Chris Chapman, a sophomore in mechanical engineering, was recently introduced to Michael Lang, a “friend of a friend” who competes on UNC-Chapel Hill’s crew team.
“We got to talking about crew, just jabbing back and forth,” Chapman said. “He sent me a message closer to the Krispy Kreme Challenge.”
The e-mail, which was forwarded to every member of N.C. State’s crew team, reportedly stated the following:
“Due to the failure of State to row against UNC earlier in the semester, the UNC men’s crew team challenges State to compete in the Krispy Kreme Challenge on N.C. State’s campus.”
The letter went on to issue one final taunt:
“We wish that show State that if you won’t let us beat you on the water, at least we can beat you off the water.”
Duran Pardue, a senior in chemistry, said it wasn’t State’s fault that the teams hadn’t faced each other during the fall semester.
“Our team goes to a bunch of regattas in the Southeast,” Pardue said. “UNC likes to scrimmage one or two teams, but they don’t attend typical regattas. They’re the ones that like to go off the reservation and not compete against any of the schools in the area.”
Pardue said that several of the crew team’s members were intending to participate in the challenge before the gauntlet was thrown due to its significance to the club. Ben Gaddy, who currently serves as a coach on the team, was one of the first people to run in it.
“A lot of the people that used to be on the crew team were the ones that helped to start the Krispy Kreme Challenge,” Pardue said. “We cancel practice that day and say that even if you’re not racing, you should volunteer.”
Chapman said that the added incentive may have actually helped his team’s conditioning.
“Me and a few friends have actually been training for it, running two miles to and from Fountain Dining Hall,” Chapman said.
Chapman said a majority of the team is running in the race.
“There’s a lot of pride on the line,” Chapman said. “I’m sure it’s something we’ll do in years to come. We’ll see how it goes this time.”
