’s Residence, 11 a.m.
4/22: K-State Collegium Musicum Early Music Ensemble, St. Isidore’s Catholic Student Center, 7 p.m.
4/27: AI Image Generation Workshop, Hale Library, 12 p.m.
4/28: Pizza and Pitch Night, College of Business, 4 p.m.
5/1: Music by Asian American Composers, All Faiths Chapel, 7:30 p.m.
5/2: International Graduation Celebration 2023, K-State Alumni Center, 4 p.m.
5/4: Grad Bash 2023, K-State Alumni Center, 4 p.m.
5/12: Spring 2023 Commencement
“We were all huddled around, us seniors holding hands and the girl on the mic says, ‘With a difference of .2 points, second place is,’ and my heart was beating out of my chest,” Layne Steffen, senior head section leader of the Classy Cats, said.
A brief moment of shock followed the announcement that they had become back-to-back College Classic Division 1A Pom champions.
The Classy Cats entered the final round of Pom in second place after being down 0.7 points to Arizona State in preliminary rounds the day before. The team spent two hours that night nailing down all the details to reclaim its title and regain first place.
“Our team made it clear that … [placing second in preliminary rounds] just meant that we had more to give and that when we went back to finals that we could push just a little bit harder,” Mackenna Riggs, freshman dancer, said.
The team’s determination to win was never lost. Falling into second place only fueled them.
“We were ready to fight,” Steffen said. “We were not going to let .7 take us down. We knew that we had worked way too hard to go down by .7.”
One last performance in the final round allowed the Classy Cats to dedicate everything to its final dance,
win or lose.
“We say ‘control what you can control,’” Avery Eshelman, freshman dancer, said. “We can’t control the endgame, but we wanted to know that we left everything that we had on the floor.”
The Classy Cats again were positioned to take down its new ‘rival’ in Arizona State. In the 2022 dance, the Wildcats placed first over Arizona State who lost by 0.3 points. Fighting to the bitter end in back-to-back years, K-State’s Classy Cats gained admiration for its performances.
“Arizona State is awesome,” Steffen said. “They are amazing dancers. I give them so much credit for their coach and their team. They are insane. They are very technical based. They can do all these really hard tricks and really hard choreography. Where ours, I’d say, isn’t as hard, but we execute better.”
The team’s focus and newfound experience were main factors in defeating the Sun Devils.
“Last year we were going in with no idea what we were getting into,” Steffen said. “We were starstruck that we even made it. This year, there was more of a drive at the beginning of the season.”
The Classy Cats entered nationals with only four seniors and seven members who had never competed in college nationals before.
“The team didn’t ever make it seem like there was pressure to win,” Riggs said.
“They always made it very clear the outcome does not define how we are as a team and how hard we work.”
The veterans’ leadership helped bring the group together.
“Dance can be a team sport, it can also be an individual thing,” Eshelman said. “We all grew up competing at studios where we’re doing solos and we’re against each other. So one of the things I value so much is that we’re not competing against each other, we’re competing with each other.”
The K-State Classy Cats have garnered more support in the community even as other sports thrive.
“It’s hard because we’re not under the athlete category, which sometimes ropes us out of things, but people have really given us a lot of support in the Manhattan community, win or lose,” Eshelman said.
The Classy Cats will never forget the moment they were crowned for a second time.
“It was the most pure, happy, joyous moment that I’ve ever experienced,” Riggs said. “It made all the countless hours so much more worth it. I wouldn’t trade it for the world.”
Kansas State women’s golf will wrap up its difficult season with one last challenge at the Big 12 Championship starting on April 21.
“We’ve had our ups and down this year, but they’re improving and they do care deeply,” head coach Kristi Knight said. “I’ve worked very hard to get a highly competitive schedule for this program and every shot matters.”
The Wildcats have been led in scoring average by seniors Haley Vargas and Manon Donche-Gay, alongside freshman Noa Van Beek.
“They [Vargas and Donche-Gay] are both very, very steady and very diligent,” Knight said.
