With only a few weeks remaining until the Maadi, many treat this as a final curtain raiser before the championship regattas. As most of these rowers’ last season as juniors, the pressure to perform is heating up. The senior events provided no shortage of dramatic races as the intensity grows ahead of the championships in the coming weeks, from commanding leads to photo-finishes, the senior events have it all.
Double Sculls
Settling comfortably in front towards the final stages of the race, McClintock and Barnard took home a win for St Peter’s School in the girls’ U17 final, pushing on over Brangwynne and Dunn from St Paul’s Collegiate and Candy and Gould representing Whangarei Rowing Club, who finished second and third, respectively. Meanwhile, a tight race down to the line saw Cambridge High School’s O’Dwyer and Wood take home a win in the U18 event, just ahead of Donovan and Henry from St Peter’s.
Following a second-place finish in the singles final, Whakatane’s Talpos teamed up with Iremonger to take on the boys’ U17 double, securing a win following an intense race with crews from eventual runners-up St Paul’s Collegiate, Sacred Heart College, and Pukekohe High School. Steenson and Robinson from Pukekohe were also crowned the winners of the U18 event, after finishing third behind St Paul’s at the U17 level.
Pairs
An incredible row from Hamilton Boys High School’s McConnell and Brownlee in the U18 final left Gisbourne Boys High School and Hauraki Plains crews to battle it out for second, with Gisbourne Boys pushing up in the final stages to secure clear water advantage over Hauraki Plains, taking second behind the boys donning the easily recognisable red and black checks. Following their success across the sweep events over the weekend, it will come as no surprise to see Waikato Diocesan School taking the wins in both the U17 and U18 girls’ finals, both with significant advantage over runners up from Cambridge High School in the U17 event and Westlake Girls High School in the U18.
Coxed Quadruple Sculls
Following their successes in the single and doubles events, Schutz, Talpos and Iremonger joined Mahy and cox H. McPherson to take a confident win in the U17 quad, as well as taking home the U18 title following a closer battle with Westlake Boys High School’s Howden-Waugh, Stuart, Tierney and Butler, and Plimmer, King, Fairweather and Ellison from St Paul’s Collegiate. Also securing a comfortable lead with multiple lengths of advantage over St Paul’s Collegiate School, St Peter’s School’s Davison, McClintock, Barnard and Henry took home a win in the girls’ U17 final, led by cox D. Granwall, whilst an impressive performance from Hamilton Rowing Club saw them seize a win in the girls’ U18 final, pushing just ahead of St Peter’s School and Cambridge High School.
Coxed Fours
Asserting themselves as undisputed frontrunners of the senior fours events this regatta, Waikato Dio secured wins in both the U17 and U18 fours. Melville, Tomlin, Stuart made up the majority of both crews with Treblico replacing Bryant for the U18 event. Coxes R. Savage and M. Trower, led the crew to victory in the U17 and U18 finals, respectively, each crossing the line with over multiple lengths of clear water between them and the runners-up. A strong performance from Cambridge High School saw them secure second-place ahead of the B-crew from Waikato Dio in the U17 event, whilst it was the Bryant, Worth, Spencer and Kilmister making up the B-crew from Waikato Dio, the runners-up ahead of Queen Margaret College in the U18 event.
In similar fashion, dominant performances all round secured Hamilton Boys High School first-place finishes across both the U17 and U18 fours. McConnell and Brownlee united again following their win in the pairs event, to join Steyn, Milne and cox R. Ollington to take home another comfortable victory in their U18 four, with teammates Parangi-Brown, Ormsby-Harris, Campbell and Ramsey following suit in the U17 event, coxed by D. Boys. Runners-up in the U18 event, Westlake Boys High School’s A, B and C crews secured the remaining top-four positions, followed by St Patrick’s College finishing 5th. A tighter race took place in the U17 event with only a few seconds separating Hamilton Boys from Sacred Heart College, Auckland, with Westlake Boys and Hamilton Boys’ B-crew finishing a further few lengths back in third and fourth, respectively.
Coxed Eights
Continuing their success in the men’s eights, Hamilton Boys took home yet another victory. A commanding finish ahead of Westlake Boys saw the champion four reunite alongside Milne, Worthington, Lander and Roberts to take the win in the U18 eight. Meanwhile, whilst the U17s fought hard through a close chase between themselves, Sacred Heart and Westlake Boys, they were pipped at the line by Sacred Heart leaving them in second-place, followed by Westlake Boys taking third.
With only two crews making up the girls’ U17 eight final it was an intense showdown between St Peter’s School and Westlake Girls, concluding with the St Peter’s crew ultimately pushing ahead to take the win. Westlake Girls came back hungry in the U18 event, with Chatfield, Savage, Lockett, Berry and Davies returning following their defeat to join Dobson, Mawston and Severin, along with cox T. Coplestone to take the win. The same St Peter’s crew from U17 level were pushed down to third behind runners-up Waikato Dio, multiple lengths behind the intense battle taking place between the top-two. Crossing the line a mere two-seconds ahead of Waikato Dio, Westlake Girls were able to hold strong in the final stages to steal a win in one of the premier events in the regatta schedule.
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