From commanding performances to photo-finishes, the junior events at Lake Karāpiro offered no shortage of exciting racing as these young athletes battled the heavy rain. Throughout the weekend, the junior events displayed the sheer depth of larger programmes and highlighted some rising stars. With this event being the first 2000m of the season, it was a true test of stamina and resilience for these rowers hoping to make their mark at the start of this season.
The girls’ finals saw commanding leads across the board, from Waikato Diocesan School, Hamilton Girls High School and St Paul’s Collegiate, leaving many following crews in fierce battles for remaining top positions. Waikato Diocesan School, as many predicted, dominated the women’s sweep events, taking home wins in all four major events including the U16 and U18 coxed fours and eights, most with commanding leads.
St Paul’s Collegiate also continued their legacy of sculling domination with multiple top-three positions in the U18 quad, double and single. On top of taking home a confident win in the U18 quad, Zara Brangwynne, Georgia Roberts, Fredrika Savill, Olivia Waddell and coxswain Fletcher Rogers, saw their teammates in the #2 crew secure a third-placed finish behind King’s College. Brangwynne and Waddell then joined forces to secure the top spot in the double before going on to also take home first and third place, respectively, in the singles.
In the boys’ events, the depth of talent across the major programmes was evident, with finals stacked with boats from programmes such as Hamilton Boys High School, King’s College Rowing Club and Westlake Boys High School highlighting the magnitude of these larger programmes’ squads.
The U16 eight saw a return of last season’s Maadi Regatta champions Hamilton Boys High School to seize a win, with almost all of their U15 eight reclaiming their seats in their new age group. Hamilton Boys also took home a win in the U16 four despite the close field which saw Westlake Boys High School and King’s College separated by less than half a second in their final strokes, with Westlake Boys ultimately crowned runners-up. The sculling events offered more nail-biting action with the U16 quad seeing only a mere two seconds separating Auckland Grammar, St George’s and Westlake Boys High School behind winners St Peter’s College.
The U18 events did not feature King’s College and Hamilton Boys who appeared to opt instead for senior events, leaving the door open for Westlake Boys to shine in the fours and pairs events. With three crews in the pairs final it was the #1 crew of George Langley and Jack Buckley who dominated before Langley returned to join Donovan Pivac, Noah Geelan De Kabath, Sam Bird and coxswain Flynn Wigglesworth to also seize victory in the U18 four. Sacred Heart also shone, securing a win in the U18 coxless quadruple sculls and runners-up in the U18 four. Blake Cooper and George Marshall then joined forces for a third event to also be crowned runners up in the pair.
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