The highest placement for the Wildcats this season was an eighth-place finish at The Bruzzy. Vargas led the individual leaderboard going into the final round before finishing 13th.
“It was a challenging course,” Vargus said. “There were a lot of obstacles to overcome, but we scored pretty well. Taking that as a positive and turning it into something to look forward to will be ideal.”
Accepting small victories in the face of adversity is important for the Wildcats, especially as the team builds toward something greater.
“As long as we keep having to face challenges, we are willing to work even harder to get better for the next time,” Van Beek said.
After its placement at The Bruzzy, the Wildcats took on the challenge of league play in the first ever Big 12 Women’s Match Play tournament.
“It is such a fun format, but it’s also an opportunity for the ladies to bring some new things into focus as far as competing, managing yourself and making decisions on the course,” Knight said.
K-State failed to advance to bracket play in Match Play, but there was still value in the experience.
“It was extremely disappointing in the end, but that’s part of athletics,” Knight said. “Those disappointments can lead you to success if you take ownership.”
The roster for next season will likely be centered around a young core, but Knight said that each senior plans to return for a super-senior season. K-State could return every athlete and immediately become one of the more experienced teams in the country.
“I’m really excited to get us to competing better over the course of the season,” Vargas said. “We have a great group of girls who are talented, we just need to
make adjustments here and there.”
All five NCAA regional appearances for the program have come under Knight’s leadership — the most recent being in 2017 — but another could be on the horizon.
“We need to get back to that level,” Knight said. “We’ve got to get better and that comes with more consistency in the little things. Everybody pushing and pulling each other and having that mentality of this is where we belong, this is where we want to be and this is what it takes to get there.”
Due to the rising popularity from their noteworthy accomplishments, the Kansas State football and basketball teams have placed the university in a position to make improvements. K-State’s current apparel deal with Nike will expire in 2024, opening an exclusive negotiating window and allowing the school to only engage in talks with Nike, Gene Taylor, athletic director, said.
Taylor, men’s basketball head coach Jerome Tang
and football head coach Chris Klieman will travel to Oregon next week to discuss a new deal with Nike at Nike World Headquarters.
“[We’ll] just sit down and talk about K-State, this success, where we see ourselves with Nike, some things we’d like to see, what a deal may look like,” Taylor said about the parameters of their meeting with Nike. “If it’s to our liking, we’ll probably extend. If not, we’ll consider all our options. Right now we’re pleased with Nike. It’s just, can we get a better deal? That’s what we are trying to figure out.”
Taylor said while the quality of Nike products has satisfied the university, there are a few areas of improvement K-State seeks in a new deal.
“Sideline gear has been a challenge for Nike to get out, and when we have popular items that our coaches are wearing and our fans are wanting, it’s hard to get into retail stores because Nike’s slow to produce that,” Taylor said.
Taylor said a new deal with Nike will focus on the product and may include possible “product in cash, if there’s any cash.” “Product
in cash” would give cash to the athletic department as part of the contract.
Taylor, Tang and Klieman have all received national recognition for their performance in their respective positions, either as top honorees or finalists for prestigious awards. The success they have brought to football and basketball is something Taylor wants Nike to recognize.
“The more success we have, the more eyeballs,” Taylor said. “For instance, the impressions we had on our Elite Eight run, how many people saw us wear Nike … that’s a good thing.
Hopefully that helps them [Nike] understand, the visibility of K-State Athletics, particularly football and basketball, is at a high level right now.”
The visibility of the football and basketball teams has also helped recruiting in other sports programs at K-State, Taylor said. He said the overall interest in school athletics can be assessed by fan investment, and that season tickets for football are at a 90% renewal rate compared to 75% at this time last year.
“We were a great story to not be picked to win the
Big 12 in football, but we did,” Taylor said. “It was a great story to be picked last in basketball and to make the run we did and then some individual stories [Deuce Vaughn, Will Howard, Adrian Martinez, Keyontae Johnson, Markquise Nowell]. People like the fact that we had to come from behind to win all those games and they like the underdog, so to speak. All that continues to drive interest in K-State.”
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